I didn’t really believe we’d be waked (rocked and rolled by passing boats) so steadily by tour boats and sport fishing boats and jet skis here in the Rio Dulce. Isn’t that a North American thing? I keep doing double takes when some kid zooms by within 25 feet of Madcap and we roll sideways and the crackers fly off the table and I grab my glass, and then I look past him to thatched roofs – the real thing – not beachy ambiance – and I think, “Where the heck am I?”

We had been warned by our friends in Gringo Bay that we would find life different here by the bridge in Fronteras – and they were right! It is Palm Sunday, beginning of Semana Santa (Easter Week) and the wealthy Guatemalans are here to play. Marinas, big and small, and hotels (mostly small) line the banks of the river. Boats of every description – except for dugouts – fly through the water. It is truly wild!

And talking about wild … the main drag of Fronteras is pretty darn wild too! This we had also been told about and it is true. The town seems to be built along one narrow street. It is lined with tiendas (stores) selling everything imaginable – plastic goods and clothing and cell phones and groceries and toys, (inflatable water toys are hot right now) and the Guatemalan equivalent of KFC, Pollo Campero. Outside these (as in on the sidewalk) are street vendors of sandals, phones, and produce, fresh meat, juice, dried beans and rice, tortillas and all sorts of interesting looking street food, and shoe shiners and CD’s … and I think I have to go back again tomorrow and look some more.

You see the difficulty here is that huge trucks and small trucks and tiny little cars and regular vehicles all creep up and down the street just where we are walking because of course we can’t walk on the sidewalks because they are filled with merchants. So one has to keep one eye on traffic and the other on shops, and there are hordes of people so a third eye is handy too to keep from bumping into people. This is the first time I have ever walked around giving serious thought to the possibility of having my toes run over.

Today we saw trucks loaded with cattle, and tanker trucks and ones piled with boxes. There are funny little 3 wheeled cars that might be taxis because they come up close and honk their horns. Traffic regularly comes to a complete halt as trucks try to edge past each other. People step out and around and in between vehicles and it seems like complete chaos – but I haven’t seen any writhing bodies or heard any screams.

I bought mangoes and little green things that I think might be those Malay apples, and bags of beautiful cashews and candy coated peanuts. And of course we tried the street food – from a clean and smiling vendor – some sort of empanadas? I really couldn’t tell what she was saying except some were “high caliente” (hot) and some were low “caliente”. We got one of each – and they might have had some fish in them, and mashed potatoes and peppers – and they were delicious. There were other things that I wasn’t sure about, and having bought some things the other day that looked like tamales but tasted like mushed up cardboard, I took a pass on them. But there are lots of stalls of chicken and fish and sauces and sweets and I think we really have to sample some more.

We made one serious purchase that will make life easier – a Tigo stick. It fits in a USB port and brings in internet from whatever cell phone signal is nearby. It cost 175 Q and came with 15 free days or 6 gb. (Divide by 7.6 for US dollars.) It sure does seem to boost the signals nicely. We added more time to our phone, and just after we paid 50 Q, the fellow told us it is triple time tomorrow. (Buy 20 get 60). Shucks – wish he had told us that before!

We visited El Tortugal Marina and Catamaran Marina to check out summer storage as well as a place to stay while we are here. We’ll check another one or two tomorrow and then make our choice. We don’t necessarily need the same place while we are on board as when we are back home, and there are many places to choose from. Convenience is nice, friendliness is good, and good care of Madcap is crucial.

On a dinghy trip past Mar and Ram marinas, we saw s/v Twilight and stopped to say hello to Bruce and Delmi – last seen at El Milagro in Isla Mujeres – and it was fun to catch up with them. Jim needs a haircut again so I think we’ll be paying another visit.

There is free dinghy dockage at Bruno’s just at the end of the bridge – oh the bridge – where trucks grind up one side and screech their brakes down the other – and a little store with coffee and yogurt – probably other things but that’s what we needed.

Back in Belize, a couple of women told me about Fronteras - “You’re gonna love it” said one and “It’s Nasty” said the other. Well – they are both right, and while a part of me longs for the quiet of Gringo Bay, this is fascinating too!

Time to go for a quick moonlight dip in 36 degree C water before I head for bed.