Our trip from Honduras to Rio Dulce in Guatemala was uneventful – thankfully. The area is known to have pirates so we travelled overnight with two other boats for safety. We had a great sail and checked in at Livingstone with friendly officials coming and seeing us on board. Some boats have a problem getting over the bar at the entrance of the Rio Dulce (sweet river), even at the highest tide some have to be tipped sideways with help, as it is not very deep. Ta-b has a very shallow draft and so luckily we had no problem.

We motored up the winding river through the tropical rainforest rimmed with mountains in the afternoon and got to Texan Bay by happy hour. What an amazing experience. The first part of the river is quite narrow, the steep sides rise up to 300 feet and there is lots of vegetation; then it opens up and becomes a surreal piece of water. There were lots of Mayan Indians fishing in their dug out canoes, thatched homes along the shore and a fabulous amount of wildlife. The water was flat calm and so tranquil we immediately fell in love with the area. This second part of the river, until just before Fronteras is a reserve, I have added a picture from google in the photo gallery.

Texan Bay is one of the first inlets where you can anchor after Livingstone. It is delightful with two marinas, is very peaceful with lilly pads and has lots of mangroves to explore. We were seriously thinking of leaving Ta-b there after meeting Chris, who has the smaller marina, and could fit us in. He specializes in refridgeration, perfect for us with our broken freezer, and is also great at electrics. So far he has been fantastic in helping us look after Ta-b. However, once we got to Fronteras and were able to get a berth at Tortugal Marina (one of 13 marinas in the area as it is such a perfect hurricane hole), at a price we could not refuse; we decided it was easier to stay closer to town, enjoy the marina ambience and spend more time with our friends on s/v Emerald Seas.

After a morning of exploring the mangroves around the bay we set off for Fronteras, the main town of the Rio Dulce 20 miles up the river, where we anchored off San Felipe fort just south of the bridge in Lago de Izabel. We had the place to ourselves and are looking forward to exploring the huge lake more when we get back, I have put a map of the area in our gallery. It is such a incredible place and we enjoyed wizzing around on our tender getting to know the neighbourhood.

Within a few days we were at dock prepping Ta-b for the hurricane season. We are mega careful, pulling everything down, cleaning, checking for damage, etc.. and storing. It sounds like a quick job, but we take our time; especially in the heat, and have found it can take up to a week. This time we got a day behind as when we moved from one berth to another we encountered a swarm of wasps at the top of the mast. This caused great hilarity amongst the marina staff, especially when one by one they went up the mast to try and get rid of them. These guys earn an average of $15 a day and were open to putting on wet weather gear, leather gloves, sailing boots, helmet and netting (which they fried in) as part of their “job” to look after the boats at the marina. It took all day and a few bites (I got three) before we got rid of them.

Fronteras is a real outback town with a lot of character. One of the main roads in Guatemala goes from south to north over one of the biggest bridges in Central America. Mega trucks with cows (apparently you have to be careful as the sides are open and cows go when they want to; which is probably why all the shops have awnings) ramble through the town and when they go over the bridge you can hear them a long way off.

The people of Guatemala are such happy people, always smiling and laughing, even when they do not understand what we are saying as we do not speak Spanish – yet. Because no one earns much money, everything (apart from boat parts) is cheap. We had two meals at the marina before we left, with sundowners, wine, etc.. and the cost ….. $44 for the two. The entire region is not only beautiful, but rich in history and culture, so we are looking forward to spending more time getting to know the place. There is even a hot water waterfall, a must on our bucket list.

The Rio Dulce is a long way from Guatemala city where the airport is. However the bus service (6 hours) is excellent and the roads much better than Columbia. We stayed a night in the city before flying to Vancouver and spent a bit of time looking around, I think the area we were in was very upmarket as it was very different to Fronteras and Livingstone.

Our plan is to go back to Guatemala on the 20th August and we have booked a week in Antigua city and another at Atilan Lake before returning to Ta-b. We are looking forward to spending time with family and friends this summer, the first we have had off the boat in eight years. Carpe Diem