Pixie in Paradise

Still exhausted after putting the contents of 275 pounds of luggage back together at BZE, I allowed a porter to pull all four suitcases out to the curb at the front of the airport – or the back, I still don’t know which end is up at this point. Dressed for a day of flying in a fleece loungewear set, cropped puffy vest to keep the cold airplane vents from hitting me, and a handkerchief around my neck – because it looked cute with the outfit. This outfit was fine at  2:30am when I arrived at the Tucson airport, but stepping out into the tropical humidity in Belize at 2:00pm was  an entirely different  climate.

Taking a big leap, I looked down the row of cabs hoping to see the name of the company I used when I got the chance to return to the island for a day in March. Not only did I have a great driver but because I knew Mandy was nervous – and me a little – I took a photo of the license plate of the van and he even agreed to a selfie. His name was Lionel and he was on the city council in the village he lived in just near the airport. A retired first responder and volunteer fireman, I realized this was probably the safest place to be in Belize City! So when I returned five months and one day later, I saw the taxi company attendant and asked if he was working, and showed her our photo. She recognized him and said he was working and that he was on his way back to the airport and could take me to the water ferry!

Lionel arrived twenty minutes later and I enthusiastically said hello and showed him our photo to help him remember all the fun we had the first time around! Meaning, he got to listen to a nervous American babble about being unsure about taking cabs in a strange foreign city, while trying to message another nervous American (Mandy) who actually made her flight but was still frantically trying to track my whereabouts on the ground.

We did not have those kinds of issues this second go round and we had another passenger. Jesslyn, a solo traveler, asked if she could jump into the van with me. Sure, why not? After what Customs just did to me I’m pretty sure Jesslyn can’t top it. She had been to Belize a year prior on honeymoon but her husband couldn’t take off work this time around so she returned by herself. I don’t know why, but I was instantly amused thinking back to the couple on their honeymoon in the show, The White Lotus, the show that gave us life during the pandemic starring icon Jennifer Coolidge. Hearing Jesslyn speak briefly about her trip gave me that vibe, no idea why.

Jesslyn said she was staying in Belize City overnight and venturing to Caye Caulker the next  day so we’d probably run into each other (and we did)! Lionel dropped me off at the water taxi and continued on with my new friend.

We made it with ten minutes to spare before the water taxi loaded about fifty of us on, headed for my tiny island where my new “roommate,” Rasta, was hopefully waiting. It was Monday, August 14th, and I had only met him in person twice for five minutes each, back in March. Five months later, I was about to hug him for the first time AND move into an apartment together – on the same day!

It had been a stressful few weeks leading up to my departure for Central America and back on the island Rasta was working night shifts temporarily, so our communication had become much less than what I was used to. At a time when I really needed to hear his voice and see his face, communication dropped off significantly so he could sleep during the day. I was left with all the crazy and anxiety and overthinking to myself. I was feeling squirrelly (no offense to those tiny frenetic little woodland creatures). I told him that it was really important that he be there to retrieve me from the dock on that day, night shifts or no. He agreed and said he would definitely be there – and he was.

We all stepped off the boat and I looked down the long dock to see him strolling towards the other end, in his usual daily wear: extra extra large (skinniest guy in XXL!) t-shirt and just as baggy Dickie’s ™ long shorts, handkerchief tied around his neck and beautiful long locs, braided down his back. Carrying a bottle of Belikin ™ Stout beer he walked towards me onto the deck – (it’s legal to walk around with alcohol everywhere on the island). He looked up and I caught his eye and opened my arms wide for a moment then headed for him, trying not to trip and fall in my platform sandals. If you think I’ve been in anything but flip flops since I arrived, you’d be wrong. Haven’t seen those platforms since.

Well shit, we’d actually done it. From a chance encounter, to a second even more chance encounter the following day, while on vacation in Belize for six days. Bringing us to this moment, where all the conversations and planning and curiosity led us back to this spot. I traveled from my home in the U.S. back to Caye Caulker, our tiny island. And I discovered in this surreal moment that he gives the best hugs. We both couldn’t stop smiling and for a few minutes got to sit still and just be, while the water taxi porters were taking my luggage off the boat. My guy got us a taxi (aka a golf cart here – no cars allowed, only bicycles and golf carts) and he loaded the luggage then we rode to our new home, a second story apartment with air conditioning only in the master bedroom, no hot water and as we found out, no door keys. And…no power outlets in the kitchen so we make toast on the living room floor!