My unBELIZEable time in paradise

I have to admit, I didn't know much about Belize when I spontaneously booked my flight to this tropical paradise. All I knew is that I needed to get there ASAP.With an open mind, open heart and no clue what I was doing, I packed my bags and off I went. Ahhh, how good it felt to be back on the gypsy road again!!I landed in Belize City and was greeted with warm smiles and even warmer weather. Woooh!Okay, so I guess I did a tiny bit of research before coming to Belize...haha. So rumor has it, as a solo, female traveler, finding a reasonable taxi ride from the airport to the water taxi, is hard af. And the rumors are true, it was pretty difficult...but after about ten minutes of scouting out the airport, I befriended a few American guys who happily shared the cost of a cab and pretended like I was part of their crew. Haha. We arrived at the water taxi, celebrated with some Belikins (local beers) and made our way to the beautiful Ambergris Caye of San Pedro.An hour and a half later, I found myself in paradise.I arrived at the Sandbar Hostel which quickly became my home away from home.. upon arrival, I met a few locals who invited me to the islands annual lobsterfest later that night! Apparently it was a huge deal and people traveled from all over to attend this festival, I was just lucky enough to happen upon it. So I found my bunk and made a bee line for the showers. I wanted to get out and see what this beautiful place was all about.And then...I met Christine. Who pretty much immediately became my Belizean BFF. We were both traveling alone and decided to go to the lobster festival together. We wandered around the city, getting to know each other and trying to find the big party. Naturally, We ended up getting lost along the way but an indescribable friendship was born in the midst.We did eventually make it to lobsterfest where we danced, ate the lobsters, wandered the clubs and explored the central part of the island until we couldn't hang anymore.It was an amazing way to start my first few hours on the island.. I couldn't believe what I had already experienced & I had a feeling, that it was only going to get better.The next morning, I woke up with a burning desire to practice yoga and visit the yogic utopia of Belize, Akbol.  And so, I did.It was everything I could have imagined. There were hidden paths that lead to ideal meditative spots and an energy that relaxed even the most anxious soul.  I did an hour of Yin yoga, in a palapa, over the teal, crystal clear Caribbean Sea.It didn't even seem real. But it was.. ahhhhh, THIS WAS THE LIFE.After yoga, Christine and I took our golf cart  around and explored the island. We met a few more locals, Brandon and Emilio, who offered to show us the way to the famous and not so secret, "Secret Beach". We spent the afternoon drinking rum punch, dancing to traditional Belizean music, and swimming around. After a few hours at the beach, we were starving. So, they guys took us to a local hot spot where we stuffed ourselves full of stewed chicken, rice, beans and papusas.A food coma came shortly after that, putting me straight to sleep. No joke, I think I fell asleep at like 8 o'clock. Hahaha. But I had quite the day ahead of me, so the rest was much needed. Although, I did wake up every hour to due to a self diagnosed case of food poisoning that left me in the bathroom dealing with hell throughout the night... Oh the joys...luckily, this isn't my first rodeo, nor would I let this get me down!5 A.Mishh rolls around and I'm already up by the dock watching the most beautiful sunrise I have seen.It was my big dive day, and the boat was scheduled to leave at 5:30am. Although I was exhausted from the lack of sleep the night before, I was giddy with excitement and could not wait to finally explore some of the top diving spots in the world.I dove the Blue Hole, Half Moon Caye and The Aquarium in Lighthouse Reef. THESE DIVES WERE AMAAAAZZZING. Omg.During my first dive, in the Blue Hole, I went farther down than I have ever been before!! 150 feet below the surface! I also saw my first ever reef sharks and swam through stalactites that date back hundreds of thousands of years ago. Being one of the top fives places to dive in the world, and a UNESCO site, this place is a MUST for any diver who wants a once in a lifetime experience.       The second and third dives were incredible as well. Belize is known to have the second largest barrier reef in the world and there is more than 600 species of marine life that inhabits the island, one of them being the jellyfish that stung me!! The coral and marine life I saw on these dives were unreal. I'm not sure my words can even do it justice, so here are some of my favorite pictures.  The three dives took a total of twelve hours from the time the bot left until the time we came back. Needless to say, I was more than exhausted. My night ended with an ice cold shower, a fryjack (which is the best food in Belize) and another early night.The next day Christine and I were determined to get a boat and explore the reef that was in the horizon of our new home, the Sandbar. We were lucky enough to meet Tevin. Another local who was more than happy to take us around on his boat and show us his local way of life.He showed us around some of his secret snorkeling spots; which included an underwater cave!! When we finally made it to the reef, I was in awe! It was beautiful!!! I was so drawn to the coral's beauty that I managed to scrape both legs entirely with fire coral. To help stop the sting, they poured coconut rum on my gashes and mixed up a rum punch to take away the sting. Oh, and I ate barracuda that day... it was incredible and I can't believe I'm saying that. Getting pretty adventurous on the seafood front...Every night there seemed to be an activity or some special event on the island. This night, it happened to be he hermit crab races. It was pretty cool but my highlight was meeting Coco Leo!! The man who is famously known for scaling coconuts and breaking them with his hands to give to tourists. I had been searching for him every day and I finally ran into him!The night continued with karaoke and rum. Typical Belizean life with my collective traveling family. I could so get used to this...The next morning I was schedule to check out and head to Caye Caulker. However, I already convinced myself to stay a bit longer during the day to snorkel Hol Chan Marine Reserve and Shark Ray Alley. Both were phenomenal and so worth the delay of my "plans".Once I got back from snorkeling, Christine convinced me to stay one more night in San Pedro. It didn't take much hahah. I loved where I was. I felt home. I felt alive. I felt like myself again.I took some time to slow down and take in the beauty of the island.To celebrate most of our last nights on the island we decided to have a little family dinner with our Belizean crew.The night went on and on, with lots of rum, dancing and great food. We ended the night with a final jump off the dock and talks of where we would travel to next...hands down, one of the best nights out for sure hahaha.It was time for me to move on to the other island, Caye Caulker. My time in Ambergris Caye was phenomenal, but I was ready to move on and see what else this country had to offer. It was hard to say goodbye to my other half, Christine but we knew this would definitely not be the end of our dynamic duo.I was in Caulker within thirty minutes of leaving San Pedro, via water taxi. The minute I got there I wondered what the hell I did. Hahaah. It was a ghost town and all the shops were closed. Polar opposite vibe to Ambergris Caye. The main road is about a mile long, and it seemed like only 100 people were living on the island. (I later found out that 1,200 people live on Caye Caulker). I was a bit worried that I wouldn't know what to do with myself for the next two days, but little did I know, the forced relaxation was muuuuch needed.It gave me time to reflect on the recent happenings in my life. It forced me to slow down and get back in touch with my creativity. I meditated. Caught up with home. Read. Started making my Belize Travel Video. I took some time for myself and listened to my body. I rested and took it easy. Caye Caulker is a slow, slooooow town, so it was easy to take a break and swing in a hammock.My last day on the island I went snorkeling for a majority of the day. I hit all the top sites that Caulker has to offer.I saw sea horses. Fed Tarpons. Snorkeled with loggerhead turtles. Swam with manatees. Free dove down to a sunken barge. And swam along the coral gardens. ...yet again, another breathtaking day under the Caribbean sea.When I came back to the island I had a message from my partner in crime...CHRISTINE CAME TO CAYE CAULKER !!! Wooo!!! I went to meet up with her at Koko Kings (an amazing spot everyone should check out in Caulker). We caught up again (because it had been waaaaay too long hahaha) and relaxed in my little sunset cabana.We finished the trip just how we started it. Christine and I made our way down to the city center of Caye Caulker. They were celebrating lobsterfest and we decided to check it out together. We wandered the shops, stands and celebrations together and, as we did the first day, we explored until we just couldn't anymore.I fell asleep in a hammock and listened to the distant sound of the festival as I drifted off and rocked myself to sleep.••••••This was my first solo trip and I'm gonna go on a limb and say that it changed me in ways that I may not even be aware of yet...(I mean, I'm writing this while on my layover in Houston haha so I may have some realizations within the next few days... who knows)...I really got to tune in with myself and follow my intuition whole heartedly.Belize was a place that called to me in ways that I am still trying to decipher... but I do know that this love affair has just begun.I'm not sure how to end this post... so I'm going to leave you all with my most favorite quote..."We travel, initially, to lose ourselves; and we travel, next to find ourselves. We travel to open our hearts and eyes and learn more about the world than our newspapers will accommodate. We travel to bring what little we can, in our ignorance and knowledge, to those parts of the globe whose riches are differently dispersed. And we travel, in essence, to become young fools again- to slow time down and get taken in, and fall in love once more." Until next time....https://youtu.be/7DjZeKz7N6w