Belize Me Baby!
Written By: Cassie Glover
I used to think that traveling was about laying on beaches, fun excursions and all inclusive resorts. Don’t get me wrong those type of experiences are fun but after my trip to Belize I began to look at travel in a different light.
The inter-workings of my trip actually began a few months prior when my friend traveled to Belize spontaneously because of affordable flights at the end of 2020. She raved about staying on the island of Caye Caulker (a small island off the coast of Belize) in a cute cottage at Weezies. During her time there she relaxed, enjoyed the local scenery and even made a few friends.
Fast forward a couple of months later and she received another alert for an affordable flight back to Belize. She invited me along with a few other friends to join her. I expected this to be just like one of the other girls trips I’ve had in the past little did I know she had something else in mind.
Now do you remember when I said she made friends on her previous trip? Well she had been keeping in touch with them; they would turn out to be instrumental in our cultural experience.
From the moment we arrived, I knew this trip would be different than the rest. We grabbed our luggage and made way to grab the rental car. Before leaving the city we decided to stop at a local food truck “Chicken Licken” right outside of the airport.
They served authentic Belizean style fried chicken. The ingredients were fresh and satisfied our bellies before we embarked on our two hour drive outside of the city.
As we traveled, we listened to the local radio, took in the landscape and enjoyed the fresh air the countryside had to offer. Halfway through our ride we stopped at the zoo to see the local wildlife, tropical plants and even got to see some marching ants. After spending some time at the zoo, we jumped back in the car and made our way up to the The Sleeping Giant Rainforest Lodge.
For the next two days, I woke at sunrise to have a morning walk around the grounds enjoying the scenery of the rainforest and the clean fresh air. We hiked to a local waterhole, shopped at the local supermarket and enjoyed fresh fruit from vendors we met on the side of the road.
Once our stay there was complete, we drove back to the city, caught a ferry to the island of Caye Caulker and took a small boat to the north side of the island to Blu Zen. Although we slept on the north side, we spent most of our time on the south side where the locals stayed. We took our boat back over to “The Split” and enjoyed some cocktails, coconut milk, and fresh lobster from the ocean.
Over the next three days, I fell in love with that small island. We walked up and down the strip, danced and enjoyed the night life. One day in particular went out on a catamaran with Carlos. His family treated us like one of their own. We spent the day exploring the coral reef, swimming with nurse sharks, and drinking rum punch. It was the highlight of the trip for me. To this day, when I close my eyes I can still feel the ocean waves and the warmth of the sun.
I got everything I needed from my time in Belize. I relaxed. I explored. I experienced.
As the trip came to a close, I began to reflect. This trip was special. I learned about the history of the country through talking to the locals, experienced the beauty of the land through the excursions we took and ate some of the freshest food I’ve ever tasted. The word immersion came to mind and I wanted everyone to know how traveling this way could give you a glimpse into what a country had to offer. As I look forward, I know this is the only way to travel.
