Belize - Magical Moments in Hopkins

When asked about the countries I wanted to visit and Belize was mentioned, many people couldn't relate. What is Belize? Oh, a country. And where is it?

Belize is located in Central America, between Mexico, Guatemala, and the Caribbean Sea. Belize is the second smallest country in the American continent (about the size of Hesse) and the only country in Central America where English is the official language. 

The journey from Martinique was a little world tour in itself, first to Miami, then by train to Fort Lauderdale, spending the night at the airport, continuing to Atlanta, and finally to Belize City. I didn't have a guidebook for Belize and somehow didn't have a proper plan for what to see and do there. I couldn't make sense of my jumbled notes I made before the trip. So I decided to go to the town of Dangriga, south of Belize City, just to get out of the city. After almost 4 hours of bus ride in a retired American school bus through the tropical landscape of Belize, I arrived exhausted in the less touristy town. In my simple but cozy hotel, I met a couple from Denmark right away. We immediately decided to go to a football game together, some important final. It took about 10 minutes in the stadium for us to realize that one team had only 7 players on the field. Nevertheless, they managed to tie 4:4 and unfortunately lost in the penalty shootout. There was plenty of Belizean street food and beer, and the locals were all very friendly.

The next day, together with the Danes, I continued to the small colorful beach village of Hopkins by bus and taxi, and we were immediately fascinated by the relaxed charm of the village and the Funky Dodo hostel. 

In the evening, I had my first magical moment in Hopkins. I had signed up for the nighttime bioluminescence tour at the hostel. For this, we were first taken to the Sittee River. Equipped with flashlights, we boarded the boat in the darkness to hunt for wildlife. We spotted several crocodiles in the water, some sleeping birds, and some kinkajous (honey bear or Potos) in the trees. Then we took the boat along a narrow channel surrounded by mangroves to the Anderson Lagoon, and what happened here was truly magical. At first, I didn't realize what was happening behind us. But wherever the boat touched the water, it immediately began to glow or rather shimmer. We left behind a several meters long luminous trail in the deep black water of the lagoon. Just like the many small fish that fled from the boat and scattered in all directions, leaving a trail of glitter behind them. As we circled with the boat, a large glowing ring formed in the water. After the boat stopped, we all drew small luminous circles in the water with our fingers and were delighted like little children. And then we were allowed to swim in the lagoon. At first, it was a bit creepy to climb into the black water in complete darkness, especially since we had been looking out for crocodiles before. But once in the pleasantly warm water, all concerns were quickly forgotten. With every movement of our arms and legs, the water around us glittered and sparkled, instead of making snow angels, we all made bioluminescence angels. With just small movements of our fingers, a light shower of glitter was created, it felt like magic. Even when we got out of the water, a residue stuck to our skin, so that when we rubbed it, we still glimmered. So far, this was the most magical moment of my journey. Unfortunately, this experience could not be captured in photos.

The phenomenon of bioluminescence can be observed here from December to June when the plankton in the water is set in motion. 

In the surroundings of Hopkins, you can visit some nature reserves and go hiking, but I preferred to chill on the beach or in a hammock, buy street food from the children, eat ice cream, explore the place, and read. 

In the hostel, we all agreed that this was the perfect place to celebrate the new year. After a drumming and dancing performance, we started cooking and pre-drinking. With a large group, we headed to the beach to experience the New Year's Eve there. And here we all experienced another magical moment. After we watched the fireworks, hugged each other, and wished each other luck for the new year, it suddenly became very quiet. Everyone stood in unanimous silence on the beach with their feet in the surf, looking out over the dark sea for at least 10 minutes. Each was lost in their thoughts, thinking about everything they had experienced, seen, or done in 2018, and what 2019 might bring.... Hard to describe, but definitely a magical moment for me. So let's see what the new year has to offer. I still have 6 more, hopefully exciting, months ahead of me in the world....