Hi, all--

I'm working on a story for the U.S. edition of Marie Claire magazine, and I'm trying to find women ages 25-39 who went on vacation and never came back.

Perhaps you fell in love on vacation (with a person or even the destination itself), or maybe you "found yourself" in this new location. Possibly you were moved to stay on as a volunteer. Whatever the reason, I'd love to hear your story. Please e-mail me ASAP at AprilPBernard@aol.com. Thanks very much.

Hi,
I just saw your note posted and wonder whether it's too late to reply.. well in case it isn't...

I left my home in Wales at the end of July 2001, intending to travel for a year. I had no set plan but decided that I would go where the flow took me. I spent 6 weeks visiting a friend in Vancouver and traveling throughout B.C. in September I arranged to meet some friends for a joint birthday bash in Belize. They had been working there for 3 months with Raleigh International and were having a weeks vacation in Caye Caulker before heading back to Wales. I joined them for the week and then headed off on my travels through Central America.

I passed through Belmopan and stayed at a great jungle lodge called Caves Branch for the night before heading south to Dangriga. After a week of exploring Gales Point, Maya Centre, Cockscoombe I headed for Placencia for a couple of relaxing days.

I met some other tourists at the Rasta Pasta Restaurant in Placencia and we got talking about the hurricane heading for Belize, and more specifically, Placencia. There was brave talk of staying in a hotel with supplies of banana bread and a bottle of rum to "experience" the hurricane, but when it came to it the next morning, and the hurricane was getting closer, the 6 of us decided that it was prudent to leave the Peninsular as soon as possible.

We chartered a pickup truck to take us to Belmopan, where we would look for a shelter. The sense of anticipation and adventure was high as we sped up the Hummingbird Highway in heavy showers of rain, not knowing where we would spend the night, how big the hurricane was and what devistation it might leave behind it. Peter Eltringham, the authour of the Rough Guide to Belize happened to be one of our fellow travellers. He had experience of running away from hurricanes, and also knew Ian Anderson of Caves Branch Jungle Lodge very well. He suggested that we should call in on Ian to find out what the status of the Hurricane was. Having stayed there one night, I agreed that that would be a good idea.

We were greeted at the lodge by Ian. He struck me as a very confident, humourous and generous person. He offered us accommodations for the night and assured us that we would be safe at Caves Branch. I trusted him and felt assured that we were in safe hands.

The Hurricane did hit Belize that night. We experienced heavy rains at the lodge with no damage. The southern district had however been hit very badly by the hurricane, named Iris, and villages in Toledo were in dire need of help. The guides at Caves Branch are all trained in cave and wilderness rescue and have extensive medical training. They were preparing to take food and medical supplies down to the Toledo District to help in a relief effort. The six of us that had sheltered at Caves Branch the night of the hurricane all volunteered to go down south with them and help out.

We were the first relief operation to reach the area, and we stayed in San Marcos village for two weeks. We set up a medical centre, built a kitchen distributed food and treated locals for minor medical ailements. Ian came with his guides to help out in the operation. I was impressed by his leadership, even though he allowed his guides to lead the operation, he was constantly advising them and supporting their decisions. His generosity of spirit and dedication to the cause of training a national Beliezian First Response Team made me realise what a magnanamous and strong spirited man he was.

So as the 2 week operation went on, we got closer and closer. We got to know each other quite well very quickly, especially as we both became ill with dehydration, stomach problems and Ian experienced a night with me and a dose of Giardia, an amoeba which lives in the stomach and produces the most vile smelling gases imagineable. Lets say we saw the less romantic to the relationship from the word go!

I stayed at Caves Branch after we got back from Toledo, got involved in various things that go on at Caves Branch, such as the rescue training, and utilising my TV camera person background in making promotional videos for the lodge and eventually other resorts in Belize.

Ian and I have had our moments, but we know each other at a deeper level now and I plan to stay at Caves Branch with Ian for a long time yet.

e-mail me at lynwenmg@hotmail.com if you are interested in using my story.
regards,
Lynwen Griffiths