Walking Through Paradise… Kind Of
This all started because I was walking across a paradise island, or what was once paradise. It still doesn’t have cars, but the sandy tracks are now swarming with golf buggies and quad bikes. Tourists drive them like they’re in some desert go-kart track, flying around with music booming from portable speakers. Everything is slowly being eaten by resorts.
It’s like watching something beautiful get bulldozed one beach bar at a time.
I’m Part Of The Problem
And I’m here. I know that. I’m walking it, photographing it, adding to it. I’m part of the problem. Even though I stay in eco places and eat local and support small businesses, that doesn’t erase me. Doesn’t make me some kind of backpacker saint. It just means I’m slightly more aware of the fuckery I’m contributing to.
Travel Still Matters
The thing is, travel matters. It broadens your mind. It shows you other people, other cultures. It teaches you that every place is valid. Every person is valid. Every culture is as valid as your own, and maybe some deserve more space, because they’ve been silenced or stamped out by the kind of culture I was raised to believe in.
Some countries raise people to believe they live in the best place on Earth. And they believe it, not because it’s true, but because they’ve never seen anywhere else. I know because I grew up in 80s Britain being spoon-fed imperialism and exceptionalism with every school lesson and morning assembly.
Maybe that’s why I still travel. Not just because it broadens my mind, but because it helps me understand the harm my part of the world has caused.
It’s Still A Privilege
And I know how much privilege it takes to even have that perspective. I have two passports. Travel is easy for me, even if I fight for every last scrappy bit of it. Even if I’m struggling or budgeting, even if I sleep in weird places and wash my clothes in a bottle, I still have the right documents. I still get waved through. That’s a privilege I never take lightly.
Paradise, Paved
This is what I keep circling back to. This island is popular because it feels like paradise. No roads, no stress, just saltwater and stillness. But as the allowed parts get crammed with golf carts, resorts, and booming bars, what are people even coming for anymore? If the whole reason for being here is stripped away, will they still come? And who’s really benefiting? I get it. Tourism brings income. It helps local people. But not everyone profits equally. Where I’m staying now is a small eco resort, owned by someone local. Last year it was full. This year, I’m the only one here. Everyone’s in the big resorts instead. And I doubt many of those are locally owned.
Flamingos. Just Flamingos.
I was stomping along the sand, when I stopped. There they were. Flamingos. Actual flamingos, just standing in the water like pink bits of surrealism. About 20 or 30 of them, scattered in the shallows.
And in that whole long stretch of beach, no one else was even looking. Most people were over the other side of the island, drinking and partying. But down here, where the flamingos were, it was just me.
Like… why are you even here?
Why come all this way if you’re not going to look at the flamingos?
Flamingos And Fuckery
And that was the moment. That weird quiet moment where it all hit me at once. The beauty, the rage, the contradiction of being here at all. Of loving a place that’s being ruined while knowing you’re one of the people helping ruin it.
Flamingos and fuckery. That’s all it was. That’s all it is.
Before You Go
If you’re planning your own solo trip my Solo Travel Lifeline might come in handy. It’s like having a travel buddy in your pocket – without the awkward small talk.
Need a ready-made plan? Check out my 3-day travel itineraries for popular destinations – they’re packed with tips and can save you a lot of guesswork. If you want something more personalised, I also offer custom itinerary planning to make sure your trip goes smoothly.
And if you want real time action, follow me on Instagram, TikToK or join the Sisterhood of Solo Travellers on Facebook for tips, stories, and the occasional travel mishap.
If you are planning visiting Mexico you might enjoy my post Safest Places in Mexico for Solo Female Travellers (2025).
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