I spent the last week of 2009 on a private sailboat touring the San Blas Islands archipelago on the Caribbean coast of Panama. Aside from a couple of times racing sailboats (with the same people) when I was in high school, I’d never really been sailing before — like, sleeping on the boat, sailing from place to place, anchoring, etc. The feeling of riding the water at full sail, powered only by wind, watching the islands go by me as if I were scrolling through computer screen wallpaper pictures … just incredible. The first week of 2010 was largely spent underwater as I completed my PADI Open Water diving certification. The day after I finished, I was flying home (rest assured I allowed the proper amount of time to pass between diving and flying). Looking down from the air to the water was a little surreal this time, having become much more familiar with what lay below.
A few days later, I celebrated my birthday with a group of close friends and a whole lot of jamon iberico and Ribera del Duero riserva Riojas. Capricorn is an Earth sign and … well, I don’t know what, really, to add to that except that I like the poetry of having all these elements (Earth, water, air) come together. Seems like a good way to start a new decade.