About Us

These are the questions we’re most frequently asked by guests…

Why Belize?

We came to Belize on our first vacation together in 2010. Our first destination was the Cayo District: swimming, hiking, climbing, and camping in Mountain Pine Ridge Forest Reserve; learning about Mayan archeological sites at Cahal Pech and Xunantunich; eating, drinking, wandering around, and meeting people in San Ignacio. We were absolutely awestruck by the scenery and the wildlife and the Belizean hospitality, so we decided that we were going to move here one day, when we’re older. Since then, we have travelled throughout Central America (and loved it all!), but in our daydreams, it was always Belize (and this area of Belize in particular) that we imagined for ourselves.

Where are you from?

We’re both originally from Missouri. Adam is from the St. Louis area (Go Cards!) and Rebecca is from the Kansas City side of the state (Go Royals!), but we met each other in the middle in Columbia (M-I-Z) and both agree on our NFL team (Chiefs)!

We lived in Austin, Texas for ten years, where we thoroughly enjoyed the food, the music, the parks, our neighbors, and our work friends (Rebecca at The University of Texas at Austin and Adam as a touring audio engineer).

We moved to Belize from just outside Chapel Hill, North Carolina, where we enjoyed many of the same things, but especially our neighborhood, where we ascended from “city” to “country” life (in preparation for “jungle” living).

What made you decide to move here and build cabanas?

While in Austin, we had started to feel a little stagnant so we quit our jobs, sold our house, and spent about five months driving around the western United States with our dogs (She-ra and Moose). We stayed in over 25 short-term rental properties, hiking around National Parks/Forests during the day and watching HGTV during happy hour, which led us to incorporate rental cabanas into our Belizean daydreams. Soon after we landed in Chapel Hill… COVID. There’s nothing like a global pandemic to make you re-evaluate your life’s timeline! One day, while kayaking at one of our favorite spots, eating hot fries and drinking some beers, we decided it was time for Belize! After all, we were already older and if not now, when?! It was time to make our daydreams a reality.

Here we are in 2010 at Xunantunich and in 2022 at one of our favorite local restaurants...

These are a few of our favorite things (so far) in Belize…

Favorite animals (not including birds, dogs, or cats)

• Adam: Green Iguana and Boa Constrictor
• Rebecca: Agouti and Howler Monkeys

Favorite birds

• Adam: Too many to list (I’ve become a bird nerd)
• Rebecca: Chachalacas (mostly because I love the name), Toucans, Pygmy Owls
• Both: All of the ambassadors at the Belize Raptor Center!

Favorite Belizean food

• Adam: Stuffed Jalapenos
• Rebecca: Fry Jacks

Favorite plant or fungi

• Adam: Birds of Paradise
• Rebecca: Basket Stinkhorn

Favorite tree

• Adam: Logwood
• Rebecca: Quamwood or Flamboyant

Favorite fruit

• Adam: Pineapple
• Rebecca: Dragonfruit or Mango

Favorite sound

• Adam: Birds in the morning
• Rebecca: Rain on the tin roof

Favorite part of owning Lost Compass Cabanas

• Both: Getting to meet people from all over the world who love Belize as much as we do (especially when they bring us dessert from Guava Limb)!