West Wind Moves
Escape was at hand for this travellin’ man
Best travel decision I ever made: leaving the UK on 5 February 2021.
The second Covid lockdown was announced on 19 December 2020, cancelling the holidays for Londoners. I was fortunate to have Janet and Will, close friends of mine and a couple, living in my neighbourhood. For two bleak weeks, we held our despair at bay, enjoying long nights of booze, playing cards and spinning tunes, over Xmas and New Year’s.
Back at work in the first week of January, my boss informed me that I wouldn’t be producing anything for the first six months of the year. Nobody could predict how long this lockdown would last, so they were pausing my programmes until the summer. I was facing a couple months, at least, stuck in a claustrophobic one-bedroom apartment. What I’d be doing for work in that time was unclear. What was clear was that I’d have no life. It was winter, so I wouldn’t be venturing outside much, either. I was worried for my mental health.
You probably know me: I’m an extrovert, a social butterfly, I crave connections. When Covid hit, I realised that nearly all of my London friends were in relationships and cohabitating. This was not something that mattered before, since I would see people one-on-one, in pairs and groups. The lockdowns forced my friends to retreat to their relationships for refuge; many were too scared to break the rules. I accepted it then, but as a single person living alone, it was tough.
Janet and Will were planning to leave London in January “to start a digital nomad community in Belize.” (All those words made sense to me individually, but as a sentence, what did that even mean?) At one of our final sessions at their flat over the holidays, when I complained about the depressing months ahead, Will suggested I join them.
After receiving that news from work, I began to take Will’s offer seriously. Two weeks later, I booked flights to Cancun, Mexico and on to Belize. I’d been to Mexico before but I couldn’t have placed Belize on a map. What the hell was I doing? As with all my major life decisions, I weighed the pros and cons, disregarded financial prudence, and went with what felt right. Surprisingly, those I told about my pandemic escape plan were universally encouraging, even my conservative parents.
I arrived in Belize City on 6 February 2021. A half hour connecting flight to Placencia, a village on the coast, in the smallest plane I’ve ever been in. The “full flight” contained eight people, including the pilot, and the cabin was about as long as I am tall. The plane flew low, above the clear blue Caribbean. I was nervous and excited. I didn’t know what adventures or dangers lay ahead, how long I would stay. I trusted Janet and Will. They saved me from a horrible winter in London. (Thank you, dear friends!)
I ended up staying for a month in Placencia, in a beautiful resort with an assortment of characters. It was the trip of a lifetime, especially rare since it was in the middle of a pandemic. I have written a longer piece about an experience there that I will share one day. Previously, I wrote about the month I spent in Mexico, which was right after this time in Belize.
This playlist was started in February and March 2021. The music doesn’t relate to Belize or Mexico per se; it captures what I felt when I was there.
the freedom of travel
the elation of escape
the risk of relocation
a new adventure, a new soundtrack
to mute the distractions
to quell the wildfires
as the west wind moves me
as echoes ring still