Adios, Belize. Or should I say, Hasta Luego. You were even lovelier than I had envisioned. And the people. The beautiful natives with their laidback, happy attitude. Genuine happiness. The children chasing each other into the water. The dogs roaming the beaches. The food (oh, Belize, you sure do know the way to this gluttonous girl's heart). The drinks that smelled like the world's most perfect tanning salon-those drinks sure made my friends' days seem even brighter. And sure, there was the Rasta man with dreads down to his butt and a handful of aliases who knew nothing of personal space boundaries and who found my sobriety amusing. And yeah, there was the irie man who asked to touch my legs, proclaiming he was a “freak about skin”. (Oh yeah, buddy??? Well, I'm a freak about karate kicking creeps in the nuts.) And, this is hard for me to admit because I truly was enamored with our little isla bonita, there was homophobia flitting about, which just made us all so sad. But. But, Belize, you have water like no other and the time I spent diving into the turquoise, amongst the most colorful of God's creatures, was transcendental. The massive manta ray that glided above our heads made me forget to breathe. The sharks, in all of their awesome and formidable wonder, were truly spellbinding. And the God-loving people that keep the island running are showing the peace and light within. I will be back, Belize.