Belize

There is something exhilarating about the wind whipping through your hair as the sun shines down on your shoulders and your legs dangle off the front of a boat. Speeding across the varying colors of ocean blue, you feel free, awake and alive – does it get any better? Personally, I think not.

For one week, we have been enjoying the pleasures and paradise of Belize. Last year at this time, we also found ourselves in the Caribbean sipping mojitos and puffing Cuban cigars in the final days of our year of travel. It’s hard to believe nearly one year has passed since we’ve returned home to the U.S. And while a one week vacation doesn’t quite compare to an entire year of travel, it certainly has been wonderful to explore a new place and enjoy some downtime from the fast pace of American life.

We decided to focus this trip primarily on exploring beneath the surface with some quality time for relaxing and reading when out of the water. We set up camp at the Paradise Villas on Ambergeis Caye – a small island off the coast known for it’s incredible scuba diving and laid back culture. Now that we are working full time again, we decided to splurge and rented our own little one bedroom apartment with an excellent balcony looking onto the garden with less than a minute walk to the pool and the beach. The dive shop is just down the beach, the grocery store a block up the street, and plenty of restaurants, bars and shops all within ten minutes. I wouldn’t say this is an incredibly Belizean cultural experience, but one can’t avoid the local laid back atmosphere so characteristic of the Caribbean.

The highlight of the trip has certainly been the scuba diving. Out of the seven days here, we dove five. Within a 5-10 minute boat ride from the island, there are numerous canyons of reef filled with all kinds of sea creatures and colorful coral. We’ve seen sharks, spotted eagle rays, eels, dolphins, turtles, lobsters, and many types of tropical fish. One memorable (and slightly unnerving experience) was on our third dive when Eric’s mouth piece detached from the regulator at 60 feet. While he quickly swam to the dive master to use her spare while he switched to his own spare regulator, a friendly little fish came swimming up, incredibly curious about all the commotion. As we got it all figured out within seconds, the little fish swam circles and then let us pet him. He followed us the remainder of the dive often coming close enough so we could reach

out and feel his smooth, scaly skin. He was more like a dog than a fish!

Another highlight of our diving adventures this week was the day-long trip out to the Blue Hole – made famous in the adventures of Jacque Cousteau – about 3 hours boat ride from our island. The Blue Hole is an incredibly deep hole surrounded by reefs and resulting from a cave collapsing underwater. We dove to a depth of 130 feet into the cold, dim water to admire and swim between giant stalactites formed God knows how many years ago. It was mystifying and a little eerie being so deep. As we came near the surface and did an 8 minute safety stop at 20 feet, we were surrounded by more than seven sharks meandering along the edge of the drop off. They are graceful creatures – and thankfully all reef sharks so quite harmless.

We lunched that day on little island called Half Moon Caye and visited the Red Footed Boobie colony (of birds), which all the guys on the trip got a kick out of – some things never change. We did two more wall dives along the Lighthouse Reef, which were spectacular and in pristine condition. The variety of coral and reef plants were striking – purples, yellows, reds, blues and even some rainbow shades all in one. On the way back from the trip, we enjoyed rum punch and the beautiful boat ride. We ran across a pod of dolphins and slipped into the water to swim with them for a few minutes before they went on their way. They entertained us with flips, spins and dives above and below the surface – it was amazing.

In addition to our days diving, we also did an outing to the Mayan Lamanai ruins back on the main land. The majority of the trip was the journey there and back, but we didn’t mind because it’s a great opportunity to see other parts of the country. On the boat rides to the main land and up the river to the ruins, we saw more dolphins, some baby crocodiles, iguanas, and even a couple manatees. Our guide was a bird expert so he pointed out many exotic birds though I couldn’t even begin to remember what they were. We had lunch at the ruins and then explored for a couple hours, climbing to the top of one very steep temple and learning about the history of the Mayan people who inhabited this settlement for nearly 1500 years. It truly puts things in perspective.

During our down time, we’ve spent plenty of hours lounging at the pool, reading, walking the beach, napping, watching movies and going to bed very early. We did manage to get out a couple of evenings. Exactly what a vacation should be! One night we headed down the bar at the end of the dock nearby and found live music – a Blues band comprised of old American and Canadian expats who could sure sing. Not surprisingly, they claim to be the only Blues band in Belize. We thoroughly enjoyed the music over a couple beers – reminding ourselves that we need to get out more to do the same back home. Our favorite eatery has been the BBQ vendor down the street who sells pieces of BBQ chicken, coleslaw, beans and tortillas at a much more reasonable price that what the restaurants charge. This little island certainly has developed its tourism industry and the prices of food, souvenirs and beach front property reflect that. We’ve been happy to have our own kitchen and patio dining area for great ambiance.

Today was our last full day on the island and it was complete with plenty of R&R, some souvenir shopping, pool sitting and finishing our books. We are going to dress up and take ourselves out to a nice dinner tonight and then to a beach bar with live music to celebrate the end to a great week. Maybe we’ll even take a dip in the ocean before retiring for the evening. Tomorrow we’ll treat ourselves to breakfast at the best joint in town – Estelle’s – and then enjoy our final hours of sunbathing before boarding our water taxi back to Belize City. I’m sure I’ll savor the last boat ride of the trip – the salty fresh smell of the ocean air, the idyllic sandy islands surrounded by crystal blue waters and, of course, the wind in my hair.

Re-Entry: Returning Home and One Year Later

The realization of "oh my God, it's over" came as we sat at the Sprint store browsing Blackberry models and walking out with new smart phones and phone numbers. Luckily for a good couple weeks, hardly anyone knew to call or email so we were able to slowly get back "online" (and it took me quite awhile to figure the darn thing out - Eric, of course was an instant tech pro).

The realization of how much time we had actually spent together (and how much we really grew to love each other's constant company) came when we parted ways for 2 hours while Eric went to a movie and I went to have lunch with my cousin. As we said our temporary goodbyes, it dawned on us that it'd been months since we'd spent this much time apart.

Thankfully, we had a few weeks to readjust. The first we spent with my family and friends in Colorado/Wyoming. Then we had a long 18-hour drive back to California. Dad generously gave us his 1990 Lexus (which, despite its 240,000 miles, still runs like a charm) and then we bought my friend Lorri's 2000 Honda. My beloved purple Saturn went to my mom for "safe keeping" - she couldn't bear to see us part with it for sentimental reasons.

Back in California, after catching up with Eric's family and our friends, we set about finding a place to live. Eric's little sister, now at Standford, graciously let us move into her room until we got situated. We were delighted to find a spacious 2-bedroom duplex with a sizable backyard, patio and space for a garden. It was a lot of fun unpacking the stuff we had shipped home to decorate our house - it's almost become a museum of our travels. I also took great pleasure in planting our first garden with the help and instruction of my mom (it was something I really wanted to do after realizing that in many parts of the world, they actually know where their food comes from). And then we had some work to do to prepare for our US wedding reception, which Eric's mom Jean so lovingly and amazingly organized. In our "extra" time, I gradually began to start working back at Blue Beyond Consulting and Eric started looking for his next career move. Suffice it to say that June was a hectic, but very enjoyable and exciting month.

Once we finally got settled, the challenge was adjusting back to "normal" life. Eric's networking and job pursuit has led him to the field of alternative energy. Specifically, working for a start-up company on building a solar farm and doing some advising on other projects. He's very passionate about this new venture and the timing couldn't be better with the nation's focus turning to clean, renewable energies. Keep your fingers crossed he will make the big bucks and fund our future travel sabbaticals. I have been working primarily with our client Juniper Networks on their Internal Communications and HR teams (with some great people) and also for a non-profit called FLOW on a program around "Accelerating Women's Entrepreneurship." Since our return, we've both learned a lot and make good progress in our careers.

Now, I would be remiss if I didn't admit to suffering a good amount of culture shock. After a year abroad having had so many incredible and eye-opening experiences, with exposure to such a diversity of lifestyles and circumstances, it's impossible to come home and NOT feel a little out of place. While Eric seemed to roll with it and adjust a bit quicker, it has taken me a lot more time. The first few months back I found particularly difficult and certainly had my fair share of ups and downs. Even now, while I am fully back in the swing of this "American life," I find myself occasionally nostalgic - missing the constant new experiences and stimulation, the cultures and people, the truly breathtaking places, and the sense of freedom and total possibility.

After a trip like this, you find that you change in a variety of ways. Some changes are obvious and become a part of how you life your life every day. For example, we have become more mindful of waste and how we consume. When the weather permits, I now dry my clothes on the clothesline I installed in the backyard. We enjoy our garden and growing our own food. We are more planful in how we grocery shop and plan our meals so that we waste less. And we've hardly been clothes shopping at all. After living out of a backpack for a year with a very limited wardrobe, you come home and look at the closet full of clothes and realize that the phrase "I don't have anything to wear" takes on a whole other meaning. I figure if I could live an entire year with 5 outfits, I can certainly make do for now with what I have in my sizable closet. In many parts of the world, people only have two or three outfits and just change them out every few days for washing. Not that I'm saying I only want 2 outfits, but it does make you realize that what we think we need, and what we actually need, are two entirely different things. Let's see...what else have we internalized...I do have to proudly report that we've gotten better about keeping in shape - it does of course help that the gym is walking distance. But we also have started taking a lot more hikes and walks. And we've gotten out a lot more to explore in our regional area, and in addition, committed to taking at least one international trip (or more, finances permitting of course) every year.

And then there are other changes you experience once home, more subtle things that you can't quite put your finger on, but that you know are different. These are the things that bubble up over time, or the little things that pull at you but you can't entirely pinpoint exactly what it is or what it means. Personally, I'm still trying to decipher and figure out what some of those learnings/insights/changes are all about. More so than before, I find myself churning and seeking clarity about my passions, my purpose and how I want to guide my life. What is most meaningful, where my core values fit in and how they are prioritized at various times. It's these kinds of deeper, underlying insights that emerge slowly over time. And it's with time and distance that you have the perspective to better understand what it means and how it will impact your life in the long term. I'd love to report that I've made great progress in figuring it out, but must admit that I'm still working through the process of reflection and personal growth to get clarity.

Every now and then, we pull a journal from the shelf to read about what we were doing one year ago on that day. It brings back fond memories and reminds us of the lessons we picked up along the way. We've also plastered the door in our kitchen with a collage of our trip photos and often admire our adventure over breakfast and talk about our fondest memories. Some of you might be wondering if I still plan to get around to writing a book. Sadly, I must admit little progress as I've found myself sucked into work and life. That being said, I still have the aspiration to do something more meaningful with the experiences from our adventure - I just need to figure out if that's a book, or if it comes in a different format/forum. I do have to say looking back at this blog, I feel quite proud of the stories we were able to share in both words and pictures. This is certainly a treasure we will cherish all our lives. And we are grateful that so many of you have shared in our experiences through this format.

In closing, we are both so incredibly grateful for the opportunity (and the support of family and friends) to leave our everyday lives to truly experience "living in the moment" in so many incredible places. We have been blessed to have met so many wonderful friends along the way, to have seen such beauty, and to have experienced such a variety of things - from elephant riding to hiking Patagonia, scuba diving to getting married with the sand between our toes. Just awesome. We hope that one day, one year, we will be able to do it all again!