Belize: Caye Caulker and Meeting Strangers

This is the quintessential island life. Sandy road, small shops, and hotels along the water, golf-cart, and bike only, nowhere is further than a 15 mins walk. After 24 hours, you would have known all the permanent casts on this island, including stray dogs and cats. Last but not least, all the fellow travelers that I met here were incredible. I hope that we all meet again.

I’m not oblivious that this is still a tourism-powered island. But there is very minimal "selling" on this island; it’s catered to tourists, but it does not feel touristy at all. No chain shops, no over-commercialized Main Street. All of the shops and restaurants that I have been to feel very much like mom-and-pop ran places. The sole proprietor is still grilling the fish off-street; the chef is also the waitress and the cashier. I can barely find any souvenirs shop/stalls here. No one is standing by the street to sell you stuff. Things work most of the time but not all the time, just like how a small island should be. I haven’t met anyone that I feel would take advantage of me. The prices here are close to US prices, but that’s ok. It’s an idyllic, no hustle and bustle type of life if you want it.

I wouldn’t want to live here because it’s too small. But I could do my future wedding here. I would do my bachelor's party here. I would come back many times for whatever life events that worth celebrating.

I hope it stays like this forever.

People

This was also a trip about people. I met people on the dive boat, coffee shop, beach, and restaurants. Meeting strangers during travel is addictive because you tend to be surprised by their stories. And in turn, you are more curious to talk to another stranger, because you want to be surprised again. After seeing but before talking to a person, you tend to imagine how that person is like. You form the image from his or her look, behavior, voice, drawing from your experience, TV, and fantasy. More often than not, your idea of that person is wrong. People tend to be more kind than they look. Everyone seems to have a story.

I didn't just talk to the cute girls. I tried to make friends with anyone that did not look intimidating. After talking to each of them, I made a little WhatsApp group to connect and coordinate outings. From watching the sunset, post-dive drinks, dinners, eating lobster off the street, bar crawl... most people showed up.

Sara and Emily. I talked to her at the Ice and Beans as she seemed cute. It turned out that she was a lesbian. She joked that she could always give people a hand. It turned out that she owned a prosthetics business in San Antonio. I ran into her and her girlfriend at night. The next day, she told me that she had just proposed last night and they are engaged now. We had a little celebratory dinner for their engagement that night.

Alex and Andrew. The couple that was the easiest to hang out with. They seemed reserved and quiet on the boat. As we spent more time together, I found that Andrew was quite talkative, and he knew a lot of stuff. He was doing something related to genetics and computer programming. Alex works for a startup. She just moved from tree Bay Area to San Diego. They had only been dating for six months but it seemed like they had found each other soulmates. Andrew was also an avid diver. I should let them know before I go diving in San Diego.

Eric and Crystal. They were also very easy to talk to. Both of them were new to scuba diving. Crystal was bubbly, and you could talk about anything with her. Both were in the service industry - restaurant and club-type of things. They were onto St. Ignacio. I should let them know if I go diving in San Diego.

Noemie and Michael, Swiss. Noemie was super cute. She was a former gymnast for 25 years and had had two surgeries. She worked for the Volleyball association doing planning. Michael worked for the tax department. They both lived together in an apartment in Beal, Switzerland. They just got engaged and would have their wedding in august 2023. They were on a month-long trip and would visit Hawaii next. They were not that close to their siblings. Their dream was to build a house together at Beal. They asked me to reach out if I visit Switzerland and show me around.

Jorina and Yara, Swiss. I didn’t find out that they were sisters until the last day. Yara was a pastry chef that just quit her job. She said she was good at making wedding cakes. They had six siblings in total. It was Jorina’s idea to travel for six months. We dove together for two days.