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In Transit Belize

by tacogirl 13/07/2010
written by tacogirl 13/07/2010
Ambergris Caye

Today I have an extra special treat – an interesting guest post from Peter Bragiel who does In Transit site. He has a delightful and interesting take on how we measure travel experience and shares what he knew of Belize before coming here – his path to get here and how he felt during his time here in various parts of Belize. He has also provided some video footage for your viewing pleasure. Thanks Peter.

How do you measure a travel experience? Does it depend on the place, your state of mind, the people you meet, what you learned, or all of the above? No two experiences are alike, and I can attest to that. Here is my brief story of how I got to Belize, and fell in love with the place.

All I knew about this country called Belize before I visited was that it was small, it was home to the second largest barrier reef, and the people speak English there.

Rewind to last year. I’ll try to make a really long story short, my name is Peter, I grew up outside of Chicago, currently live in LA and produce/host an independent travel web series called inTransit. My web series focuses on taking long distance journeys and highlighting the destinations we visit along the way, on a budget.

So, last year I was gearing up for my overland trip from Los Angeles to the Panama Canal via Public Transportation. The concept of the show is to travel on a whim with no plans or itinerary. Just pack up and go, figure it out as it comes. Just after Valentines Day, we packed our bags and hopped on a greyhound bus to Tijuana, Mexico. I had no idea what we started, but I was determined to finish whatever mission it is we set. Our mission was simple, take busses, boats, whatever means possible all the way down to Panama and shoot good footage along the way. Starting off in the ghost town of Tijuana, a shadow of its glory years, down to the unexpected street celebration of Carnival in Mazatlan, I had already lost my wallet with my driver’s license and credit cards in a dusty town called Caborca. Lost? Who am I kidding? It was probably stolen. No worries though, I still had my passport, cash, and my cameraman’s debit card to transfer funds into. Cool.

At this point my Spanish is horrible or in Spanish, “horrible.” I took a couple courses in high school, but was confident enough that if you make the attempt, people will appreciate it. Instead of staying “Puedo” I’d say “es possible” over and over. I didn’t know what I was doing, but I tried. So you can imagine a gringo like me with expensive equipment and a gringo buddy traveling through Mexico pointing at things with our fingers and camera trying to get by. We actually became accustomed to it. We went on our journey doing just that, it was rhythmic. Every day was the same, wake up in an unusual place, and try to get by, film, and make the best of it.

18 days go by, and we’re now in Chetumal on the border of Mexico and Belize. By this time I’d have already taken 2nd class transportation all the way down here, dodged getting arrested by the federales in Mexico City by bribing them a couple hundred bucks, picked up my girlfriend, shot about 20 hours of tape, developed a nice tan, and started to grasp the Espanol. We cross the border into Belize on an old converted school bus painted a faint green. Exhausted from the overnight bus from San Cristobal, we’re dropped off in the town of Corozal. As always, we’re standing around like idiots trying to figure out how to get to the Cayes. Overhearing us was a local gentleman who came up to us and said, “you missed the boat, and the next one leaves this afternoon. I recommend taking a bus to Belize City and then take a water Taxi to the islands!” “Oh ok, Gracias, I mean, ummm, thank you.” We were so shocked. Oh yea, they speak English here. “Thank You!” It was so easy but so hard to say. I trained myself for a couple weeks to not answer in English. This transition was so slow but happened so quickly. It took us 18 days to get here, I finally accepted Spanish, and BOOM, just like that; we’re speaking our native tongue. It was a great moment. I wanted to talk to everyone about everything. Funny thing, the locals wanted to do the same. It was so easy to meet people, and we did just that.

It only got better from that day on. The people, the weather, the food; it was great. Oh, by the way, Claudias Kitchen in Belize City is probably where I ate the best meal of my life. I’ve been talking about it ever since. The Stewed Conch over rice and beans with the house Habanero hot sauce is so good! If you’re there, it’s right across the street from the water taxi terminal in Belize City. I could go on and on and constantly distract myself with all of the positive memories Belize gave us, but I won’t.

If you haven’t been, then you should. It’s one of the few places I’ve visited in my life where I can see myself living. I met so many great people who are now friends for life. Instead of putting it down in words, I would like to share my Belize experience with the videos we shot during our stay.

Text and Video clips by Peter Bragiel

Here are the links to the videos from San Pedro to San Ignacio.


The websites to watch the other vids are – youtube.com/pdrop

Related

tacogirl

Laurie Norton grew up dyslexic and was very challenged by the school. She never dreamed she would move to Belize and become a writer. A year after her move to Ambergris Caye, Laurie became an entrepreneur and professional writer starting tacogirl blog in 2007. Since then she has helped many people plan their vacations or move. She also has been published in Great Destinations Belize Guidebook, Moon Guide to Living in Belize, Insight Guides, Island Magazine several times and USA Today. Currently Laurie resides in downtown San Pedro and enjoys being a "city girl" on a tropical island.

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15 comments

Carrie 01/08/2010 - 1:54 am

I’ve been meaning to post about this for a while. Matt and I sat down with a beer to watch these and let out a big sigh afterward. This was a great treat.

We are more convinced by the day that this is where we should be.

We’re counting the months/ days/ minutes until we are able to make this our permanent home.

Reply
tacogirl 01/08/2010 - 8:05 am

Nice Carrie – I remember doing that same countdown. I used to carry a photograph album with me everywhere as a reminder.

Reply
San Pedro Islands 28/07/2010 - 2:48 pm

Hey very nice pictures thanks for sharing with us your experiences like, hope you continue sharing your travel greetings

Reply
tacogirl 28/07/2010 - 6:41 pm

Glad you are enjoying my blog San Pedro Islands.

Reply
Remo 14/07/2010 - 11:24 pm

Very interesting and funny read about Peter Bragiel and his travels.

I can sort of relate to him when he was trying to communicate with bad Spanish. My Spanish is better than his but still bad enough for traveling through Mexico alone.

Then again, its a good thing my girlfriend is fluent in Spanish and I usually travel with her when in Mexico.

She usually lets me embarrass myself trying to communicate then bails me out in the end…cruel eh?

She says how else will I learn if she does all the talking…oh boy! haha!

cheers…..

Reply
tacogirl 15/07/2010 - 7:17 am

Too funny on gf bail out Remo. Due to our lack of communication skills [I can order a sandwich and water or get to the beach] tacoboy has decided we should learn Spanish and has taken first step to borrow Cindy’s learn cd set and download it in his lap top – will see how it goes.

Reply
Laura 14/07/2010 - 5:19 pm

108 days! But, hey, I can wait tables and tend bar pretty well…cook, too. I can be there sooner. We arrive on Oct 29, what’s cooking for Halloween?

Reply
tacogirl 14/07/2010 - 7:00 pm

The annual pimp N ho party at Pedro’s is our fav Halloween Party Laura.
https://tacogirl.com/2008/11/pimpnho-party/
https://tacogirl.com/2009/11/all-pimped-out/

Reply
Lorinda 14/07/2010 - 3:23 pm

It seems like the time will never come! We are coming to San Pedro in December for a vacation, but not able to move there until 18 months after that. In the meantime, i walk thru my house thinking, “not taking that, won’t need it…” When you first moved down, did you leave all your stuff in storage and then go back to get it?

BTW, i meant to say it in my first post…Peter Bragiel is very talented and funny, I look forward to seeing more of his work!

When we get there in December, we’ll buy you a Belikin!

Reply
tacogirl 15/07/2010 - 8:23 am

Lorinda we had a shared house and rent was cheap so we kept it temporarily until we got settled here then we went home and took 4 days to sell it all off.

Reply
Lorinda 13/07/2010 - 11:49 pm

TG, thank you for posting these videos! I agree with everything Steve said, we can’t wait to move there! I know I will be watching these videos a few more times…

Reply
Laura 13/07/2010 - 8:14 pm

Can I send a resume? I can be there next week! the countdown continues.

Reply
tacogirl 14/07/2010 - 10:04 am

Glad you liked the video’s Lorinda – I can just imagine how excited you both must be I still remember those days. Next week would be fab Laura – how far on count down?.

Reply
Steve 13/07/2010 - 6:56 pm

TG….the videos went much farther than words to talk about how stunning Belize is. I’ve watched them like 3 times. Can’t wait until my family and I are moved down there. Thanks for the look!

Reply
tacogirl 13/07/2010 - 7:24 pm

Glad you liked Peter’s video’s Steve. I made sure he got your comment.

Reply

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I just returned from my trip to Belize in mid-June 2022. I had been planning the trip weeks / months in advance and... Laurie (taco girl) wasextremely helpful in preparation for my trip. Her intimate knowledge as an expat who was ONCE a tourist, really helps because she is able to share first hand knowledge of how a tourist can explore Ambergis Caye like a "temporary local". An example of this, was she recommended 2 yoga classes for my wife to enjoy while on vacation that we would not have known about otherwise and the class was far better than a class arranged by a hotel, as you get the local experience not a staged one. In addition, she was helpful in providing recommendations for dinner and sharing some discounts she has arranged with local retailers. Reviewing the taco girl blog and reaching out to Laurie is like having a tour guide, but more important a tour guide that KNOWS Belize.read more
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Laurie was super helpful in providing places to eat, things to do and best yet had ongoing blogs that allowed us to... look back on other places that she pointed out. A fantastic resource for both first time and return visitors of Ambergris Caye!read more
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Fantastic service .I needed to find a place where I could buy a local sim card as my UK sim doesnt work in belize and... Tacogirl put me on the right path .Decided to walk across town and discovered so much more in beautiful San Pedro.Many thanks.BWread more
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We have been using TacoGirl for what feels like decades when planning our trips to Belize! It has only been a few... years but she is the first place we stop to see what is happening in our favorite vacation spot. She knows all the best spots to get away and do so many fun things - whether it is relaxing or exploring! We are planning our next trip with our twins and she was the first person I reached out to. Knowing we have a resource like her, makes trip planning a breeze!read more
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I first got my Passport in 2012 and Taco Girl was my first connection back then Great then and Marvelous Now! She's... blossomed and developed into a wonderful contact for any and all information Belize. She goes above & beyond to respond with information that you need whether visiting Belize or relocating! I wasn't able to fund the move then but now that I have much more equity I am doing it.This time she was the 1st person I reached out to! Now I am selling and moving to Belize. She responds immediately! Like I do in my Pet Sitting Business! I was so impressed I followed her all this time. And was not disappointed!Pamela Nixonread more
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I've spent the last month exploring Belize. I'm retired & seriously considering moving down to Belize permanently from... the US. I contacted the local San Pedro expert "Taco Girl" to help me get started in finding an apartment to rent. With her help, I've located several places that meet my needs & budget requirements. Thank you Laurie!read more
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It was my first time visiting Belize and San Pedro so naturally I had a ton of questions when it came time to planning... the travel. Taco Gril's blog was an invaluable source of information for all the travel questions in Ambergris Caye. I was able to learn a lot of basic information, as well as many tips and tricks. In addition when I reached out to Taco Girl for advice on finding a local photographer and a restaurant recommendation, she was very quick to respond and gave me many helpful suggestions. She also provided a lot more information from a local's point of view, which was much for valuable than than a typical guidebook. Thanks to her helpful suggestions we were able to celebrate my daughter's birthday at a nice restaurant, and had a great photo family session with a local photographer. I'm very thankful for all her resources and knowledge.read more
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Love Taco Girl Blog @LaurieNorton!I've been reading this blog since I started visiting Ambergris Caye in Belize almost... 10 years ago. It is filled with helpful up-to-date information and recommendations that I wouldn't necessarily find on my own. Laurie Norton's knowledge and extensive network on the island provides her with the ability to share perks/discounts/coupons with her readers, which come in handy year after year. Things on the island change daily - new businesses pop up constantly and LaurieNortonstays on top of these developments. Whenever I plan my return trip to the island, I always check her blog first - and I recommend you do the same. Trip Advisor ain't got nuttin' on Taco Girl!read more
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I’m so pleased to see tacogirl's blog on Google. Laurie's blog is my official “go to” source for tourist and local... information on San Pedro. Of course, it’s always nice to see her guides on “what to do” in San Pedro, but I also appreciate her “insider” advice and human interest stories on what it’s like living as a local on the island. I especially enjoy her guest articles, providing a different perspective of all things San Pedro. Her tipping quide is a classic, and don’t forget her Tropic Air flight code and on-island discounts. You’re not up-to-date with what’s going on in San Pedro if you’re not regularly reading tacogirl's blog.read more
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I have known Laurie (Taco Girl) for several years. She has been a wealth of good information for me in all of my... pursuits in Belize. I highly recommend her for any services you may require.read more
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Do yourself a favor. Read this BEFORE any trip to San Pedro - Ambergris Caye or Belize in general. Not saying “do what... everyone else says”, but Laurie has frank and honest info which will make your stay in country a little more fun, a little more informative, and often at a great cost savings. Best thing: it’s unbiased, honest, and factual. Personal note: thank you for your personal tailored help in answering mine (and my wife’s) questions.read more
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Since 2003, my wife and I have been to Ambergris at least once a year to experience the fantastic diving. About twelve... years ago we me Tacogirl on a blog giving us discounts on golf carts, local airfares, and restaurants. Over the years we have grown a friendship and I look forward to her weekly blogs about he changes on my favorite home away from home. The island changes every year, and she always shows you what to see, do, and eat.read more
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Belize Blog Est. 2007

belize travel specialist

ABOUT ME

I took the plunge and moved to San Pedro Town on the Island of Ambergris Caye, off the coast of Belize, Central America. Originally from Canada, I made the life-changing move to escape winter for good (in 2006) after one three week vacation. If you have any questions or want Belize help planning and booking, please feel free to contact me.

SPARKING MY DESIRE

A few childhood memories that shaped my desire to move to Belize from a young age. Sailing in the Virgin Islands, seeing a rainbow out the window of an island hopper as we flew from Virgin Islands to Puerto Rico, Christmas in Hawaii and many trips to Florida.

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