11 February, 201616 August, 2022 Caroline Bach

Bloom in the Park

In January this year, I took my mother to the very cool restaurant Bloom in the Park for her birthday. It’s one of those “secret menu” places where you’re not told what you’re eating until after the meal on a dedicated website – a great experience & much recommended.

On the menu:
fake caviar
egg royal / black truffle
misocured potato / baltic prawn
oyster / lemon

Champagne A. Chauvet, Tours-Sur-Marne?

lobster – parsley root – ink – basil – scallop
Servoisine, Givry 1er cru ´13
coal bread with cranberries
kapers – bak choi – leek
simmenthal – frissé
Pinot noir reserve 09? S/A

petit choux / raclette
salsify – chestnut – celery
hazelnuts – hare – black olives
Montefalco Sagragentino ´07, Umbria, Italy
st: Marcellin – grapes – thyme Gewurztraminer, Vendadge Tardive ´11, Alsace

smoking cold drink of ginger and green tea
chocolate – orange – kumquat – blood
Banyuls Rimage, Cornet & C, ’11, France
pumpkin /pear / beetroot

8 February, 201616 August, 2022 Caroline Bach1 Comment

Our Stories – UNICEF Honduras publication

I’m very excited to finally share the publication of photos & stories that I was sent to Honduras to produce for UNICEF in November. You can see some screenshots below, and download the entire book using this link.

You can read more about my impressions from the trip and see some behind-the-scenes photos here.

I hope you enjoy!

28 January, 201616 August, 2022 Caroline Bach

Beware of scammer using my name.

Did you get an offer to rent an apartment or get a request for money from me? Did you talk to a Caroline on some weird dating page on Facebook? No you didn’t.

No I’m not in the Philippines, no I’m not from California, no I don’t even work at UNICEF anymore. You have been subject to a scam and I’m thankful for having this website as a channel to warn you and protect myself.

Please let me know through the contact form of any profiles using my name, and please report them to the page they are using immediately. You can even link to this post. I would be much grateful if you helped me with this.

I guess this is to be expected at some point when you’re as active online as I am. People always said “why do you post so much online, aren’t you afraid?” and even if it sounds a bit strange – this is the exact reason why I have this website. I own my name and information online, and the page has very high rating on Google so it’s usually the first thing people find when googling me. Welcome.

Several people have contacted me and written that somebody is trying to rent them apartments in Australia or asking for money over Facebook messenger. They found me using Google and wrote to me through the contact form. Please do the same if you are here because of the same reason so I can keep track of what’s happening.

Being active online has always been part of my job and a way for me to stay informed and out there. I would be grateful if you could help me stop this person so I can continue being me.

Thanks a lot,
Caroline

P.s. You can also help me by clicking the image above and reporting the profile to Facebook..

17 January, 201616 August, 2022 Caroline Bach

Because enjoying life is also a must – Mexico’s Costa Maya, the in-betweens.

In between the circus hopping and the New Year’s celebrations, we enjoyed Costa Maya the way it’s supposed to be enjoyed. On the beach, eating great food at Casa Banana in Tulum and Almirante Pech in Playa del Carmen, having long breakfasts and days on the beach in Tulum’s La Zebra, dancing at Playa’s La Santanera and ordering guacamole with almost every meal we had. And, probably my favourite part – singing in the car.

17 January, 201616 August, 2022 Caroline Bach

New Year’s Eve 2015/2016 – Playa del Carmen

We danced our way straight into 2016.

6 January, 201616 August, 2022 Caroline Bach1 Comment

Cirque du Soleil, Playa del Carmen – Joyà

Cirque du Soleil - Playa del Carmen - Joya

Went to see the acclaimed Cirque du Soleil show Joyà in Playa del Carmen on December 30th. A wonderful addition to a schedule already packed with impressions and highlights – and my first ever full Cirque du Soleil experience. It was amazing! The 250USD tickets (for two people) included a bottle of champagne and small bites of salty and sweet deliciousness (with edible spoons, yum!), and we were lucky to get some of the best seats in our price category, with a great view of the entire stage and all the little surprises happening around it. So very worth it. The stage isn’t huge like in other venues so it’s a very intimate setting and you’re literally part of the show at some points with things happening all around. The show itself was based on a simple adventure story, family friendly and entertaining – and blended a mix of languages, humour, dancing, acrobatics and of course great music into what became a rather magical night.

We had some time to have a drink and some starters in the restaurant Nektar just before the show, and were positively surprised by the low prices and really fast and great service considering the amount of people around and the absolutely stunning venue. All in all, a very positive experience, highly recommended if you’re in Playa!

Cirque du Soleil - Playa del Carmen - Joya

26 December, 201516 August, 2022 Caroline Bach1 Comment

Christmas Dinner at Ms. Martha’s

Christmas Dinner @ Ms. Martha's
I was invited for a real Belizean Christmas Dinner at Michelle’s mothers house for December 25th. An honour to spend christmas with these wonderful people, and the food was amazing! Thank you Ms. Martha. :)

Christmas Dinner @ Ms. Martha's

25 December, 201516 August, 2022 Caroline Bach

October to December – Belize City Randoms

There hasn’t been a lot happening in the city lately, so I haven’t had a reason to blog anything. But I have tried to take some more photos lately as my time here in Belize is coming to an end – so here are some snapshots of dancing, hanging and lunching with friends from the last three months.

The Halloween party in Caye Caulker was easily the highlight of the last couple of months. After spending two years here I think that Halloween, together with the carnival, are the two best parties in Belize. And the Electronic Music Festival in January, of course. ;)
Randoms
oms Belize
Randoms Belize

A very very welcome break in every day monotony here have been the visits from afar. My darling Den visited me for the Thanksgiving weekend in November, Natasha came for work in October and stayed at my place so I dragged her out for some fun.

And then there have been some random nights out friends and with Nuria who lives far but comes sometimes. Michelle had a nice birthday party by her pool and a very sweet hangout session with her four legged friends.

And I’ve had my weekly lunches with Jahmai and trying to meet up with other friends as well. I’ve been doing quite well here in keeping my rule of eating outside of the office – well deserved moments away from fluorescent lights and my windowless space.

23 December, 201516 August, 2022 Caroline Bach1 Comment

10 Days in Honduras – Diving deep into context

In November, I was contacted by UNICEF Honduras to support the office with their visual communication and fundraising by producing a book with stories and photos from several of their initiatives around the country. My boss here in Belize agreed to let me go for a week, and I went for a 10 day – Friday to Sunday – deep-dive field mission.

I spent the days photographing and listening to people, which as you know are my two favourite things in the world. It was an amazing trip – and a very exhausting one – not only because of the overload of new information, long hours and distances travelled by car, but mainly because of the people I met and the stories they shared with me. Life in Honduras definitely has its challenges, many of them related to the widespread violence, poverty and lack of job opportunities – taking all of that in, trying to understand, listening, asking questions, taking notes, photographing.. was intense. Interviewing people about their personal experiences is not easy, you have to keep your empathy chip on while disconnecting emotionally – and just managing that is draining. It’s only later, when out of context, that the mind realizes the intensity of the experiences lived and the emotions kick in again. Combine that with the Paris attacks and globally increased racist sentiment that happened the same week and an overall gloomy time here. It was a particularly hard week, but nevertheless rich in new knowledge and refreshed willingness to continue doing what I do. The importance of giving a voice to these adolescents is higher than anything else, and it was as always very inspiring to get a glimpse of their dedication and young passionate minds. I love this job.

I will share the publication and the stories in January. Until then, here’s a small view of how things went down.

And yes, the local media got to me, haven’t found that clip though. haha

Honduras Field Trip

3 November, 201516 August, 2022 Caroline Bach1 Comment

UNICEF Belize Documentary: Beat a Pan, Not a Man

It is a great pleasure to share with you all the freshly produced short documentary, Beat a Pan, Not a Man that I have worked on for UNICEF Belize together with the much talented producer Brent Toombs.

The production is a journey through emotions and an insight into the lives of young people living in the very violent parts of Belize City – and shows us how a UNICEF Belize supported initiative, implemented by local partners Restore Belize and the National Institute of Culture and History, helps these children get out of their violent environments and instead focus on learning how to play music and having fun.

The video producer prepared a cool 1 minute trailer for the video, and then we released the full length 10 minute documentary last Friday. Enjoy!