Rooted in Nature, Adventure Lived.
Welcome to Belize Jungle Life! I’m excited to invite you to join me on this personal journey of the adventure of living in the jungles of Belize. Through my blog, I share my adventures and experiences of living the jungle lifestyle—immersed 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. 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.
Ideally, a website has a single focus to attract a specific target audience. However, mine does not have a single focus. Instead, my main focus is living life in the jungles of Belize and the daily adventure that naturally occur. 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. Later, I bought a house in the Community Baboon Sanctuary in 2003. As of now, I live in Belize on a 42 acre farm in the village of Scotland Halfmoon. 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. 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. 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. After that, I continued south through the USA biking almost 8,000 kilometres along the Pacific Ocean and Southwest. 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. To be honest, the internal works of my mind is not a pretty sight. In a addition, I also enjoy collecting quotes of wisdom and reflection, especially those that inspire better questions. With that in mind, I hope to explore that here as well.
Poetry
Most of my poetry is not exactly uplifting. Read at your own discretion.
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For better or worse this is about a guy named Arie Hoogerbrugge.
Who is Arie Hoogerbrugge?
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.”
***Note – It took me 18 months to get an internet connection in Belize. I am working my fastest to get up to date on my Belize blogs. I currently about a half year behind in posting my daily Belize blog posts.
Stay in touch
Belize Keynote & Jungle Lifestyle Content
The Key to Surviving the Jungle Lifestyle in Belize – Discipline
As an expat, the jungle living lifestyle is likely a completely new concept. Moving to a country like Belize is immensely exciting but comes with an entirely different way of living, from...
Three Years in the Jungle: My Life in Belize, A life I Never Expected
I still remember November 1997 - my first time on a plane. As we descended into Belize, the jungle canopy stretched as far as the eye could see. Disembarking onto the tarmac at Philip S.W. Goldson...
How to Scorpion-Proof Your House & Other Arachnids Found in Belize
Living in Belize comes with many natural wonders, from lush rainforests to beautiful beaches. However, it also means sharing your space with a range of local wildlife, including scorpions....
Recent Blogs:
Belize Part 145 (Dec 10 to 16)
December 10 Life in the jungle: Yesterday I met a Swedish cyclist biking around the world. I convinced him to stay the night. The day before I had decided to start going to bed earlier and set my...
Belize Part 144 (Dec 2 to 9)
Things are very muddy after two back-to-back Tropical storms. December 2 Life in the jungle: Today was not the busiest of days. The first thing I did was head to the village for groceries. It's...
Belize Part 143 (Nov 26 to Dec 1)
On November 15 less than a week after flood waters from Tropical Storm Nadine subsided we got hit with Tropical Storm Sara. On November 16 we experienced top-gallon again. Top-gallon means the...
Belize Part 142 (Nov 19 to 25)
On November 15 less than a week after flood waters from Tropical Storm Nadine subsided, we got hit with Tropical Storm Sara. On November 16 we experienced top-gallon again. Top-gallon means the...
Belize Part 141 (Nov 8 to 18)
After 16 days of flooding, the floodwaters from Tropical Storm Nadine receded on November 7. Because of recent flooding outside work is almost pointless. November 8 Life in the jungle: This morning,...
Belize Part 140 (Nov 6 to 7)
Since Tropical Storm Nadine, on October 22nd my yard, the road, and everywhere surrounding my house and jungle have been completely flooded with flood waters higher than I could imagine happening....