Here I go again on my own...

On the road again....this time to Central America! First stop: Belize. This solo trip started with the familiar slight anxiety that comes with traveling alone, as well as the excitement of heading into the unknown...I can't help but wonder what's waiting in the jungles of Central America for me to discover?? My trip into Belize City was considerably less stressful and much shorter than my trip to Asia last year (thankfully!). Also there's a minimal time difference (like 1 or 2 hours) so I'm not dealing with jetlag. So after 16 hours or so, I made it safely to Belize City!

Unfortunately, my luggage didn't. This was very stressful, as when you're backpacking, pretty much your whole world is in your backpack, and it's difficult to deal with not having your world with you in a foreign country! Luckily, Asia taught me to chill out when you're traveling, and so I went about my business, meanwhile waiting (albeit anxiously) for my pack to arrive.

I stayed in a nice hotel in downtown Belize City for 2 nights. It was supposed to be only one night, but I had to wait there for my bag. The hotel was a little gem, with a communal balcony on which I met some very cool people. One in particular, Al, was also traveling solo so we teamed up for a day which was wicked. Belize city reminds me of a smaller, a bit safer and less shocking Manila, but still it's not the safest place for single white female travellers, so it was nice to have a guy around (thanks Al!). Also, he's a great guy and excellent company :)

We explored Belize City for a while. It's a very interesting place. Probably not as bad as people make it out to be (then again, I didn't go out after night so maybe that's it?). Anyway, I enjoyed walking around and exploring. The people in the city were great, very friendly and very helpful, and pointed us to some nice restaurants! There's a big rasta vibe in the city which is very cool, reggae music playing in the streets and such. And I can't even remember how many people went out of their way to welcome us to Belize :) Anyway, in the afternoon we made our way to Belize Zoo by local bus. Very cheap, easy, safe transportation! The zoo was phenomenal, and well worth the trip. I loved every minute of it! Not only is it a great and successful conservation project, the animals are spectacular, and you can walk RIGHT up to the cages. It was awesome.

Unfortunately, leaving the zoo I got caught in a downpour in my only set of clothes...hahaha go figrure right? At least it cooled me off :) It's rainy season here, not a bad thing because the rain is nice and cool. It's different from asia tho, on and off rain for 15 minutes at a time, instead of one long downpour. Kinda cool to see the difference. Anyway, we got back to Belize City and had a nice dinner, then just chilled on the patio for the rest of the night. It was nice, right on the water with a nice breeze to keep you cool. The rats and cockroaches running around were a bit unnerving, but then again, better get used to it, I'm back in the tropics!

First thing this morning I hopped a ferry to Caye Caulker. It's a gorgeous island, I am sooo happy to be on an island in the carribean sea... even on the boat, the water got clearer and greener/bluer as we got further from the ruckus of Belize City, and I knew the island would be great :) I have a thing for islands... I'm starting a snorkeling/sailing/camping tour tomorrow which I'm really looking forward to, hopefully it goes well! I'll most likely be able to blog next week sometime after my project starts. Until then, take care guys :)

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