Last Saturday I was in Portugal, this Saturday I’m in Belize. I’ve been here since Thursday morning, actually. After a quick 12-hour turnaround at home where I unpacked and repacked, did some laundry and reminded myself of what my home looks like, I turned right back around to reacquaint myself with LAX. I had one of those moments where I was unclear on what day it was and how I went from one spot to the next so quickly and seamlessly, but now that I’m here, I couldn’t be happier.
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I arrived around 10:30 on Thursday morning – after a red eye to Miami, which I thankfully slept all the way through – and was whisked away to my hotel, where I was granted a room in the tower. My view? Crystal clear Caribbean water. I had some lunch and hopped on a boat to take me out to one of the cays for my dolphin encounter. Just days ago I was watching dolphins frolic next to our whale watching boat in Portugal, and on Thursday I was getting up close and personal with them. I was there for a few hours all by myself – save for the two trainers – and a personable dolphin named Mika who let me pet her, hold her, and kissed me on the cheek for my troubles.
Back at the hotel, I ate ceviche and hit the hay like a ton of bricks, slept 12 hours and met up with the rest of my group for a lift over to Ambergris Caye, where I am right now. Yesterday we spent the afternoon snorkeling, and I was able to mildly conquer my fear of sharks. I kind of had no choice, considering we were snorkeling in a place called “Shark Ray Alley.” After familiarizing ourselves with the lay of the land, seeing parrot fish and eels and the like, we scooted over to the Alley to partake in a feeding frenzy. Our guide fed sardines to the fish and rays to make them come closer to us, then offered us the opportunity to hold one of the rays. I quickly offered up my arms to hold one.
Our guide gently carried the ray over to me. It was huge. I was starting to wonder if I’d made a hasty decision by saying I wanted to hold it without really giving my commitment any thought, but it was too late. Before I knew it, it was sitting in my arms. I was surprised at how heavy it was. Mika was 300 pounds, and the ray felt pretty similar in weight despite the help of the water. It slipped away from me and swam away. And then, when I turned around, I saw one of the other guides from one of the other groups holding a shark.
I immediately started to swim away. I was already having heart palpitations for having been volunteered as the first one in the water as two sharks swam by our boat, but having this guide holding one that seemed to want anything but was making me a little nervous. Granted, they were nurse sharks – hardly flesh eaters like great whites. But still – it’s the principal of the thing. Each of his charges stroked its back, and then he turned to me and waved me over. Consciously I was working on getting away, subconsciously I swam right over to him and reached out to pet it. Its skin felt cold and lizard like. The guide let it go and it swam away. And I breathed a sigh of relief. Like most things I panic about in life, it wasn’t nearly as bad as I’d built it up to be in my head.
I’m staying at a villa resort, sleeping in a bed big enough to swallow a football team, with a gourmet kitchen that begs for an on-site chef. White sand and warm water are only a few steps away from where I’ve been sleeping. I had breakfast this morning overlooking the water and cloudless sky, then took a water taxi over to a remote resort, where I’m getting some work done before I partake in a 90-minute therapeutic massage, followed by a day of sun and sand before dinner, and some quiet time to get more work done before bed. Simply put, this is bliss.
Now if only I could get my brain to stop chattering at me…
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