Itinerary:
Day 11 (Caye Caulker): “Chicken Bus”, Island vibes
Day 12 (Caye Caulker): Mermaid time
Day 13 (Playa Del Carmen): Long-ass Bus Ride
Day 14 (Playa Del Carmen): Beach Time & Farewells
Our group departed San Ignacio at 8AM to catch a public bus to our next destination. Unlike the “public bus” in Mexico, this was truly public, and although our tour leader JC had pre-arranged for the bus to make an early stop for us to put on luggage and secure seats, many of us ended up standing (which normally wasn’t allowed) until enough people eventually got off the bus at other stops. JC also convinced the bus to make one extra stop at the docks so we wouldn’t have to take taxis there. One ferry / water taxi ride later, and we arrived in our penultimate destination Caye Caulker just in time for lunch.
After dropping off laundry at a local lady’s place (Marie’s), I got much-needed AC time in our hotel room. I cleaned my boots from the cave hike, reorganized my suitcase, and finished a recommendation letter for one of my students, then ran to meet our group at Iguana Reef, the main beach on the west side of the island, to watch the sunset. I FINALLY got to touch the ocean on this trip, and was surprised by how warm and salty it was (phrasing). Aside from getting spooked by a giant stingray swimming behind me, it was a really nice relaxing time, even though no one else in our group got in the water (lol).
One of the ‘benefits’ of this trip being so busy is distraction from the big picture of my life. But tonight I finally slowed down enough for my feelings to catch up to me, and they hit hard. Conversations over dinner about relationships, returning to work, and future travel goals sparked loneliness, doubt, and grief over what I’ve left behind and the uncertainty of a stable future for myself. I decided to stick around a while after dinner, finding an empty dock to walk to the end of for a rare moment of solitude.
If you ever have the opportunity, I highly recommend a good Ocean Cry. It felt like the cool breeze and shallow waves softened my emotions as they welled up. No amount of shouting or crying could change the vast darkness of the sea, and I found comfort in that. After about an hour of that, interspersed with songs from my Departure Playlist, I remembered that it’s good to end these Feelings Sessions with a positive outlook: I’m grateful to miss my friends so much, because that means I really enjoyed their company; there’s excitement in the open-endedness of my future, a privilege not many people get to have; I love how much I can experience and people I can meet while traveling by myself.
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Snorkel Adventure
The next day was one of the top 10 days of my life. We had a full-day snorkeling trip in the Hol Chan Marine Reserve, which contains one of the largest reefs in the world. This was the part of this two-week tour I was most looking forward to, and it did not disappoint!
There were two other groups joining us: some college students from Belgium (I think?), and another G Adventures group that had been traveling along the same itinerary as us since Flores. Because of that, we got a MUCH bigger boat than this tour usually takes, which made for some incredible sailing on top of the snorkeling.
Sadly, it is difficult to take photos underwater, so this travel log will be interspersed with other photos I took on this outing.
Our first stop was to try to find one of the manatees that had been sighted off the island in recent weeks, which our captain did effortlessly. With this and most of the sea life, we weren’t supposed to get too close, but being in the same water just 30 feet away from this massive mammal was still so cool! It took a bit of time to get used to ocean swimming with flippers, but by the time we got back on the boat, I was eager for more snorkeling!
We made two more stops from the big boat, where we saw coral formations, nurse sharks (three of which swam right under me!), schools of tropical fish, living conches, stingrays, and a sea turtle! Although our tour company didn’t feed the wildlife, it was fairly common for the others around, so we got to see swarms of big fish and sharks under their boats. The warm water made it really easy to float without a life vest, and I had gotten so comfortable with swimming that I started diving without my snorkel, earning some mermaid compliments from my group. Each stop was only 15-20 minutes, but I could have done that for Hours!!
Our final stop was the Hol Chan Reserve itself, where there’s a channel that runs throuh a break in the reef that snorkelers are allowed in. There was so much coral, I had to be really careful with my flippers to make sure I didn’t accidentally touch any! We saw even more fish than any point before, including an octopus (camouflaged in a rock, but you could make out it’s eyes!) and a barracuda!! Watching it sit still in water and open it’s mouth to expose gnarly sharp teeth was just surreal. I remembered hearing they were very fast swimmers once, and decided to keep a good distance.
Sailing back to the island was almost just as good as snorkeling – their crew had made muffins, seviche, and rum punch, were pumping reggae pop mixes on the speakers, and we all got to chill in the sun and enjoy the breeze. I knew I wanted to be at the front of the boat, and stayed there the whole 2 hours back. I’ve always known I liked being by the ocean, and try to make a point to touch it whenever I’m near a coast. But this trip made me really think about its place in my future.
My dad used to sail a lot, in California to/from Catalina Island. I never saw it, since he stopped after having kids, but I know it was a big part of his life before us. I truly cannot believe I didn’t try it sooner. I’ve been on motorboats, rowboats, ferries and kayaks, but there is something about the sensory experience of sailing that beats them all out: the sound of sails as they catch the wind, the feeling of moving through waves, the smell of the ocean, and the views of islands, infinite horizons, and beautiful skies. Plus there’s something cool about the simple technology of fabric and rope powering such a large vessel. I’ve made a note in my “global opportunities” document to look into how I might be able to work on a boat…
After sailing, some of us decided to keep the party going (the boat Rum Punch didn’t hurt either) and went for a night swim & drink at the Lazy Lizard. This was honestly the most fun I had doing something spontaneous on this trip. We had all gotten so comfortable with each other over the last two weeks, it felt like a pool party with friends. Some high-diving and big floatie shenanigans later and we went back for showers before dinner.
I treated myself to a very expensive dinner of jerk stuffed snapper with conch, which I unfortunately couldn’t finish but enjoyed all of. More relationship conversations came up, this time I participated, sharing about the last two years of mine. Our tour leader and my travel companions had some sagely advice about hard choices, fresh wounds and time healing. Unfortunately the next day was a 6:15 AM start, so we had to head in early.
Unfortunately, this is where this saga ends. I’m writing this last bit from Quito, Ecuador, where I’m about to depart for a 5-day stay at a homestead in Tena, in the rainforest, where there will be no internet or cell service.
Our next two days were pretty uneventful. Transit off the island was An Ordeal (golf cart -> water taxi -> land taxi -> public bus (slightly less crowded than the first) -> walk across Belize-Mexico border -> private bus) and took the entirety of Day 13. I didn’t even go out for dinner because we got back so late (and I still had lunch leftovers). Our final day in Playa Del Carmen was free, so most folks split up and did low-key things. I got some much-needed alone time in the ocean, then we all gathered for a final dinner at El Hongo, a cool community restaurant in Playa Del Carmen. (P.S. I failed as a millennial and took very few photos of my food)
Afterward, we had one final outing at the bar next to the hotel. Like most of our dinners, we rotated all around, got to talk a bunch, and get some quality time with each other and our tour leader JC. I truly cannot believe how much has happened in these two weeks. These people were just strangers to me, and now some of them have given me offers to stay if I’m ever in town, or advice on life, and I’ve learned so much from hearing about all of their travel experiences. I might end up making one final post about this trip and this group, because it was really special to me.
I had a lot of uncertainty going into this, and I truly cannot imagine a better first adventure as a solo traveler. I made new friends, we laughed, I cried (especially saying bye to Rosie (Irish), who’s one of those rare people I just click with). I got to see and do things I’ve only ever imagined, and built confidence in myself and my future. Now if only I can find a way to keep doing this without running out of money…
P.S. Did you know Nathan (Aussie) was in a band? They’re quite good.
Actual P.S.
Thank you, dear reader and friend, for keeping up with these updates on my first solo international adventure. It means so much to me that I can share my experiences with others, whether I’ve known you for years or weeks, and that you care enough to hear them. That being said, making updates at this frequency with this level of detail has been more time-consuming than I expected. So my future travel updates might be more sparse, depending on how much downtime I get. Still, I’m really glad to have documented so much of this first trip.
💜 Ada
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