Just another day in Paradise

Not to quote Phil Collins or anyting but...
I felt bad for waking up at noon. No really. Usually I have no qualms with it, but when the first thing you see when you open your eyes is this...
... you understandably feel a little bad. Today is our second day in the islands and the rum was flowing quite freely last night, hence the late wakeup. Honestly , it's tough to put into words the constant amazement one goes through walking around this place. Our host and guide, Ricardo, a Kuna indian, met up with us yesterday morning at the airport, which essentially consists of a 100 yard strip of concrete in the jungle by the coast line, a small roof over 2 benches for a terminal, and a pontoon which leads to the "taxis", 3 or 4 small canoes with motors. From there it was a 45 minute boat ride through slightly choppy seas (it's windy in January) to this place, Isla Pelicano (Pelican Island, probably named after the numerous pelicans who chill and feed off its coast).
The island is about 100 yards long by 50 yards wide. If it werent for all the palm trees, you'd see clearly from one shore to another. The island is oblong shaped with the main beach facing Panama's coastline (usually hidden in the clouds in the distance). Two huts are located on the other side of the island, litteraly within spitting distance of the sea.

Now, this isnt the Ritz by any means. The hut is made of bamboo, the floor is sand, and aside from a small built in shelf, there is nothing but the two bamboo beams to hang your hammock onto. But that's the charm of it. It's like camping except the tent is open and you dont sleep on the floor.

From the hut's door, you can spot a handful of other islands. Some seem within reach of a good hearty swim (if it wasnt for the current), others are barely visible on the horizon, with many others in between of various sizes. This is the San Blas archipelago, off the Caribean coast of Panama.

As you can imagine, activities on the island are fairly reduced, and yet it's simply impossible to get bored. You can swim in the turquoise seas and snorkle along the small coral reef barrier off the northern coast of the island.

Or you can tag along with Ricardo and his buddies for the fishing, but to be honest, it's tough to stay in the sun for too long as it's a pretty brutal beat down. Then of course, there's napping, my personal favorite, the difficult part being finding the best spot for your hammock.

Once you've spotted the right pair of palm trees, it's just a matter of lying there in the shade, enjoying the pelicans' deft ballet as they climb in the air then let themselves drop like stones, beaks first, wings pulled back, to catch their never ending lunch. Plug in the iPod or just let the sound of waves crashing slowly lull you into a shallow sleep ? Decisions decisions.

A walk around the island only takes 5 minutes so that's really not worth doing more than a handful of times unless you're zooted and you've got a funky new camera to play with. Oh wait... Thankfully, life is made much more tolerable by the cooler full of beer that was restocked this morning (no picture of that this time, sorry).

Today Ricardo dropped us off to the neighboring island, you know, for variety's sake. This one had a cool little sandy beach that extended outwards along its point for about 50 yards. We took some time to snorkle around the island, walked along the beach picking conch shells, chilled under the shade of palm trees admiring the turquoise waters.

We made our way back to our little homestead in the late afternoon, in time to enjoy the evening, the setting sun and the rising moon. Ken pulled out his lucky Brady shirt righ around kick off time, hoping for a repaeat of the previous week's lucky charm powers.

The dinner that was prepared with the day's catch was both delicious and ridiculous: 3 types of shellfish moxed in with rice cooked in coconut milk, and home made coconut caramel for dessert. Then, it was time for a cub scout classic: a huge bonfire around which we gathered for countless rounds of rum and traditionnal Kuna stories.

Just another day in paradise. I'll go back in about 2 months, once the glow from this 2 day trip (that really seemed like a week vacation) has dissipated. No need to rush it. Although... it IS just there... right there... a hald hour plane ride away, for just $150 a weekend all inclusive. And now that we're good buddies with Ricardo... OK, so maybe next month, to recover from carnaval...

Championship Sunday

Saints – Colts Superbowl

Chicago Bears vs. New Orleans Saints
Soldier Field, Chicago – Sunday, 3:00 PM

The City of New Orleans doesn’t say “Great game” or “Nice season” when they see Drew Brees out of uniform on the street, they say “Thank you”; a thank you for bringing passion back to the city every Sunday when the gold and black take the field. What Brees has done for this team with the help of young Coach Sean Payton and Deuce McAllister is bring in a powerful offense with multiple weapons and a double-digit winning regular season in what was supposed to be a rebuilding year, but what Brees and the Saints have done for the City of New Orleans is nothing short of amazing. It was just over a year ago that we all heard stories and saw footage of the horrors that occurred within the damaged roof and walls of the Superdome. Now that same building that housed a disorganized relief effort and saw bullets fly in the cot-filled hallways ROCKS ON SUNDAYS. And, a City that was known for rocking and partying hard can rock and party again. So yes, “Thank You” Drew Brees for letting the sold out Superdome crowds and the dank filled bars of the French Quarter rock and party again. The Saints managed to go from rebuilding to winning in less then one season when no one was looking…it gives the City of New Orleans hope for the same.

So my heart picks the New Orleans Saints but my head does as well. I like the Saints offense against a tough Chicago Bears run defense for two reasons. First, Drew Brees will be able to keep Pro-Bowler Brian Urlacher and the rest of the linebackers off the line by throwing to Marques Colston across the middle of the field. By keeping the linebackers from stuffing the line, it should open up some holes a bit for Deuce McAllister who doesn’t need much space especially if he starts running downhill. Second, with the addition of rookie running back Reggie Bush into the attack, who loves to run outside the tackles and can be at times unstoppable in the open field, the defensive ends and outside linebackers will be wary of his presence on the field and will be forced to play the run more honestly as well. Bush thrives on the reverse, the quick screen and basically any play that gets him the ball and gets him to the outside of the field. Again, this opens up a little more running space for McAllister. Can Urlacher stop McAllister on his own? Maybe. But then Brees will beat you in the middle and further down the field. This is the real matchup of the weekend…the Saints offense against the Bears defense. Don’t miss it. As far as the other side of the ball goes, Rex Grossman and his young stud receiver Bernard Berrian have looked good together at times and Thomas Jones who ran tough near the goal line last week against the Seahawks can have an impact for the Bears offense but this offense is due to deteriorate and expect this on Sunday. Look for 2 turnovers from Grossman…maybe 3. I like McAllister for 120 and a TD and Brees should throw for 210 and a TD.

Saints 23 – Bears 13 (Sorry Cap’n Mike)



Indianapolis Colts vs. New England Patriots
Indianapolis, Indiana – Sunday 7:00 PM

These teams make an excellent AFC matchup. The Patriots are well-coached and execute when it’s necessary (Brady and Bellicheck are 12-1 in the playoffs) and the Colts have an explosive offense and arguably the greatest quarterback with a monkey on his back ever. Coincidentally and in a perfect way, the monkey is not being able to win the big game against the Patriots in the playoffs. I think he’s taken Indy to the playoffs the last four years and lost to the Patriots in January two of the last three years. I might be a little off but it’s a fact the Patriots have Peyton Manning’s number and know how to take the big plays away from him. But this year, there is one slight difference than the last two playoff meetings; the game will be played in Indianapolis. Will the home field advantage be that much of an advantage for the Colts….not that much but more so will the fact that Manning will not have to beat the Patriots in Massachusetts.

This game will really depend on Reggie Wayne and Marvin Harrison and if Peyton can get these studs the ball down the field. If they can make some big plays early, then expect the Colts to win big. However, if New England’s corners can shut them down then the game will come down to a field goal or two. If New England hopes to be successful on offense then their two thronged running attack needs to go big and rush for over 150 yards. Indy’s defense is hot so Corey Dillon and what-ever-his-name-is Maroney need to pound the ball in, eat up the clock and keep Manning off the field. We all know that Tom Brady is clutch and will always play big in big games but if the Colts have a sizable lead then he won’t have much of a shot. New England’s Dee is very tough on the run so look for Addai to get a few carries but not have much of an impact on the game. But, New England’s defense will cause 2 turnovers and 1 may go for a touchdown…perhaps Troy Brown.

Manning will get a chance to play on February 3rd and hush all the “big-game” critics.

I see Peyton going for 270 yards with 2 TDs maybe 3 if he can score early but with an INT and Brady throwing for 175 yards and an INT as well. Dillon will score one on the ground.

Colts 30 – Patriots 24

(If NE shuts down Wayne and Harrison – Colts 16 – Pats 13)

3 to See

I have been lucky enough to see THREE, yes 3 really good movies in the last few weeks. That's about 3 more than I'm used to, especially since 2 of them were actually in the theaters. I find many, many movies that Hollywood puts out to be boring, redundant and just lacking in any new ideas or imagery. Not all of them, of course, but many of them. Enter Borat, Pan's Labyrinth and Thank You For Smoking. All three are very different from each other, but what they do share is a rebellious spirit that rejects the typical Hollywood mold of what a movie should be, and forces the viewer to think about what they are seeing and how it makes them feel.

Borat was amazing. Sasha Baron Cohen is one of the most fearless performers I have ever seen and to hitch a ride on his madness on a trip through the dark underbelly of the US of A was magnificent. It's the classic road movie turned inside out and upside down. A tale of hope, of love, of betrayal and forgiveness, all done documentary-style, yet crafted into a hilarious narrative that surprises (and shocks) at every turn. There are scenes I cannot believe Cohen got out of alive.

Pan's Labyrinth was also a shock to the senses. Visually stunning, beautifully acted and artfully told, the movie delivers on a number of levels. It is at times visceral and brutal, making you hate the villains and love the heroes. It is at times dream-like and ambiguous, making you question the honesty of the characters, as well as the basic tenets of reality itself. It's both extremely realistic and utterly other-worldly. The use of symbolism is evident throughout, but the director uses a light touch, allowing the audience to make connections and draw conclusions on their own. Best of all, del Toro is not afraid to take the story to dark places, places American films often shy away from, or sugarcoat with artificial hope or saccharine joy. The film is all in subtitles, but that's not something that bothers me at all and it should not keep you away either!

Thank You For Smoking is satire, like Borat, but done in a completely different style. Whereas Borat looks like a high-budget, somewhat rambling PBS documentary, Thank You For Smoking is tight, slick and biting. It's a film of close-ups, of talking, of how words, spin, argument and excess can warp the mind and twist the heart. Despite the fact that the main character is easy to hate because of his job, the movie manages to make him likable, even brilliant. And, although this is a movie, the awful truths behind it are never far from your mind. The acting is spot-on, but it is the crisp editing and fast-paced dialogue that really propels the movie. I laughed straight through this one, even as I cringed at the diabolical efforts of the tobacco industry.

3 great movies in as many weeks! I still have to get to Children of Men and probably The Departed, as I've heard amazing things about both of them, too. It's so refreshing to walk out of a film and feel really good about the money you just spent. See Borat with friends. Watch Pan's Labyrinth on a cold night with just one or two other people. Thank You For Smoking is perfect for a lazy Sunday or chill week-night. But any which way you can, see these films!

You Don't Win Friends with Salad, Part XI

Happy New Year, peeps.