I. Love. Belize.

This is going to be my only post until I leave this island, as now seems like the perfect time to disconnect from the digital world.

After leaving Tulum, I ended up talking to this really nice family, who were telling me how much they loved Belize...11 years ago. This didn't give me much hope after seeing the Mexican coast. As I was saying, my basic plan was to skip Belize after hearing such negative things, but something about talking to them got me really excited to explore a little bit. I realized I am not going to be in this area for a long time (so much world to explore) and that it would be silly to not at least stay for a little while, especially since I now had to go through in order to get to Guatemala. I decided to go to Belize City, and hooked up with some Swedish people who were going too, since Belize City is supposed to be quite dangerous (and it certainly felt like it there). We stayed in this really bad hotel with the worst beds ever. Right before bed, this guy Magnus, one of the people I was with, was standing in front of the sink when a centipede came racing out of the wall heading straight for his foot. I told him to watch out, realized he wasn't going to, and knew I had to take drastic measures. It felt like some superhuman moment as I reached across, grabbed his arm and pulled with all my strength, and he leaped out of the way really just as the centipede was about to run into and probably sting his foot. But then we both leaped on the bed and were screaming and the superhuman moment was over. However, I did save him from a potentially trip-ruining bite. He was very thankful.

The next morning, all of us took the 45 minute water taxi over to Caye Caulker. I saw another dolphin jump by the boat on our ride! It was a gorgeous ride, with the sun shining down and the water splashing around us, once in a while slightly drenching me. The water, like in Mexico, is so beautiful, and as you alternate between deep water and shallow, the colors and landscape constantly change.

And now here we are. Here I am.

I. Love. This. Place.

It really feels like paradise here, for so many reasons. The second you get here, you just can't help but relax. This island is one of those places where you just have to let everything go. You can almost feel it saying "Come on, whatcha got? Stressed, tired, nervous? Doesn't matter here." And it doesn't. People are SO incredibly friendly, and I love the mix of locals and tourists having a good time together, rather than feeling the divide that exists in many places, especially places like the beach in Mexico, with all of the excess and luxury of the hotels and resorts there.

The whole island is only about 900 feet wide, and maybe 3 times that long, so you can watch sunrise from one side, and sunset from the other. The houses are all brightly colored and slightly weather worn from the ocean air. There are no cars here, only golf carts rolling along, and all of the streets are sand rather than asphalt. At night, it's cool enough to sleep well, and during the day, it's hot in the sun but perfect in the shade for me and my (going to stay white) skin. Amazingly, there are no mosquitoes here! The water is warm and gorgeous, and there's this great swimming area called the Split, where a recent hurricane literally cut part of the island off from the other part, and now there is a swimming area where the slight current keeps the water and sand clean and cool. There is a diving board with kids jumping off all day long, and a bar on the beach here, with picnic tables sunk into the shallow water, so you can sit and read with your legs in the water and a beer in your hand. The music is the obligatory reggae that is so right here, mixed with a little bit of old school Michael Jackson, and there is a palapa attached with hammocks full of people sleeping and reading. Yesterday I watched this guy kite surf for about an hour, doing incredible jumps and flips while he skimmed across the water. There was a big group of local old men playing dominoes, yelling and slamming the table exicitedly before they'd burst out laughing. The food here is ten times better than almost anything I've had, with delicious vegetables, fresher than fresh grilled seafood, smoothies and milkshakes with mango and pineapple, and....really good coffee! There is diving everywhere of course, and I'm thinking of getting my PADI diving certification here. I realized that I am quite afraid of the animals in the ocean, and my desire to explore the underwater conflicts with my intense fear of anything that can eat me in the ocean (which seems to be a lot of things). I really want to get over this and I suppose the only way to do so is to get in the ocean...with the evil sharks.

I am so happy here, and I realize that, while I had a really great time in Mexico, with many memorable experiences, this is the first time on my whole trip where I have really relaxed completely. It's such a good feeling, and I'm excited to spend a week or so here just unwinding. This, I suppose, is the beauty of not having a plan, something that has been both exciting and overwhelming on this trip. I love that I wasn't going to come here, and was able to change my plan on a moment's notice. I can't imagine now if I hadn't come here, it feels so right.

No more computers until I leave, so for now...

Lots of love and sunny island thoughts,

Kira