“GO SLOW”

Worry less, be more present, put your phone down, learn to say ‘no’ more often, appreciate stillness. There are many ways in which we’ve learned to practice going slower everyday. For most of us, taking things down a notch is a mindful effort. It requires that little overwhelmed voice in our head to go “seriously dude! Cool your jets!” Going slower is a way of life outside of our normal hustle and bustle.

For Belizeans, it is life.

There really is no other option on the island of Caye Caulker.

The first few hours after touching down in Belize City felt like I was floating, seamlessly moving from one place to the next by an unfamiliar energy. If there is an opposite of Murphy’s Law, we were living it.

The travel spirit was alive and well and connected us to Samara, whom I sat next to on the plane. Ginger, Samara, and I made our way through immigration (G’s first stamp!) before the three of us tracked down a taxi with another traveler, Andy, filling the fourth seat as he jumped in at the last minute. “Belize is too blessed to be stressed” said our cab driver as he closed the doors behind us. At the water taxi, the dock hand invited us up to the captain’s deck. Too blessed indeed. We floated away from Belize City into the turquoise waters.

Facts learned on the water taxi: Leonardo DiCaprio has his own Belizean island. Andy, our new English friend, and his buddies were traveling through Belize after a random online generator chose it out of all the countries in the world (at first he thought it was located in the Middle East). Lastly, a cold front was moving through the Caribbean and up the Gulf meaning the weather was going to be pretty sub par for the duration of our visit. But, our captain quickly added, rum will keep us warm. Simple inarguable logic.

Caye Caulker (pronounced “key” Caulker) greeted us with a rainbow sign and sandy roads. The island is five miles long by less than a mile wide. Only bikes, boats, and golf carts allowed. It is the younger sibling to neighboring tourist island San Pedro. This tiny community oozes the carefree lifestyle most people can only dream of living. Around town you’ll find simple handwritten messages scrawled on just about anything wide enough to paint: “go slow”— the island’s officially unofficial motto. Calling it a relaxing place, though, doesn’t do it justice. A spa is relaxing. Rainy Sundays are relaxing. An all inclusive resort in St. Thomas is relaxing. Caye Caulker is… a total breath of fresh air. Mellowing, but stimulating all at once.

Our few days on the island were spent being completely open to meeting anyone and everyone. We befriended the guys that ran our hostel and a solid handful of the people staying there. Canadian friends, Australian friends, Israeli friends... and a guy that was not only familiar with, but used to live in my have-to-squint-to-see-it-on-the-map hometown. There’s that energy again.

But, most importantly, we met Norman.

A few of us left the hostel on the first evening in search of dinner when Norman rolled up next to us on his bike. He lived on the island. We chatted for a few minutes. He was insistent on bringing us to "the best spot on the island" for dinner. We said thank you and when the exchange of pleasantries ended and it came time to part ways… Norman was still right there biking next to us.

In a perfect world I would tell you how stoked I was! to make friends! with the locals! Instead, though, I’ll tell you how I fell ten paces behind the rest of the group and started digging in my pocket for some change to spare. My travel instincts told me to! Hindsight is always 20/20.

Twenty minutes and one mini tour of the island later, we were all eating at Norman's favorite spot together. The same spot we went to again the next night because it was so. damn. good. A place as simple as picnic tables scattered across the sandy yard. A singular handwritten chalkboard menu. Self service beer in the cooler out back. Maurice, the one man show behind Wish Willy’s, greeted us with a stone cold “what do you want?” that was only fitting after learning of his years spent cooking in Chicago. (The next night we were greeted with tequila shots so its safe to say I think we won him over.)

Lobster tails began to scatter across our picnic tables while we chatted about cultural differences, Belizean history, and all the things to do/see/eat. Ginger and I planned to meet up with Norman again the following day as we headed back to the hostel. No exchange of numbers. No time and place to meet up. “We’ll find each other the same way we did today.” That is truly as easy said as it is done on an island as small as Caye Caulker, but still came as a welcomed reminder to “go slow.”

I crawled back to the hostel buzzed from an adventurous first day (the rum punches had nothing to do with it…)

Our next couple days are what can only best be described as whirlwind. We went slow real damn fast. This looked something like:

Morning yoga
Being held in conversation hostage with a rastafarian artist
Nearly losing arms to fish the size of school kids
2-for-1 happy hour and questionable neon green drinks at the Lazy Lizard
“Prom” and “keg stands” with the Australian who wanted to live out his American dream
Late nights at the hostel deciphering all the languages around us
Wish Willy’s round 2 featuring Bohemian Rhapsody and tequila
Dancing barefoot at the bar to All I Want for Christmas Is You
Swimming the barrier reef with sharks and stingrays
The arctic boat ride (remember that cold front?) that gave me a six-pack from laughing
Rounds of slap jack that nearly landed someone in the hospital

*Waiting for our snorkel tour, unaware of the hilarity that would ensue.*

Nowhere along my hours of research prior to our trip did someone write about feeding the tarpons bags of sardines so they jump out of the water and make you pee yourself. No one wrote about how playing card games with a tattered deck on an old hostel bed could almost end in casualties. Certainly no one wrote about the crazy rasta man who “enlightened” us on everything from politics to porn. These experiences were born out of curiosity.

Caye Caulker’s laid-back energy encouraged Ginger and I to take our focus off the organization of our days and let them happen instead. No plan. Letting it happen. Whatever “it” was was already working out quite nicely. Our ten days in Central America involved a lot of trust-- trusting our backpacks would return back to us whenever they left our sight. Trusting cab drivers, bus drivers, the folks running hostels and SO many others to keep us safe. But trusting that everything would just work out? Surrendering expectations? Not feeding in to the demand to know what’s next? That shit’s hard. Or so we thought.

We settled into this new normal and went slow… and then we went a little slower.

xx Adventure Well

Stay: Bella’s Backpackers

Eat: Wish Willy’s, Kareem’s (tent across from large Caye Caulker sign), Errolyn’s House of Fry Jack

Drink: Lazy Lizard, Sports Bar, Reggae Bar

Snorkel: Tsunami Adventures

Yoga: RandOM