Saturday 27 May - up at 1st light to head to Livingston- Guatemala.

We were due to meet up with 2 OCC boats in Livingston, but no sign of them.... but that's another story..... one of the boats dragged in the previous nights storm and ran aground on the reef!!! Major drama, with the authorities becoming involved, and serious damage to their keel and rudder.

The shallow entry bar into Livingston is a major issue for most boats - but not us - we had the keel up, so no problem. We anchored off the town and I make VHF contact with the agent Raul and he sent one of his staff out to collect me from the boat in a local (Rasta) launch. James stayed on the boat for safety and security reasons.

I met with Raul and he commenced completing our entry paperwork for the boat and our personal visas. Rauls services are not cheap, but he can get the boat permit and personal visa extensions without having to actually leave the country - all in all, a good man to know.

I then made contact and met with met with Kelly, out local Rio OCC Port Office - very nice man, who was very helpful indeed. 1st job was to try and get some Q cash - so waited in a long line at the Bank - but they would not accept my cash notes as they were not in perfect condition! So next to the ATM - thankfully 1 of the 3 cards worked and I could get cash out to pay boat entry fees and personal visas.

Whilst waiting for Kelly I had a short wander of the main street of the town and then sat in a local bar/restaurant - the people watching was very interesting. The town is a mix of Mayan and Caribbean West Indians. Yes the stereotype of the Rasta is so correct - one tried to chat me up- when I didn't respond he found another gringo to chat up and get cash from!! The Mayan are very reserved and did not acknowledge or bother me.

Back to La Aventura - Q flag down - we are now officially in Guatemala!! After so many false starts due to Australian family commitments and my health issues - its great to be here.

On a now hot and steamy afternoon, we made our way on through the magnificent gorge - slowly making our way against the river current. Its ALL green now - the river, the trees - we are into rainforest country!!

We arrived at Texan Bay as planned to stay the night. We tucked up right into the mangroves and put out 2 anchors due to the high winds and thunderstorm forecast. We are now in a totally different environment so will need to lean the weather patterns here. Yes another wild storm throughout the night - but very little wind. Texan Bay is lovely - but very isolated.

Sunday 28 May - We enjoyed our usual cooked breakfast with James a chef, and then moved on towards Frontares through Le Golefte. Again it was reat to see the various housing on the shoreline, and all different activity on the water - rich and very poor all together.

Entering Frontares town - also know as Rio Dulce, we stared to see all the various marina complexes that we had read and heard so much about - it was all staring to make sense. Kelly had arranged a berth for us at Captain Johns marina, and John was there to help us try up and get sorted. There is a fantastic pool there - so that's where we spent our afternoon.

We spent 10 nights at Captains Johns - out and about most days , getting to feel our way around the town, VHF cruisers Net and sorting out our haulout and welding and painting contractor AND every afternoon enjoying the cool of Captain Johns pool.