There is no moment of delight in any pilgrimage like the beginning of it. – Charles Dudley Warner
Monday, March 5, 2012 (DAY 1)
All of the fears and anxiety that I have carried with me have now come to the present moment in time–the first step to this great journey begins in the early morning hours. Awaking from a deep sleep, through the darkness I read the alarm, 4:30am. I am not afforded the luxury of basking in the final moments of a large comfortable bed in the familiarity of Colorado, but realize that the day has finally arrived, the beginning of a new chapter in my life. After what could be the last hot shower for quite some time, I quickly check and recheck everything that I have pulled out of my backpack from the previous night–the frantic feeling that creeps into the pit of your stomach that everyone has felt in the final moments prior to leaving for a trip, except this time, the stakes are much higher in the sense that these items will be my only worldly possessions for months, possibly years to come.
All of the fears and anxiety that I have carried with me have now come to the present moment in time–the first step to this great journey begins in the early morning hours. Awaking from a deep sleep, through the darkness I read the alarm, 4:30am. I am not afforded the luxury of basking in the final moments of a large comfortable bed in the familiarity of Colorado, but realize that the day has finally arrived, the beginning of a new chapter in my life. After what could be the last hot shower for quite some time, I quickly check and recheck everything that I have pulled out of my backpack from the previous night–the frantic feeling that creeps into the pit of your stomach that everyone has felt in the final moments prior to leaving for a trip, except this time, the stakes are much higher in the sense that these items will be my only worldly possessions for months, possibly years to come.
The first step into the cold brisk morning air reminds me that in all of the years growing up with four seasons I am about to chase after an endless Summer, and the first of many smiles escapes me as dawn breaks through the darkness. There are so many thoughts that have swirled within my head in the past few weeks, past few days, past few hours, and the emotions begin to build as I fight back the tears with the thoughts of those that I am leaving behind, especially holding to the idea that I may never see them again. The silence is broken as my parents remind me that it was almost thirty years ago that they were on the way to the airport to pick me up as I arrived from Korea, and now they were letting me go, trusting that God will keep me safe wherever life may lead me. As we approach the passenger drop-off area slowing the vehicle to a crawling pace despite the absence of other vehicles, I could sense this is an intentional delay, as brief as it may seem, for my parents to hold to the final moments I have with them. Watching them drive away after a long emotional embrace, I turn and take my first solo steps towards the unknown.
After clearing security and finding my way to the gate for American Airlines flight #342, I sit and watch the sun fully break the horizon as a plethora of thoughts race through my head. Part of me cannot wait to board the aircraft to escape the building anticipation and nervous feelings, while another part of me wants to remember my final moments of being at home in Denver. Briefly stopping to change planes in Dallas, I feel that it is quite fitting since my professional career at HDNet has had so much to do with this city, but before I knew it I am boarding American Airlines flight #2193, the aircraft that would next, touch down in Belize City.
After clearing security and finding my way to the gate for American Airlines flight #342, I sit and watch the sun fully break the horizon as a plethora of thoughts race through my head. Part of me cannot wait to board the aircraft to escape the building anticipation and nervous feelings, while another part of me wants to remember my final moments of being at home in Denver. Briefly stopping to change planes in Dallas, I feel that it is quite fitting since my professional career at HDNet has had so much to do with this city, but before I knew it I am boarding American Airlines flight #2193, the aircraft that would next, touch down in Belize City.
3:45pm and I emerge from the plane with the warm humid Caribbean breeze upon my skin accompanied with a light rain. I walk down a set of metal stairs onto the tarmac and immediately, I know I am no longer in the United States. As all of the passengers quickly fall in to single file order, I find myself slowly walking and taking everything in. After answering just a few simple questions in customs, I receive my first stamp in my renewed passport that is absent of any other markings. I was sad to relinquish my old one that had many stamps from backpacking through Europe when I was 22, but a sense of new beginnings bring yet another smile as I put it safely away. The growing number of passengers fills the small room as we wait for our bags, bringing with it more body heat, suffocating what was once a comfortable temperature. As the carousel begins to move and the bags make the circular journey, every minute that I do not see my bag and continue to see new ones added to the conveyer belt I pray that it made it through the transfer in Texas. Whew, we were good to go!
Twenty minutes later and I clear immigration. I am now ready to officially make my presence known in Central America. No more than a few seconds outside the airport doors and I am approached by a taxi driver that has me on my way to Ollie and Clara’s apartment, and my first couchsurfing experience, it is probably best that this occurs so quickly otherwise I might have begun to overanalyze the option in attempting to walk, which would have been exhausting to say the least. Leaving the airport behind, we reach the main road that is lined with lush green vegetation on both sides. A little more than fifteen minutes later and I am at the front of the Best Western Bitmore Plaza on the outskirts of Belize City. Later I realize that I should have given the directions to the driver since I find myself walking down a long dirt road that runs parallel with the hotel, this is my first stretch of walking over varying terrain with my pack and it feels as though this is my self-inflicting initiating from what I remember backpacking to be like more than eight years ago. Upon successfully locating the correct apartment I realize that no one is home and this does not bother me as a small waterway runs through the back portion of the building and I find a small concrete stoop to rest as I take in my new surroundings. Soon more rain begins to fall and I have to relocate to the narrow walkway between the two buildings. Thankfully the weather is warm despite the raindrops otherwise this could have been the beginning of a very long hour and a half wait.
Twenty minutes later and I clear immigration. I am now ready to officially make my presence known in Central America. No more than a few seconds outside the airport doors and I am approached by a taxi driver that has me on my way to Ollie and Clara’s apartment, and my first couchsurfing experience, it is probably best that this occurs so quickly otherwise I might have begun to overanalyze the option in attempting to walk, which would have been exhausting to say the least. Leaving the airport behind, we reach the main road that is lined with lush green vegetation on both sides. A little more than fifteen minutes later and I am at the front of the Best Western Bitmore Plaza on the outskirts of Belize City. Later I realize that I should have given the directions to the driver since I find myself walking down a long dirt road that runs parallel with the hotel, this is my first stretch of walking over varying terrain with my pack and it feels as though this is my self-inflicting initiating from what I remember backpacking to be like more than eight years ago. Upon successfully locating the correct apartment I realize that no one is home and this does not bother me as a small waterway runs through the back portion of the building and I find a small concrete stoop to rest as I take in my new surroundings. Soon more rain begins to fall and I have to relocate to the narrow walkway between the two buildings. Thankfully the weather is warm despite the raindrops otherwise this could have been the beginning of a very long hour and a half wait.
Looking up from entertaining my thoughts, a petite slender figure with light brunette hair emerges from around the corner, her glasses a bit foggy from the precipitation. Covered in a large red poncho that only reveals tight jeans from the middle of her thighs and red flipflops adorning her feet that are quickly removed upon entering, she has a thick Spanish accent, which is a pleasant surprise learning later that she is from Spain. After inquiring about Ollie, her boyfriend, only to come to find out that his friend is visiting from the UK and has left earlier in the day for a weeklong stay in Cancun, the two of us are left to share the small single-room studio apartment that left little to no privacy between my host and myself. I am reminded how differently Americans view both safety and personal space, but cannot help but be grateful that she is so comfortable with me already. Dinner is quite humorous as Clara attempts to make me several different dishes only to realize that she is either missing ingredients or has no propane for the stove. In the end, a very delicious veggie sandwich hits the spot. Completely exhausted from such an early morning coupled with a full day of traveling for the past eight hours, our after dinner conversation is brief, as we retire to our separate spaces. Clara continues work on her proposal requesting funds from the Norwegian government for an after school program for inner city children as I thumb through my Lonely Planet trying to figure out the next night of lodging on Caye Caulker. The inability to fight to stay awake overpowers me and soon I am fast asleep.
RSS Feed
