Up the Rio Dulce and down the Colorado River

May 2005

We made one stop on the mainland at Escondido as we headed to Rio Dulce in Guatemala, a really nice anchorage that is part of a national park with plenty of howler monkeys ashore and incredibly long beaches and paths to hike on.

The Rio Dulce was a very pleasant surprise. We easily carried 6.5 feet over the bar (We draw 5' with board up). We entered Guatemala here and had no trouble in the very clean and pleasant town of Livingston. Livingston has no roads or airport (everyone moves around by boat) and we had heard that it was a very dirty and unpleasant place. Guatemala has undergone a huge transformation by cleaning up the country. There are no plastic bags or other trash anywhere. It takes a moment to figure out what is wrong when you come ashore from Honduras and Panama, but it dawns on you the place is CLEAN. I think it also has changed the attitudes of the people.

But what a beautiful trip up the river with cliffs and jungle on both sides and good deep fresh water. This is truly spectacular with the lush jungle and a nice departure from the Bay islands with their dry climate.

There are several marinas twenty miles up the river with 7 to 20 slips each. All small and quite pleasant. Many of the docks are rundown, but because of the hurricanes in Florida there is an increase of boats coming here for the season as there has never been a recorded hurricane in this area. Mountains all around and situated in the corner of the Yucatan Peninsula it is hard for a hurricane to make a right turn into here. They can, however, drop a lot of rain which can cause its own problems.

We had been told that Mario's Marina is the most like the old Pedro Miguel Boat Club of Panama so we had used email to make reservations to stay there. This is a very funky friendly marina with great people running it. There is a good program to update the whole place and is the meeting spot for most of the cruisers spread around the river. Sadly, we put CHEWINK's cover on and headed home. There is a lot to do in this area both cruising and exploring the many Mayan ruins. We look forward to getting back probably around Christmas.

Why were we in such a hurry to return? It was an easy choice. A Grand Canyon rafting trip for ten days the first week of June. These trips are often booked for years in advance so we had no intention of passing up this opportunity of joining a great group of teachers and parents from Phoenix Country Day School and guided by Christa Sadler. She has been on this river for eighteen years and is truly an extraordinary guide and person. It was like living in National Geographic for ten days and too much to absorb.

Where to now?