Since you can’t come to us right now, I want to deliver some Ambergris Caye beauty over to you, and with it, a message of hope.
First, a message of hope
This pandemic is unlike anything we have seen in living memory. Never has the entire planet ground to a halt so quickly and uniformly. This concept called social distancing is unnatural for humans, who crave togetherness and communication, and for the first time are noticing just how strange it is to not make physical contact with others by shaking hands, hugging, or just simply sitting next to each other.
Many of us, in years past, have complained about our jobs, about money, about our political leaders, and we balance that out by looking forward to events that make our lives special. This might be the start of baseball season, or attending a wedding, or planning a vacation. Usually these special events happen during our time off, and we work hard to be able to enjoy them.
At the moment, of course, people are stuck in a kind of Twilight Zone. We don’t know when it will end, and we don’t know what life will look like once it’s over. But I want to remind you of the fact that it will end, and life will return to normal. Think back to what you were doing this time last year – April 2019. If you flip backwards in your calendar to the appointments and events of that month, they probably feel like they happened just last week, not a year ago. Memory is strange that way.
When looking forward into the future, a year seems like a long time. When looking back into the past, it is just a blip. Science is capable of developing a vaccine for this virus. It is an understandable thing. It takes time to develop, test and deploy, but it will come, and given the number of scientists working on it, and the capacity to share their knowledge, it will likely be in operation within a year.
In writing these words I do not intend to ignore the tragedy of lives that have been lost. But in times like these, it is vital that we focus on everything we can do to not only stay physically healthy, but mentally and emotionally healthy as well. So, even though my posts are usually about convincing you to come and join us here on Ambergris Caye, we know that is probably not very possible right now. So we want to come to you. Here’s how.
Our Live Webcam
Do you want to see a Caribbean sunrise? Do you want to see if the tide is in, or whether the lazy palm trees are swaying in the breeze today? Do you want to feel part of the Coastal Breezes family, even if you haven’t visited us yet? Then check out our live webcam. It updates every thirty seconds and looks out over our beachfront yard and the sea beyond. Maybe you’ll even see Charlie, our canine ambassador, wandering by.
Our Instagram Photos
I am passionate about taking photos in and around Ambergris Caye. And why not? The whole area is so photogenic. My photos aren’t just about palm trees and beaches, but also the restaurants, the people, the signs, everything that you would see if you came down here. Check them out on Instagram here, or next time you’re on Instagram, search for CoastalBreezes_Belize.
Our YouTube Channel
We have a YouTube channel. This is where I post some informal videos, of driving along in our golf cart, walking around the beach houses, even flying to and from Ambergris Caye. They’re real. They’re what you would see if you were here, or more correctly, what you will see when you get here. Visit our YouTube channel here and subscribe!
Zoom Backgrounds
If you are one of the thousands of people who are discovering the world of video meetings while working or studying from home, you might have discovered that brands like Zoom and Cisco Webex allow you to add your own virtual backgrounds so your colleagues have something else to look at other than your living room. To add a virtual background, you need a greenscreen, which is surprisingly inexpensive. Amazon, for example, sells a 6’ x 9’ sheet for $26.20. You simply attach the green sheet to the wall, or order a stand to hold it up, and then tweak the settings on Zoom or Webex to tell it you’re using a greenscreen. At that point you can select any image you want as your backdrop.
What could be better than a beautiful photo of the beaches of Ambergris Caye? We have a bunch of photos available on the website and Instagram that you can download for your personal use. All we would ask is that when someone on the conference says, “What a beautiful backdrop! Where is that?” you tell them it’s from Coastal Breezes in Belize.
So hopefully these four options will allow you to enjoy the beauty of Ambergris Caye even during this period of social distancing and isolation. Hopefully, too, it will inspire you to book a trip as soon as it is physically possible to do so, so that you can breathe in the warm salt air of the Caribbean and pour life back into your body and soul. We, of course, will be here to welcome you when you arrive. Until then, please be safe, stay home, and take care of each other.
For more information about our beach house properties, please visit us at coastalbreezes.bz, and follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.