A Break from Vacation

Aaron Palacio ♦

Photo by Aaron Palacio

Like the rest of the country, my mother and I were on this indefinite vacation that COVID-19 bestowed on us. To say we were bored would be an understatement. We were also “gifted” with a forest fire close to Belmopan, which caused my area to become smoky and made it hard to breathe. This only added to my depression that was caused by the boredom and my constant worry about school, social life, and my relationship. Thus, as we used to do whenever the family needed a break, we headed down south to Placencia, a place rich with sun and sea and devoid of work and worry.

When I was younger the drive itself used to be half the fun. But now it was different, especially on the Hummingbird Highway, the most beautiful in Belize—or at least it should have been. As my mother and I journeyed south, we noted the bars, supermarkets, mini commercial businesses, and houses along the highway—villages that seemed to have popped out of nowhere and were flourishing. This is great, of course, but it left us a little sad as it took away a bit of the natural charm of the Hummingbird we had come to love.

Nevertheless, we had a great time reminiscing about previous family trips. Like when my dad would show us this "magical” hill near the Cisco and Chanona Farms that would pull cars back up the hill when put in neutral, instead of gravity doing its thing and sending them down the hill. Back then, we would have to drive around the hills, and the road was more than adequate. However, with the country’s increasing developments has come the need for wider highways. The government decided to do something about the occasional “S-road” accidents by tunneling through the hills to straighten out portions of the road that used to awe kids away from their devices, if only for a few seconds. Now, traveling through those parts made me feel uneasy, like being trapped between two mud walls where verdant hills once were.

Through the haze of melancholy and nostalgia, I also remembered how I’d fight with my parents to be allowed to ride in the pan of the pickup. Though I’d be spending the whole vacation in the sun anyway, I wanted that sun-kissed negro glow even before we got to Placencia. Plus, sitting in the pan allowed me a much better view of the Hummingbird highlights. I’d always look out for the Sleeping Giant, trying to find the head, stomach, and legs of that most famous of Belize’s mountain chains and one of its largest inland attractions. Further along, we’d stop at Citrus Products of Belize Limited. It was a family tradition to buy two pineapple-orange juice concentrates for the weekend and extras to take back home. We loved the sharp, natural flavor. Just as much as we loved Placencia.

Photo by Margaret Williams

So, by the time my mom and I entered the village, my sadness had eased up, and I began my house watching—looking at the cool houses and getting ideas for when I build my own. And Mom and I both watched for the ideal beach villa we imagined in our crazy rich, luxurious future. Then, as if straight out of a fantasy as well, appeared the gorgeous beachside hotel we’d be staying in. Laru Beya has a beautiful entrance with towering trees waving their welcome to patrons and highlighting the artfully constructed thatch-roofed gazebos. Then there are the swaying palm trees, delightfully bordering the sparkling water fountains and leading guests out to the pools.

The receptionist’s welcome caught me a bit off-guard when she greeted me by my name as I walked in. By now, there was very little that could throw off my excitement, except that the sky, which had already let us down during the forest fires, was threatening to betray us once again as the sun was becoming engulfed by grey rain clouds. Was our vacation going to be wasted?

Photo by Aaron Palacio

As we were being guided to our room, the sign on one of the buildings, the Jabiru, gave me Vietnam flashbacks of the University of Belize—UB being the main thing that made me need this break in the first place. However, walking into my room, I found my happiness again as I saw, taped to the sliding door, a balloon that said, “Happy belated birthday.” I got a tiny bit emotional, and I looked at my mom. “Did you ask them to do this?” She looked at me and smiled, shaking her head. The hotel staff had done this on their own.

Starving, we went to the bar called Quarter Deck, a name I will NOW never forget because of my numerous failed attempts to put in the Wi-Fi password; I kept thinking it was Quarterback and not Quarter Deck. When our food arrived, I was caught by surprise again because, as I said, I’m not used to people who I don’t know casually saying my name. Nevertheless, extra points from me for I did appreciate that they took the time to remember their customers’ names. I enjoyed their ceviche appetizer and the rice and beans with stewed beef as the main course, with a pina colada, my usual, followed by a margarita because I wanted to try something new.

After lunch, we returned to our rooms because the sun had said goodbye and the rain was having her way. I got into bed and decided to watch the first three episodes of the Star Wars movie. Occasionally, though, I would have to pause my movie to help some people who didn’t know what a vacation was—classmates who waited until the very last minute to ask me to help them with their costumes for our World Drama class. But that was still fun because telling people what matches and what doesn’t seems to be something I’ve been doing since forever. In the evening, dinner came knocking on my door. Some good old chicken alfredo with fries. It was HEAVENLY. The way the night was going, I was feeling like a true royal.

But then I had to take the futon, which tried to turn me into a burrito while I was sleeping.

Photo courtesy of Laru Beya Resort

After being in a room all night with the air conditioner at its lowest and the three fans on, the sun’s greeting was much needed in the morning, as well as our breakfast. My stomach and I got into an argument, and we settled for fried jacks, beans, bacon, and eggs with the best onion sauce, which was delivered to the room. After the satisfying meal and one more episode of Star Wars, it was time to leave the hotel behind.

My mom and I checked out and went to get ice cream from Tuttifrutti Gelateria where the lady who owns the place, as always, knew which gelato I would get—a huge cup of Stracciatella. Just as she used to know what flavor my dad liked. He always used to get peanut butter ice cream. ♦

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Aaron Palacio is an English major at the University of Belize. He lives in Belmopan and enjoys writing fantasy and nonfiction and learning how to improve on character development and world-building.