Well...this was unexpected!
My family and life-long friends know I am a detailed planner, who loves to have contingency plans. But, never in my wildest dreams would I have thought about planning for a world-wide pandemic.
March 2020: Where was I?
This month was going to be the busiest and most costly of my whole 2020 year, and it probably will be when it's over.
March 1-10: Cotacachi, Ecuador
The first part of March was the last bit of my stay in Ecuador. My sister was even able to visit, see where our family lives, and get a little taste of what the past 3 months had been like for me. It was great to see her and share those experiences.
During this time, the zombie apocalypse, COVOID-19, was spreading like wild fire from China to Europe. It was something many people across the Americas was just watching from afar.
March 10-18...well, March 10-15: Walt Disney World
I was scheduled to be at Walt Disney World from March 10-18 for a math conference and I added days around the conference to enjoy a personal vacation. On March 9, I had left Cotacachi with my sister and younger cousin, and we were exploring Quito. That night, my sis and I stayed at the hotel next to the airport because our flight back to the US was super early in the morning. Some measures had already been taking place in airports across the Americas but it was more on the side of incoming persons, not outbound like us, so we did not encounter anything odd or off when leaving Ecuador.
It was March 11 or 12 when my phone was blowing up from friends and family, freaking the frack out. Thank goodness they were no where near me, because I would have probably slapped them in the face, grabbed them by the shoulders, and told them to get a grip. Their hysteria is not helping them or anyone else. So many people were sharing FALSE information that was causing them panic, and then they were causing other people to panic. Also, people were/are getting mad at me because I wasn't freaking out with them. Instead, I was being the good little researcher that I am, digging around for credible sources, making informed decisions, and sharing factual knowledge. The fear mongering that was occurring in my circle was like this, "everyone has the virus, and we are all going to die from it." It's this mindset that truly pissed me off and got me on the defense. People were rushing to assumptions with false information, instead of taking a breath, reading and researching and making informed decisions.
I believe it was March 13 when announcements that flights between Europe and the US were going to halt, so that's when I decided to cut my "vacation" short and get to Belize because I was afraid I would get stuck in the US. That evening, I was able to change my flight and take a bright an early flights on March 15 from Orlando to Miami to Belize City to Placencia, Belize. That was a long day of travel, not touching anything, and washing my hands every hour.
March 15-21: Rental #1
Placencia, Belize or Placencia Village is a small community with a population around 2,000 people. It's on a peninsula that is about 16 miles long and the village is at the very end which spans about 2 miles long and 1 mile wide. this village survives on tourism, and technically March should be part of high season. However, that is not happening now.
Once I finally arrived to Placencia, I settled in my rental which was a modest resort with a kitchenette. It was located a few properties over some family childhood friends who have a vacation home in the area, and thankfully some of them were in town. Needless to say, the next few days I spent most of my time with them, being mindful of our space and washing our hands all the time. They introduced me to their friends around the village and I was able to swap numbers with many which gave me peace of mind knowing I have people that will help me if I need it for any reason. I can't thank my friends enough for their generosity and connections!!
This particular week was very stressful and the anxiety I use to battle in my former lifestyle came back with a vengeance. The fear mongering was escalating around the US, and the discussion of the US borders began. So much was in the air about what anyone abroad should do. My friends in Belize decided to fly back to the US early, and then the owners of my rental decided to close and return to the US as well. At this time, a number of cases of the virus in the US was being shared, and it was all over the states where my immediate family live: Connecticut, Kansas, and Arizona. If I was going to head back to the US, my best option would have been to get to Arizona because I have access to a guest house on the back of a property where I could have self isolated forever and ever and ever. However, at this time there were still 0 cases of the virus either confirmed or reported in the whole country of Belize. So why would I want to leave a safe zone and walk directly into fire?? I chose to stay.
March 21-Present: Rental #2
Since the owners of my first rental closed up and left the country, I'm grateful that the owners of my prearranged second rental offered me the place early. I'm in a wonderful second story/tree top cabin apartment that is perched across from the mainland on a small island with a handful of other homes. This means I'm literally living on a private island and it's gorgeous, peaceful and ridiculously quiet. I get to paddle a dingy across the lagoon to get to the mainland, where the grocery stores, produce stands, restaurants, and livelihood of the village exists. My little island is strictly residential.
How long will I be in Belize?
Belize shut all parts of its borders and airports on Monday March 23, so I am not going anywhere any time soon. My original plan was to be here until June 4 when I would leave and head to Hawaii for the Rotary Convention and a vacation through June 11. Since the convention is cancelled, I was thinking about staying in Belize from June 4-11 and going to check out Ambergris Caye. I definitely don't want to do that now!! There have only been 2 cases of the virus in Belize as of today (3/27/2020). One national returned to Ambergris Caye on March 19 from being in Los Angels, California, and she brought the virus with her, and then infected her mother who she lives with in Ambergris Caye. Thankfully, all other persons they have been in contact with have been tested and are negative.
At the moment, I am not even thinking about what June will look like for my travels. What I am doing is enjoying my health and each day. I like to sip my coffee by the dock around 7am, and then before sunset I have been enjoying a glass of wine on the dock too. Three days a week I am watering plants at my place and at my friends place down the island. In the late afternoon I like to take a dip in the pool that is also down the island a few properties. At that time I get to walk by a neighbors house and say hello to that lovely couple.
I am also focusing on my business right now too. I have had some clients stop projects, where others are ramping up production and adding new products. I've also been receiving invitations from prospective clients on UpWork for possible projects. With schools across the world closed and everyone switching to online methods, I am busy. There are times I wish I could binge watch Netflix or read a book, but that is not going to happen any time soon. Instead, I want to exceed my clients expectations, so although I'm living on an island in Belize, this girl is busy!!
Why am I not freaking out?
I'm a numbers person.
There are over 7.7 billion people in the world
On any given day, over 150,000 people die in the world from a long list of reasons (mostly old age), that's over 50,000,000 people who die annually
On any given day, over 360,000 babies are born in the world
On any given day, over 8,000 people die in the US, that's nearly 3,000,000 people that die in the US annually
The daily birthrate exceeds the daily death rate so the world population will still increase and we are not in a position to believe the world is coming to an end yet
When will I freak out?
I won't know for sure, but I think a good metric for my freak out time would be, if the number of daily deaths from the virus alone exceeds the average daily deaths, then I will be happy to run around like a chicken with its head cut off, yelling and screaming, like everyone else. You do not have to like my point of view or how I think. This blog is my outlet to journal and share my personal experiences. If you don't like it, stop reading it...it's that simple.
I have great faith in our brilliant doctors and scientists who are working endlessly for a vaccination. I can only cross my fingers that people across the world are staying home, and reducing the spread.
For now, I wish everyone a peaceful, healthy, and happy day.
More pictures of Belize: click here
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