About
My website
Welcome to the Safari Arie a website that is a work in progress and slowly under construction as I transition dreams and goals.
The genesis of this website was to document my bike ride travels from Canada to the bottom of Argentina. Let’s just say I got about half way down before time caught up with me and I had to abandon that dream to pursue another dream of living in Belize.
Ideally a website has a single focus to attract a specific target audience, my website does not have a single focus. Ultimately 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 in the jungles of Belize and my new mission
– 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
– environmental posts about different species of trees
– 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. I bought a house in the Community Baboon Sanctuary in 2003. Currently I live in Belize on a 42 acre farm in the village of Scotland Halfmoon.
2019 – 2021 Bike Ride
On November 12, 2019 from St. John’s NL, I biked 12,340 km’s across Canada during the 2019-20 Canadian winter and Covid-19. I continued south through the USA biking almost 8,000 km’s along the Pacific Ocean and South West. Entering Mexico at Mexicali I biked another 6,000 km’s south and across Mexico to Chetumal arriving at my home in Belize November 25, 2021.
Bike and Camping
Biking 26,000 km’s gave me some insight to a few categories about bike touring in general.
Environment and Trees
I am a tree lover and while there is lots of information about certain tree species already on the internet sometimes, I like to organize information that is of interest to me.
My legacy goal is to raise a million seedling trees for reforestation of rainforest and jungle in Belize.
Personal Journaling
This category is a work in progress and I am not sure what this will look like or where it’s going. The internal works of my mind is not a pretty sight. I also like to collect quotes of wisdom and reflection through better questions. Its my hope to explore that here also.
Poetry
Most of my poetry is not exactly uplifting. Read at your own discretion.
So ultimately this is a website for better or worse 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, financially broke, 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 – After having no internet connection for 18 months I finally have internet. I am working my fastest to get up to date on my blogs.
Stay in touch
Safari Arie’s Latest News
Exciting News!!!
The company that built this amazing website has reached out to me about growing my social media audience via short videos and reels. So if you have been enjoying my Belize photos on Facebook you...
Almost 3 months in Belize now
I have been in Belize for almost 3 months now. Check out my latest blog HERE to find out what I have been up to.
My Mexico Route is Complete!!!
Over the last 160 days from June 9 to November 15, 2020 I biked 6,020 kms through Mexico from Mexicali to Chetumal. I am currently in Chetulmal for the next week getting 100% caught up on all my...
Recent Blogs:
Awake my heart. Awake my soul.
I think about things deeply. Far more deeply than I care to or want to. This forces me to bury most of my life so that I hopefully forget. And usually, it works. I forget, but the soul never...
Belize Part 20 (March 29 to April 4)
March 29 Life in the jungle: It rained last night and through the night and into the morning. The road is a mud bath. This rain has really screwed my immediate working plans. I swear between all...
Turning 50
On May 18th I turned 50. I guess that only happens once in a lifetime (along with every birthday). Some days I feel like I am 20, some days I feel like I am 50 and some days I feel like I am 80. ...
Environment and Tree Planting
Assorted Desert Plants & Trees of the Northern Mexican Baja
I biked the northern Baja of Mexico between June 9th to the 20th. These are some of the cactus and tree species I came across along the way. I wrote Mexico Baja Part 1and Mexico Baja Part 2 and...
Boonjum Tree
I heard about these trees via another cyclist’s bike ride blog post. So, I was pretty excited about seeing a tree that was endemic to the deserts of Baja California. What information I found on...
The Plains Cottonwood Tree
I came across this particular Plains Cottonwood Tree in Dinosaur Provincial Park. The information plaque at this tree estimated the tree to be just over 200 years old. And that it was likely a...