24 June, 201524 June, 2015 Caroline BachLeave a comment

Snorkeling with Manatees

Belize Manatee Tour

The manatee is a sea mammal sometimes referred to as the sea cow, and a couple of weeks ago we went for a snorkeling tour to look for one here in Belize. We were lucky. It was the first time ever that I got to see this huge animal, measuring about 3 metres and with a fat, clumsy looking body, the manatee was graciously swimming around and using the least effort possible when moving its little front flippers to turn, it was really funny. We kept our distance to respect the animal, and got to be completely alone with it for a while as it was checking us out, seemingly unbothered by our presence. A very cool experience with one of nature’s more strange and less studied creations.

Do check out the video below to see how beautifully calm and slow this thing is.

Belize Manatee Tour

23 June, 201524 June, 2015 Caroline BachLeave a comment

Panama City, Part 2 – The work part of the story: Learning, sharing and dancing!

Panama City

So as I wrote yesterday, I went to Panama for a UNICEF training on my big love – Communication for Development, and MoRES (Monitoring Results for Equity Systems). The training was organized jointly by the Regional Office for Latin America and the Caribbean and the C4D section in NYHQ, and we got a full week packed with information, presentations, exercises and clinics. It was great to meet familiar faces and some old colleagues and friends again, and meeting up with people who work on similar things and face similar challenges is always refreshing and inspiring. We exchanged ideas, support and thoughts, and we really learnt a lot from the experts and from each other. It was very busy (we didn’t even have coffee breaks!) but it was worth all the stress, and in the end I really felt like I had grown a lot in my understanding of how to integrate both C4D and MoRES in my work and in our Country Programme in Belize. Just the feeling a training is supposed to give you. Thanks all!

Panama City

Panama UNICEF Training

Panama City

23 June, 201523 June, 2015 Caroline BachLeave a comment

Panama City, Part 1 – The walks & the pleasures

Panama City

I was going to Panama City for a workshop on C4D and MoRES organized by the UNICEF Regional Office for Latin America and the Caribbean, but since I’ve never been in the city before I really wanted to get a taste of it now that I had the opportunity. I changed my tickets so that I would have a day before and the weekend after the workshop to explore a little bit of town, and Luc came with me. I took a lot of photos, so I’ll try to somehow split them up by work and pleasure.

Panama City was really an interesting place to be in and I was delirious with joy at the amount of food options available and cool street art all around. We went to the cinema twice, had nice food every day, went crazy in a grocery store and went all in on shopping and walking around. There were no limits to the pleasures. And we stayed in a fantastic little apartment at a perfect spot in Casco Viejo. :)

Panama City

22 June, 2015 Caroline BachLeave a comment

Piotr, come look – you won’t Belize this!

Piotr in Belize

My awesomely awesome friend Piotr from Warsaw came to visit me in April, and we went to the islands for some R&R. It was simply unbelizeable.

Piotr in Belize

22 June, 2015 Caroline BachLeave a comment

Back in Belize

So I came back to Belize after a month of contract break. Back to routines of shopping veggies at P-market, back to friends, back to beautiful sunsets and randomness. And my apartment that I am so fond of. :)
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Back in Belize

22 June, 201522 June, 2015 Caroline BachLeave a comment

A night in Miami

When travelling from Copenhagen to Belize, one has to spend a night somewhere in the US since the only flights to Belize leave in the morning, it’s usually either Atlanta, Houston or Miami – so on my way back in early April this year, I scored Miami – and spent the night at this handsome man’s place. ;)

Miguel is a very good friend of a very good friend of mine, and you know how when you meet the people your favourite people love – how you so often automatically get along with them too? Well, Miguel was a real gem and we had a great dinner and a very nice time together. Short but sweet. Gracias homie!

A night in Miami

18 June, 201518 June, 2015 Caroline BachLeave a comment

Climbing the Calanques de Sormiou – a beautiful place even more beautiful when seen from above.

Climbing the Calanques

As promised, here are the photos from when Luc and I went out to the Calanques de Sormiou (almost exactly a year later!) for some outdoor rock climbing. I’m really happy I got introduced to this sport, it’s fun, it’s exciting, it’s the perfect amount of scary and challenging. There’s really something about being at the point of “argghh, my toes hurt, I don’t know how to go higher from here, I can’t find a good grip! Also, if I fall I will die.” and then thinking “Ok, I got this, just one more try” then finding good grip and moving higher until you reach the top. And all of this while the sun is setting in the corner of your eye. The Calanques de Sormiou next to Marseille is such a beautiful and inspiring place in itself that you would be happy to just sit and look at it – looking at it while hanging from a rope, with the wind in your hair and having just challenged yourself and climbed a rock – now that’s something special.

Climbing the Calanques

18 June, 201518 June, 2015 Caroline BachLeave a comment

Glimpses from Marseille

Marseille 2015

Marseille was next on my list of places to visit in March, and Luc on the list of people to meet. I went for a couple of days and ended up extending the stay, since life is just simply better in Marseille than it is in Malmö. We had a lot of nice dinners, celebrated Luc’s mom’s birthday, went dancing, and walked around. We also went climbing, but I’ve saved those photos for a separate post. Marseille is cool, it reminds me of Malmö to some extent, but the weather is of course nicer and it feels a bit more lively. The culture of people getting out of their caves to socialize and have wine every evening definitely makes it extra interesting. And then there’s all the street art, of course. Enjoy.

Marseille 2015

17 June, 201517 June, 2015 Caroline Bach1 Comment

Trains, family and friends – Five days through Poland

Five days in Poland

Continuing my month-long contract break in March, and in an attempt to squeeze as many people I love as possible into that slot, I went for a five day tour around Poland. Grandparents, daddy and a quick dinner with my favourite person in Warsaw. It was short, but it was nice, and I absolutely love going by train in Poland. Thanks to that long and relaxing gliding through Polish forests and villages, I finished reading Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie – and I highly recommend it. Visiting Warsaw again was nice, and I was struck by how fast it seems to be growing. So many new cool restaurants and bars, fresh buildings, roads.. the entire atmosphere was buzzing with energy and I felt that I really wanted to be in the midst of it all and live in Warsaw once again, a place where I have good friends and where I can feel at home. Ay, the nostalgia!

Five days in Poland

wawa wawa

Five days in Poland

16 June, 201516 June, 2015 Caroline Bach2 Comments

Love & Play in Stockholm

Stockholm family visit

I have a family in Stockholm. A bonus family that I found in Mozambique. My best friend, sister and great inspiration, and her two children whom I adore to little pieces. Ava sometimes says “My mom is your big sister, and I’m your little sister, isn’t that funny?” And it’s indeed the best possible set up I can imagine, I’m getting the best of all worlds with these three.

I only had two days in Sweden after our return from Jordan and before having to move on to Poland, but I had to squeeze in meeting my favourites. So I did. A very pleasant six-hour train ride and two days of shared time, complete with playing, loving hugs and a long proper talk. Moments that nurture the soul.

Stockholm family visit