Now, more than 30 years later, I consider myself a decent travel journalist, though maybe not a very seasoned traveller.
I usually travel by invitation and everything is arranged for me. When I was younger, I would often fly business or first class, but now it's rare, and I usually have a publicist or host representative hand me down. I'm pampered like a child. They tell me where they'll be and when, and I show up. They tell me when I'll be back and see me off. I don't have to think too much.
Pretty sweet job, right?But on my first family trip with G Adventures Canada to Belize and Guatemala, I realized the limits of my privilege.
For some reason, I assumed I would be returning home a day later than the rest of my group. As my wife drove me to the airport, she asked, “You're leaving on Sunday, right?” “No, not until Monday night,” I replied with all the confidence of a grown man. “Um, I thought you said Sunday,” she replied. “No, Monday,” I replied.
The G Adventures Canada Family Group was invited to Belize City for a dinner hosted by the Belize Tourism Board. (Photo by Bruce Parkinson)
All was well, including disembarkation on the plane and transfer to our group’s first arranged hotel in Belize City, where I met the 15 women accompanying me, travel agent staff from across Canada, Jenna English, Global Purpose Specialist for G Adventures, and Juan Carlos (JC) Martinez, G Chief Experience Officer, the only man on the trip.
Despite the scorching heat (100 degrees Fahrenheit) and humidity (100% at times), I had the best week of my life. Our group was amazing, I was welcomed as “one of the girls” and had so much fun getting to know everyone (I thought the guys' “locker room” conversations were stimulating. Damn you girls!), I hit it off with JC, the CEO, learned a ton from him, and built a friendship that will last.
With one exception (there is always one), our group was extremely kind to one another, incredibly helpful and caring, and spent 8 days laughing, sharing stories, and having mind-blowing experiences that we will treasure forever. The hotel was not the 5-star hotel I normally stay in, but that's not why I travel.
I'm a connection seeker and I'm inspired by new people and places, so on my travels I have to go out of my way to find those connections, and because G Adventures focuses on using local hotels and restaurants, those connections are included in the package.
Tanya Vigean (left) and Debbie Lowen accompanied G Adventures on a family trip to Belize and Guatemala. (Photo by Bruce Parkinson)
I accepted an invitation from Tanya Vijant of Always Travel in Williams Lake, British Columbia, for an “extra night” before flying home. Our G Trip would end on Cay Corker in Belize, and she'd arranged for two nights at the luxurious Marriott Autograph Collection Hotel Alaïa on Ambergris Caye. We traveled together on a high-speed ferry and I tucked into the couch or fold-out bed in the enormous suite for the flight to the airport the next morning.
Tanya, a strong, mature, independent and bubbly 28-year-old woman, was a fantastic companion throughout the journey. We set off on the ferry together and took a taxi to our new hotel. Having stayed in functional but modest accommodations throughout the trip, we couldn't stop laughing when we arrived at Alaïa.
The beautiful terrace of a one-bedroom suite at Marriott Autograph Collection Alaïa in San Pedro, Belize. (Photo by Bruce Parkinson)
Our friendly Eric greeted us with cool eucalyptus scented towels and a very luxurious welcome drink. We lounged by the pool and had lunch while waiting for our suite to be ready. Laughter broke out again as Eric showed us to our suite, which was spacious and equipped with every modern convenience imaginable.
Once I was seated, I figured (as an experienced traveler) that I should check in for my American Airlines flight the next day, 22 hours later. Instead of being able to select a seat, I got a message saying I had a flight credit. I assumed the flight was canceled and contacted G's aviation department to find out what was going on.
What happened was, I was booked on a flight that day and then I didn't show up for the flight. I checked my paperwork and sure enough, it was all written in black and white. It wasn't the first time I said to myself, “I'm so stupid.”
While G got ready for his new flight, Tanya and I swam in the gorgeous suspended pool on the roof of Alaïa as the sun went down. Dinner brought more laughs. We headed for a reasonably priced local restaurant but somehow ended up in a super posh boutique hotel with no name. Still, we knew we'd come to the right place and it was even nicer than we'd expected, so we sat at the bar and looked at the menu.
“Oh no!” we exclaimed. The appetizer was more expensive than any meal we'd had this week. Heck, the price of a drink was more than we'd paid for dinner so far. While the staff was setting the table for dinner, we wondered how we could “embarrass ourselves” and walk out of the place without feeling too embarrassed.
The bartender, like everyone I met in Belize, was incredibly kind and friendly. We strolled down to the beach, where about 50 yards away was a beautiful but much more modest resort and restaurant. For about the same price as one appetizer for two of us at our first stop, we enjoyed fiery jalapeño poppers, two meals, and four drinks.
A comfy sofa at the Marriott Autograph Collection Alaïa in San Pedro, Belize. (Photo by Bruce Parkinson)
We returned to our oasis at Alaïa and went to bed early, Tanya in her gorgeous, spacious room and me on the super comfy couch in the living room. Tanya has kindly invited us to stay the night, so we'll check out the hotel and explore Ambergris Caye and San Pedro. With any luck (and the watchful eye of an experienced advisor), we'll be back home on Tuesday, spending a few days washing our sweat-soaked clothes and repacking for the Tourism Cares Meaningful Travel Summit in Panama.
And this idiot travel writer will read his documents very carefully.