RIO DULCE, GUATEMALA

All along the Rio Dulce which means ‘Sweet River’, you can see small Mayan villages that have no electricity with only the basic needs of life.  People get from one place to another by dugout canoes that they built themselves.  They wash their clothes in the river especially under the bridge.  Every day fishermen are fishing from their canoes up and down the Rio.  There are mountains everywhere.  It’s a jungle out there with howler monkeys, iguanas, fruit trees, exotic flowers and over 700 species of birds.   It’s lush, green, mountainous and wild.  The Rio Dulce is known as a ‘one of a kind’ ecological and cultural heritage for humanity and home of the largest bridge in Central America.  It is a majestic emerald river, sandwiched between Belize & Honduras, which sweeps out to the Caribbean. 

Rio Dulce bridge is 85 feet high, ¼ mile long

After we arrived, our slip at our marina wasn’t ready so we had to anchor for the night.  We were excited to get there and friends jumped on our boat to welcome us.  We hardly had time to think and off we went rowing our dinghy to shore for some well deserved food and drinks.  A storm built up and it was raining hard, I mean hard !  Someone asked us where our boat was and OOPS, it was dragging in the middle of the river !   We ran to our dinghy in the pouring rain and Tim rowed as hard as he could against the strong wind and current.  All was good as our anchor dug into the river bed.  We just put out more chain and dried up the boat as we also left some ports opened.  Lesson learned….don’t be in a rush anchoring and always close hatches and ports while not on the boat, duh!

ALPENGLOW TUCKED IN THE TORTUGAL MARINA

WALKWAY FROM THE TORTUGAL MARINA INTO THE TOWN OF FRONTERAS

BUGS MATING ?  AT TORTUGAL MARINA

BEAUTIFUL FLOWERS ALL AROUND TORTUGAL MARINA

DUCK HOUSE AT TORTUGAL MARINA

ALPENGLOW HAS A VIEW OF THE RIVER AT THE BOW AND JUNGLE AT THE STERN

SEVERAL FRUIT TREES AT TORTUGAL MARINA INCLUDING AVOCADOS

THERE ARE SEVERAL SPECIES OF BIRDS THAT VISIT TORTUGAL MARINA INCLUDING PARROTS 

MARINAO,  THE GARDENER AT TORTUGAL MARINA HELPED ME PLANT MY TOMATO AND BASIL PLANTS

MANGOES AT TORTUGAL MARINA

THERE ARE A FEW AVOCADO TREES AT THE TORTUGAL MARINA

THERE ARE ALSO BUGS AND FLIES AND SOME BITES ARE NASTY

This is part of the workshop at the marina.  The workers made a bed for one of the resident duck to lay her eggs.  She had 6 ducklings and to date 4 have survived.

DUCK WITH EGGS

The nearby town of Fronteras is bustling with cars, tuktuks (also spelt tuc tuc), bicycles and trucks carrying cattle, bananas, mangoes, you name it.  It’s full of locals dressed in Mayan customary clothing and some with cowboy hats and cowboy boots.   The bus attendants scream out the name of the town of where the buses are going to try and get the most people they can on their bus.  Women breast feed their children in plain site on the sidewalks.  Boats come in from Livingston, near the ocean to sell their catch to the smelly fish market.  You can purchase chicks (yes, live baby chickens), fresh meat hanging from a hook in the heat, every kind of beans, plastic items, 2^nd hand clothing, bulk dog food, fresh spices of every kind, fresh fish, and groceries.  Want street food ?  no problema.  There’s even a French restaurant & hotel which just seems so out of place but the food is good and cheap (35Q for lunch with drink).  During our first visit to the town of Fronteras, I almost got burnt by flying sparks from someone welding on a post and I almost got bitten on my ankle by a Chihuahua. 

PARROT ENJOYING EATING PINEAPPLE

BEANS, SPICES, RICE, DOG FOOD, AND CORN IN BULK

LESS THAN $1US FOR A PINEAPPLE

CHICKS FOR SALE IN FRONTERAS

MANGOE SEASON !

TUC TUC (OR TUK TUK).  CHEAP TAXI RIDE

SHRIMP FOR SALE AT THE FISH MARKET IN FRONTERAS

BEAUTIFUL MAYAN LADY (NOTICE COWBOY IN BACKGROUND)

IT'S ABOUT 40 DEGREES CELCIUS BUT YET PEOPLE NEED WOOD TO COOK 

THERE ARE SEVERAL SPECIES OF ORCHIDS IN THE AREA

                 Near the town of Fronteras is a little island called appropriately "Bird Island".

We celebrated our 10^th wedding anniversary by getting up at 4am and taking our dinghy down a side river to observe and hear howler monkeys.  There were about 40 monkeys and we even saw a baby monkey clinging to its mother.  What a spectacular place !  Sorry no pictures as my battery was dead, ARGGG.  Since I always need to go the extra mile, we got out of our dinghy to walk in the jungle to see more monkeys.  Good thing they didn’t throw any monkey dung at us however our running shoes were full of it, yuk !  We then did a long kayak ride and had a nice dinner at a Mexican restaurant owned by an Aussie.  The name of the restaurant you ask ?  It’s “Kangaroos”.  The owner will give you hints on what to visit in the area and will give you more hints next time you visit his restaurant. 

10 YEARS AND STILL GOING STRONG

Of course we were not going to spend our entire summer sitting in the marina so off we went on an expedition to the Rio Polochic to see some more monkeys and birds.  This river is 194 kilometers (121 miles) long in eastern Guatemala.  It was used many years ago to transport coffee and timber, but most commercial transport in the river valley is now carried out by truck.  We used a lancha (small boat with a motor used by many locals) to go down the river from the town of El Estor.  It was magical. 

ONE OF MANY HOWLER MONKEYS UP AND DOWN THE RIVER

LOOK AT ME, I JUST HATCHED !  YOU CAN SEE MY LARGE EYE BALL CAN'T YOU ?

THE GANG VISITING THE RIO POLOCHIC  

We swam at the Finca Paraiso waterfall and hot springs which is only a little walk from the road.  You can get there from the road by the marina by hailing down a collectivo bus (local bus).  It costs only 20Q to get in the waterfall area.  The water is both cool and hot but very refreshing.  Above the waterfall there are private, natural hot pools in the forest floor.  There are also caves that you can swim into.  It’s a well worth stop.

At Parque El Boqueron, we had the local boys take us up this beautiful canyon in their canoes.  It’s a short ride because boulders stop you from going further however this is where we swam up further.  The canyon is incredibly beautiful and you may hear monkeys from up top. 

I SWAM BACK RATHER THAN TAKE THE BOAT, JUST BECAUSE I COULD

Castillo de San Felipe de Lara (fort) which is in walking distance of our marina, guarded Lake Izabal against pirate attacks in the day.  Around the fort is a small village called San Felipe.  We often power walk from the marina to the fort and around the village and back to the marina for some exercise. 

One of our main activities is water skiing and wake boarding with friends Rick, Nancy and Scott.  They are very generous to invite us to use their equipment.   We use Rick’s 15 horse power dinghy to pull each other around the river and lake.  We can spend several hours taking turns and trying new tricks.  We have a blast !

If you are wondering how hot it is in the Rio Dulce in the summer time, just ask our furry friends.

JEFE "THE BOSS" IS THE TORTUGAL MARINA'S RESIDENT DOG

As I am writing this, I’m still in the Rio Dulce.  I have not finished visiting around this area so watch out for more……  I will be posting other blogs about other areas in Guatemala we visited such as Antigua, Tikal,  and Lake Atitlan.    So watch out for those new blogs coming soon.

INFORMATION FOR CRUISERS:

Food:  Sandy on s/v Bonnie cooks and will sell food such as chicken pot pie, lasagna, ravioli, apple pie ect…She listens to VHF 68.  She is at Relleno Marina which is between RAM and MAR marinas.  She has a heart of gold and cooks well and her meals usually cost 25 Queztazels (about $4.00 US). 

Restaurants:  In Fronteras, try "The Shack", "Cafe de Paris", "Bruno's", "SunDog's" and several local restaurants. Outside Fronteras, try "Backpacker's", "Kangaroo's"(Mexican), and several marinas/hotels have restaurants up and down the river.

Local web site for cruisers...  www.riodulcechisme.com 

Volunteering opportunity:  www.passitonguatemala.org  Contact is Julia,  tel. (502) 4019 6677, jurojo2006@yahoo.co.uk

NET:  Mondays thru Saturdays at 7:30am on VHF 69

Travel agent:  Name is Oswaldo, he speaks English.  He’s located at the Backpackers hotel/restaurant/bar.  Tel. (502) 3039 1727

Tour:  “Tour Otto Archila Otitours”  Tel. (502) 4208 0178 or 5719 5861.  Ask for William as he speaks English.  Otto is a great driver and very friendly.  We used him and were very happy with his service.

Custom Courtesy Flags:  Contact Jennifer Lindeen at (502) 5201-5361 or svoctober@hotmail.com.  She makes most courtesy flags.

Hiking:  At the Hacienda Tijax marina/restaurant/hotel/bar, for a price, they will take you on a hike behind their hotel.  You can also go horseback riding there.  Tijax is across from Bruno’s.

Dinghy dock:  In Fronteras, park your dinghy at Bruno’s restaurant & bar for free.  Please support them by buying a drink or eating there once in awhile because he’s the only safe place to can leave your dinghy.

Propane:  At the Shell gas station.  You can go by dinghy.

Laundry:  Most marinas offer laundry services.  There is also a cheap laundry service in Fronteras.  Park your dinghy at Bruno’s and walk towards the bridge.  Before the bridge, turn left.  It’s about a 3 minute walk on your left.

Groceries:  There is a large grocery store in Fronteras called La Dispensa Familia.  Also in Fronteras there are several vegetable and fruit stores and stands.  Across the street from Bruno’s there’s a tienda that has more specialized food.   There is also a very expensive store at RAM Marina.  

On Tuesdays and Saturdays, a lancha goes to all the marinas and sells meat, fish, cheese, fruit, veggies, ect ect….  Esperanza works at an orphanage called Casa Guatemala and the proceeds from her sales go to the orphanage.   

You can also find more grocery stores in Morales and of course Guatemala city.

Bus:  To get to Guatemala city, the bus is called Litegua and the station is across from Bruno’s.  Litegua is first class and air conditioned.  It takes about 6 hours to get to Guatemala city.  From there, you can take another bus to Antigua.

In Fronteras, there’s also another bus called “Fuente Del Norte”.  See http://thebusschedule.com/EN/gt/index.php.  They go to many different places such as Flores which is close to Tikal.  
Do not trust the bus schedules online, it's best to go to the station and check on the latest schedules or simply call them if you know Spanish.

TucTuc:  There are several TucTucs in Fronteras and other cities.  This is a cheap way to get around if you need to.

Dinghy Chaps:  A friend of mine just had custom made chaps for $300us.

Boat cover/awning:  We had our boat cover made for approximately $300 (not sunbrella, that would be way more).  We had it done at Elmer’s.  It makes the inside of the boat about 10 degrees cooler and believe you me, you’ll want it.  There's also another place that makes beautiful boat covers, his name is Ron.

Weather:  Hot and humid.  Can rain alot and there's often lightning.  

Marinas:  Look at noonsite.com for a list of marinas, telephone numbers and websites.  Here is my take on some marinas as there are several others.  Be advised that it’s only my opinion and I have only stayed at the Tortugal marina.  I have visited these other marinas but not in depth.  Many undergo changes so it may not be the same when you get there.  If you have any comments about these marinas, please please leave your comments in my blog below.

1.       Tortugal Marina:  It’s also a backpacker’s type hotel with a restaurant/bar.  They do great movie nights on Friday nights with free popcorn and discounted pizzas + drinks.  They have 6 showers, which are very large and have great hot water.  They don’t have many side tie ups.  Boats can either go stern in or bow in, your choice.  The grounds are beautifully kept.  There is a walkway to the road so you can walk to the fort or walk to the town of Fronteras (20 minutes).  No pool but you can swim in the river.  The river is clean at this marina because it is upstream from Fronteras.  There is a work shop.  The staff is extremely friendly and helpful.  You can get some work done here.  They offer also services such as dehumidifier, cleaning your boat, looking after your boat while you are gone ect ect…..The marina is farther away from the bridge so noise level is much less than marinas closest to the bridge.  Free wifi.  Complimentary coffee every morning.  There is a very nice resident dog and a couple of cats and ducks (thought I’d mention that in case you hate animals).  The marina also has 3 double kayaks you can use for free.  They have laundry service for a price.  You can pay them by check or cash, no credit card.  You can also get a massage here.  They have a TV room with DVD player.  You can also walk to the Fort and the village from here.

 .-      Boom Boom Room Marina: I heard they have the best tools for working on your boat.  It's about a 30 minute dinghy ride to town.

2.       Mar Marina is probably my 2^nd choice:  They have 2 showers and they are very small.  They have a pool which someone told me the water is cool.  They have a small gym.  They have some side tie ups.  They have a bar and restaurant but the restaurant is more expensive than at Tortugal.  They also have movie nights on Wednesdays and Saturdays nights.  You can walk to Fronteras across the busy bridge.  It’s near the bridge so lots of truck noises.  They have an expensive parts store.  

3.       Bruno’s marina:  There is lots of wake and lots of traffic.  Many cruisers use their dinghy dock.  They have a bar/restaurant.  They have a small pool.   It’s in Fronteras so close to stores.  The river isn’t as clean since it’s by the town.  They are kind enough to let everyone use their dinghy dock so it's nice to give back and give them some restaurant/bar business once in awhile.

4.       Hacienda Tijax:  Across from Bruno’s.  Many trees, lots of shade.  They have a bar/restaurant.  I don’t know about showers.  I would imagine there’s lots of wake there also.  You can walk to town from this marina.  They have a hiking trail but unsure if you have to pay if you are a guest. 

5.       Monkey Bay Marina:  Very quiet place.  No restaurant, no bar.  I don’t know about showers.  There is no road here. 

6.       Calypso Marina:  Across the river from Tortugal marina.  Very quiet, no wind (could be hotter).  You can walk to Fronteras, probably 30-40 minute walk.  It is far from the bridge noise.

7.       Nanajuana Marina:  Has a large pool but no shade which makes the water extremely hot.  They have a large restaurant which is quite pricey, not too many people seem to go there.  You can walk to Fronteras by walking over the busy, loud bridge.  It is close to the bridge.

8.       Catamaran Marina:  We have friends that stay there and they like it but I have never been there.  It is away from the bridge.

9.       RAM Marina:  Good haul out.