Guatemala Check In
25 February 2019 | Rio Dulce, Guatemala
Susan | sunny, windy, 90 degrees F
After a fairly quiet night in Tres Puntas, we lift the anchor at 7am for the 2 hour trip to Livingston. An hour into the trip the winds kick up, blowing to low 20’s with higher gusts and the sea turns into a field of whitecaps. Thankfully all on our stern, following winds and seas. We get over the infamous Livingston bar with 1 ft to spare, anchor and wait for the check-in process to begin.
Normally this means a lancha arrives with all the officials who come onboard to inspect us, gather our paperwork and then go back to their respective offices to type up the clearances; an hour later we go in to collect it all & pay (agent) Raul. This was not a normal check-in process for two reasons. First, the sea state in the Livingston anchorage is soo rough, the officials are not going to visit incoming boats, no way. Raul tells Jerry to come to his office this time. And the sea state is rough! Dropping Dulcita (dinghy) and getting on-board and it untied was a feat of balance in swell, opposite current and blustery winds. Second reason, since we’ve been gone only about a month, we only had to pay for immigration (Q1100 / US$147, 2 passports) and a cruising permit 1 year extension (Q500 / $67) when it’s up in June. That is Q1800 / US$240 less than the usual check-in fees. With the June 2019 - 2020 extension it does mean that we must be out of Guatemala for 3 months the next time we leave.
Paperwork in hand, we motor up-river to the marina zone of the Rio Dulce, towing Dulcita because it was too rough to get her lifted on the davits for the trip. It continues to blow low 20’s the entire way, winds we have never seen here in the Rio. But we’ve never been here in late Feb, so there is that…
And then getting tied up in the marina in those winds is a challenge. There must have been 6 marina guys handling lines, tying most off to piers; we’re med-moored this time, taking up 2 monohull spaces. A challenge met by everyone getting done what needs to be done in coordination; we get settled without incident. All of the marina guys say there has been no wind here until today…Gotta laugh….