Getting Hooked On Belize

Over 13 years ago, I moved from the “City that Never Sleeps” to a sleepy fishing village in the Caribbean – from Manhattan, NY, USA to Ambergris Caye, Belize.  Sure…technically I just switched one island for another…oddly, they are similar in area, in physical size… but GOD LORD!  they are polar opposites in so many ways.

Slightly different skylines.

Yesterday I was thinking about what drew me to Belize on my very first trip.  And why, after one week visiting in late summer of 2006 with a girlfriend, was a SOOO smitten with Ambergris Caye?

I’ve written before about the reasons that I think people should visit Belize.  And some of them…certainly the great weather and the beautiful sea and reef were the main reasons that we booked the trip.

8 Great Reasons To Vacation in Belize

But it was way more got me obsessed with Ambergris Caye just a few days in – that got me HOOKED on Belize.

So I thought I’d type up a few of the reasons I fell in love…and am still in love after being here for over 13 years full-time. And then I asked the question on Social Media yesterday…on my Instagram.  And I got a flood of responses – some I’ll paraphrase below.

I knew I wasn’t the only one 😉

• THE PEOPLE (I think every single person mentioned this) and their pride in Belize and excitement to share it with you
• The Food
• Fry Jacks
• The Parades
• The Mix of Cultures
• The small-town, community feel
• Bumping around on our golf cart
• Solo Walking and Wading the beach for fish

And here are two that for me sum it up…ABSOLUTELY how I felt after my first trip to Belize.  That had me research my return AS SOON AS I GOT HOME.

• Belize made me feel like the best version of myself
• The Vibe.  A feeling that when I got off the plane, I’m in my ultimate happy place

I wonder if the Belize Tourism Board can get the rights to the 70s song Hooked On A Feeling?  “Belize you just don’t realize what you do to me…I’m high on believing…BELIZE…that’s you’re in love with me!”

How many places can you say THAT about?

There are SO many other things that have come to me over the years…so many other things that help me fall in love with my home all the time like:

• Belize fosters my curiosity every single day

A butterfly migration, a strange rubber bale that washed up on shore (a scientist from Woods Hole Ocean Institute in the US contacted me for information this morning as I was writing this blog post!), a cool bird, a Kriol word that I’ve never heard before.  My neighbor just spotted an ocelot the other night – can you think of a more beautiful animal!  Even 13 years in, I have a WOW moment pretty much every week.

Here’s a bare throated tiger heron flashing us (drying her wings) at the camp.

WildLife And Other Out of The Ordinary Experiences on Remote Ambergris Caye

I think I’ve got another blog post in each one of these topics.  And as many of you know, I wrote a whole book on how to enjoy many of these things.

The blog post series will give me something to do for the rest of the year!  PLEASE let me know what you think.

What HOOKED you on Belize and had you dreaming of returning after your first visit?  Let me know in the comments below…so we’ve got them all in one place.

Here’s the post – so you can take a look for yourself…I got so many great detailed responses.  Thank you all for brightening my week AND helping me write my post.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CGFmkWPlNU_/