The online space of Caroline Bach
A great way to wind down after the Belize Carnival. And my first ever head stand was documented step by step!
Come join Nate’s Acro Partner Yoga classes at the Om Shanti Yoga and Reiki Center in Belize City on Sundays at 4:30pm, it’s usually followed by a Thai massage session and is a beautiful experience of sharing and building together as partners. Thanks to Flo for taking pictures!
Contact Michelle at Om Shanti for more info and if you would like to join. :)
The morning after less than three hours of sleep after the J’ouvert madness and morning beach adventures, it was time for the second part of Belize City Carnival. Michelle invited us all to her place from where we were able to watch the carnival dancers pass by, while munching on delicious vegan Mayan chocolate cake and other goodies that people had brought. Yum and yum, a fun and nice way to spend the Saturday. Thanks Michelle!
Belizeans from all over the country came to the capital to celebrate the carnival and go crazy with soca music, dancing, water, mud, chocolate and paint. My first ever carnival experience was an absolutely spectacular one and I haven’t had this fun in ages. We met up with friends and started off with the Wet Fete at 2am, a party where not one person was left dry. We continued to the 4am J’ouvert carnival starting party, with the carnival trucks driving through the entire city, followed by dancing people – completely insane! We danced, danced and danced through the streets filled with lost flip flops and rivers of chocolate until the sun came up, and I was absolutely euphoric about dancing to the sunrise again after such a long time – it was amazing!! Strangers with mud-covered faces were posing for photos, every single person was happy and energetic, old ladies, little kids and booty-popping girls – and Belize managed to dance its way straight into my heart.
We all lost each other in the crowd, obviously, so I followed one of my friends home so she wouldn’t walk alone and was just about to take a cab when Mariela showed up with her car. “We’re going to the beach, come join us” So four of us went to a beach a bit outside of Belize City, and had a beautiful relaxing swim in the morning sun. Water heals and gives joy, and after all of this euphoria overload it was the perfect way to stabilize, have the water calm us down, and just beautifully end by celebrating life and it’s pleasures.
Thank you for an amazing experience, Belize and friends!
(Enjoy the photos, don’t miss the videos below! Contact me here for full resolution photos.)
The first weekend my mother, Rose and I had together, we decided to drive up to Tulum in Mexico – to see some temples, add another country to their list, and enjoy a little bit of the beach. Our beach-plans were mostly excluded due to the pouring rain (which also made the drive a difficult adventure – but still fun), but in return we got an amazing time dancing under the full moon on Saturday night. Suz was not entirely happy about going for the long ride and she managed to get rid of all the engine oil and the coolant water at once, but we filled her up, gave her a full tank of high quality gas (which in Mexico is super cheap and far cheaper than in Belize) and continued pushing her all the way back to Belize. Driving on the highway in Mexico was pure bliss and I was stepping on it, singing and enjoying until the evening fell, we crossed the border to Belize and the roads got dark and pot-holed again. After keeping my concentration on high alert for several hours it was great to land at home, unpack and unwind after the weekend.
Tulum is an exciting place that I will surely try to visit again, I really enjoyed the vibe, I bought a dream catcher and a beautiful colourful blanket, and we all really enjoyed just walking around in the little town. The Tulum temples by the sea were different from any of the pyramids I had visited before. We also visited Cobá, which was a nice little excursion to other Mayan pyramids. I might be done with Mayan pyramids for some time now, or at least I always think so until I stand on top of them and take in the view and the feeling of seeing the jungle from above. Maybe just a small break and then I’ll get on it again, I still haven’t visited the Altun Ha pyramids here in Belize, and they are literally a short skip away from town.
Photos from the Raw Vegan cooking class with my favourite chef in Belize City – The gorgeous India Camiel at the Back 2 Live Café in the Bliss Centre for Performing Arts.
My mother, her friend Rose and my friend Nate got an introduction to raw food, and we got to do a delicious juice, a main course and a coconut-blueberry yoghurt for dessert, it was not only a fun learning experience but a great way to share great healthy food and spend some time together. Let me know if you want to contact India for a cooking class, personalised juicing detox programme or just amazing food and I’ll share her details. Thanks for a lovely day, India!
Here are some photos and videos from August that I didn’t publish.
August was a month of many new beginnings and starting to settle in this city and country. A lot of work, but also a lot of pleasure.
I visited the impressive Lamanai pyramids, did some island-hopping, danced at the Costa Maya festival, started taking private Shotokan and self defence classes, continued dancing and bonding with the beautiful Danza Revelation crew, and started going for Hot Yoga on Saturday mornings.
In the photos shared below there are glimpses of a couple of dinners with friends and work colleagues, a barbecue/paella pool-party at the British High Commission, working on getting UNICEF in the spotlight through live radio broadcasts, TV talk shows and breast feeding specials, and a beautiful concert by the African-American a’capella group Sweet Honey in the Rock, with an opening by the Belizean pride The Garifuna Collective.
Belize City is home now, how crazy is that?
It gets lonely, it gets frustrating and overwhelming, it feels sad and pointless when uncertainty dominates the horizon. “What am I even here for?”
I’m far from loved ones, far from any form of reliable safety net, far from feeling protected and cared for and far from hugs, love and any realistic potential for growing roots and building a home. I miss birthdays, weddings and people to share my own celebrations with. It breaks my heart that I can’t always be there for my people and nourish the relationships that matter to me the most. The future always feels very uncertain and I can’t plan far ahead. I don’t know where I will be in a couple of months.
But I have something else that I can’t imagine living without yet. At some point in life I decided to live as curiously as possible and make the most out of my reality at all times. I wanted to explore, learn, enjoy and celebrate the little things. But first and foremost I knew that I have to work for a cause I believe in, feel passionate about, grow for and respect. I knew I have to be excited about things to feel fulfilled, and that I can never let fear or worries decide things for me. It’s on the other side of that threshold that things get truly enriching.
And it has been working out so far. I swim upstream, I struggle, I go alone, I take risks, I return to square one, I feel lost and hopeless at times – but on the way I have discovered the most beautiful of places, feelings, people and reasons to love the world. I have discovered that water always heals. And seriously now, I adore my job. I really love what I do and what I learn on the way.
Thank you dears for hanging in there even though I’m far away and busy with work so often. Thanks for your patience, for staying in touch, for keeping me up to date, for finding the time for calls and emails.
And when people I miss and love decide to actually hop on that long flight to come here and experience a piece of my world and reality, I’m just overwhelmed with gratitude and joy. Thank you!
Love!
Friends from many of the places where I’ve left parts of myself came together and gave me truly beautiful feedback and shout-outs of support on my status update. Thank you all – it means the world to me!
One of the comments was a piece of advice from a wise friend who also lived abroad for a big part of her life:
“The things you think you are losing are right here waiting for you, I used to think the same when living far away from everything and everybody for a long time, but when I felt like starting to set my roots it was all still there, the relationships that matter get built up again, and new ones are formed. Just enjoy and forget about the pressure to “settle down”, it might be the best option for most people but not for everyone, and certainly not at the same time :)”
