Rooted in Nature, Adventure Lived.
Welcome to Belize Jungle Life!Ā Iām excited to invite you to join me on this personal journey of the adventure of living in the jungles of Belize.Ā Through my blog, I share my adventures and experiences of living the jungle lifestyleāimmersed in a jungle, while encountering incredible wildlife like jaguars, howler monkeys, and boa constrictors, and discovering the magic of nature every day.
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About
My website
Welcome to the Safari Arie website as I attempt to document my jungle living lifestyle in the jungles of Belize.
The genesis of this website was to document my bike ride adventure from Canada to the bottom of Argentina.Ā However, let’s just say I got about halfway down before time caught up with me, and I had to abandon that dream to pursue another – the dream of living in Belize.Ā
Ideally, a website has a single focus to attract a specific target audience.Ā However, mine does not have a single focus.Ā Instead, my main focus is living life in the jungles of Belize and the daily adventure that naturally occur.Ā As a result, this website has become a hodge-podge of many subjects and themes.
Some of the categories of content that can be found here includes the following:
>documentation of my day-to-day life and struggles in the jungles of Belize
>Belize flora and fauna that I come across in my day
>documentation of my 26,000 km bike ride across Canada, the US and Mexico to my home in Belize
>assorted blog posts on bike touring in general
>personal journaling of how I interpret my life (a form of therapy) and thoughts about reflection and wisdom
>my poetry
Expanding on these categories
Life in Belize
My first visit to Belize was in 1997.Ā Later, I bought a house in the Community Baboon Sanctuary in 2003.Ā As of now, I live in Belize on a 42 acre farm in the village of Scotland Halfmoon.Ā Every day is an adventure and I do my best to document it along with lots of photography.
Belize – Flora and Fauna
On any given day, I come across creatures that I have never seen before, as well as creatures that I see on a regular basis.Ā Typically, one of two things happens: either my favorite photos get lost in the hundreds of photos I take on a monthly basis, or, after getting help with identifying an insect (for example), I have forgotten what it is six months later.Ā Therefore, this page helps me keep my best photos all together and serves as an easy reference for me to re-identify an unusual insect or creature that I have found again.
2019 – 2021 Bike Ride
On November 12, 2019, starting from St. John’s Newfoundland, I embarked on a journey, biking 12,340 kilometres across Canada during the 2019-20 Canadian winter and Covid-19.Ā After that, I continued south through the USA biking almost 8,000 kilometres along the Pacific Ocean and Southwest.Ā Then, upon entering Mexico at Mexicali, I biked another 6,000 kilometres south and across Mexico to Chetumal, arriving at my home in Belize on November 25, 2021.
Bike and Camping
Biking 26,000 kilometres gave me some insight to a few challenges and experiences about bike touring in general.
Personal Journaling and Reflections
This category is a work in progress, and at this point, I’m not sure what this will look like or where it’s going. Ā To be honest, the internal works of my mind is not a pretty sight.Ā In a addition, I also enjoy collecting quotes of wisdom and reflection, especially those that inspire better questions.Ā With that in mind, I hope to explore that here as well.
Poetry
For me, my poetry is largely an observation of an emotion and not a cry for help, as most people would assume; therefore, I rarely share my poems on social media anymore. I donāt need words of comfort because I simply wrote a poem.
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For better or worse this is about a guy named Arie Hoogerbrugge.
Who is Arie Hoogerbrugge? Ā Ā
Arie was born May 18, 1973 and raised middle class in the small town of Grimsby, Ontario Canada with 2 younger brothers.
The following terms in one form or another reflect who Arie is as a person.
Christian, introverted, passionate, alone in the world, risk taker, socially awkward, a thinker, broken inside, adventure seeker, organized, a farmer, lover of beauty, mindful, complicated, reptile and amphibian lover, freedom first, unorthodoxed, despises stupidity, podcast lover, accountable, poet, generally misunderstood, tree lover, probably foolish, minimalist, conscious, entrepreneurial, trusts no one, impatient, hard worker, blogger, single, old fashioned, ex-truck driver, cheap Dutchman, stubborn, loyal, serious personality, goal oriented, cyclist, lazy, romantic, fussy eater, photographer, unbalanced lifestyle, neat freak and has many failures and regrets in life.
Thanks for stopping by
Arie Hoogerbrugge “May your greatest dreams and goals be ahead of you; not behind you.”
Stay in touch
Belize Keynote & Jungle Lifestyle Content
What Itās Really Like to Live in the Jungles of Belize
When most people imagine life in the jungles of Belize, Iām not exactly sure what they picture: perhaps toucans flying overhead, lush greenery, and a peaceful escape from modern stress. That part is...
šæDoās and Donāts of Living in the Jungle: A Practical Guide for Belize Jungle Survivalšæ
Thinking about living in the jungle? Whether you're dreaming of a back-to-nature lifestyle in Belize or planning a self-sufficient off-grid homestead in a tropical climate, jungle living requires...
How I ended up in Belize
I originally wrote and published this post in December 2020 while still on my bike ride and happened to stumble upon it buried in 1,000 other blog posts. I scanned through it, made some edits, and...
Recent Blogs:
Belize Part 180 (Aug 18 to 21) – Placencia
August 18 Life in the jungle: I didn't fall asleep right away, probably as a result of yesterday's nap. Ā I set my alarm for 4:30 AM, as today I head to Placencia. Ā Rather than leave my bike in the...
Belize Part 179 (Aug 13 to 17)
A Giant Metallic Ceiba Borer August 13 Life in the jungle: There was rain in the night, which is generally my cue to spend most of the day in front of the computer.Ā I published a blog post I...
Belize Part 178 (Aug 10 to 12)
August 10 Life in the jungle: First thing, I slaughtered a broiler (meat) chicken, a duck, and a rooster. Ā I then planted three Moringa and an Annatto shrub (Ricardo seasoning) seedlings in the...
Belize Part 177 (Aug 2 to 9)
A Mexican Masked tree frog The day before, I went to the village to arrange for multiple deliveries of cement blocks to complete a greenhouse floor expansion.Ā During the rainy season, itās only by...
Belize Part 176 (July 27 to Aug 1)
A few days ago, even though Iām way too busy, I decided to write a memoir about the last 12 years of my life and what it took to get to this point. July 27 Life in the jungle: There was no rain...
Belize Part 175 (July 22 to 26)
Cover photo of the Frogman Resale thrift shop in Roaring Creek July 22 Life in the jungle: Two days ago, I had a piece of wire under tension pierce my bicep; my arm is still a little sore from...