Blogs from Livingston, Caribbean Coast, Guatemala, Central America Caribbean

My grand plan for today was to take a collectivo boat from San Filipe to Livingston and back again to see the sights. I ended up sharing a boat with a family from Belgium who were destined for a balanerio known as the Siete Alteras which is a charming series of rimstone pools in a small creek running through the jungle. This was a little beyond Livingston so it cost a little extra but I'm glad that I went. Livingston wasn't much to see but it was worth the two hours that we spent there. I was amazed that there were so many cars in a place that is not connected to the rest of Guatemala by any road that I know of. The trip was incredibly scenic with lots to see and do along the ... read more

Thoughts from Playa Blanca - by guest bloggers Heather and Jane All that could be heard was the lapping of the warm Caribbean waves and the gentle snoring of our friend Steve. Suddenly, we heard a shuffling sound. We looked up to see Steve’s shoes sidling towards the water’s edge in an attempt to drown themselves in shame. ‘Stop, stop - don’t do it’ we shouted ‘we’ll never get Steve home in one piece if you go - if you don’t protect his feet, anything could happen!’. We should explain why this extraordinary event was occurring. A couple of days ago, our group was boarding the minibus from Antigua to Flores when it became apparent that a foul stench was emanating from a plastic bag on Steve’s lap. The British stiff upper lip trembled, and the ... read more

Livingston Wednesday 11th August Today we make the journey from Flores to Livingston. The only way into Livingston {I think} is by boat so a minibus picks up from our hotel to take us to the town of Rio Dulce on the river of the same name. Here we take a boat to take us down to Livingston which is at the mouth of the Rio Dulce on the Caribbean Sea. url="http://www.flickr.com/photos/whereissteve/5120871405/" title="Fort at Rio Dulce by WhereIsSteve"img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4068/5120871405_8e7165380b.jpg" width="432" height="303" alt="Fort at Rio Dulce" / img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4069/5120870543_16caa6a608.jpg" width="408" height="303" alt="Egrets" align=right //... read more

From Copan Ruinas in the Honduran foothills we were heading for Livingston on the Carribean coast of Guatemala. We were up at 5 to catch a local micro bus to the Honduras/Guatemala frontera. We swapped to a tourist van at the border, which we then exited at Rio Hondo, next catching a passing large bus which took us most of the way, then got off at a road corner and waited again in the searing heat to catch another public bus to Puerto Barrios. Before its final stop we leapt off at the closest street to the port and did a 20 min walk from there down a road with all our gear to finally reach the lanchas (boats). The public lancha waited until it was full of passengers, then we were all off to Livingston. ... read more

Did I say about the minibuses? They add an entire new dimension to dolmus. I mean, they stuff more people in than you would believe was possible but everyone is pleasant and friendly. No, not madly comfortable but I consider them quite good fun. Anyway, we made it to Puerto Barrios and, from there, caught the public launch to Livingstone. Livingstone is interesting but, quite honestly, I wouldn´t want to stay there. We ran into Ashka (not sure if I have spelled her name right) and accompanied her on the remains of her shopping trip then she gave us a lift to Hotelito Perdito. We passed through the pirate bay where the pirates apparently wrote each other messages in Spanish and through some immensely beautiful scenery and arrived at the jungle lodge. Booked into the bungalow ... read more

Gallon Jug to Livingston The same pilot flew us to Punta Gorda, Belize, turning a twelve hour bus ride into a 90 minute flight. She flew between cloud layers, average altitude of 3500’, and over paved roads “just in case.” Along the way she talked to other pilots about changing weather conditions and listened to other pilots chatter to each other so that we could fly around micro weather systems that normal airliners just plow through. One cloud bank was not so micro, too wide to fly around and too tall to fly over. We plunged into a squall, pitching and yawing, buffeted in almost total darkness, until one instant, through an invisible door, plopped into clear sky and still air. Luckily, we arrived at 10 am, just in time for 10:30 ferry. This border crossing ... read more

Still pouring as we all got up this morning, don't know how this day is going to go. We decide to wait in the morning to see if it will clear up but it's not great with no power in the middle of a jungle/water maze. As noon approaches the weather stats to clear so we decide to chance it and ordered a boat for 1pm. It starts off alright as we head to see a fort with cannons used to guard the inlet back in the conquest days. We are all taking photos of the various sights and there is a nice stop at a hot springs half way to Livingstone. This is where things take a turn for the worse and it starts to downpour. All of our stuff is still damp from the ... read more

Die Sprachschule ist erstamlas vorbei. War echt ziemlich cool&lehrreich. Am vorletzten Tag in Xela, letzter Sprachschultag, haben wir Graduacion gehabt und haben zu diesen Anlass mit Lukas, einem Schweizer der auch in der Schule war, Kasnocken & Milchreis gemacht. Echt fein!!!!! Am Freitag haben wir dann zum Abschluss nochmals fuer unsere Familie gekocht....Schnitzel mit Petersil-Erdaepfel und Reis. Hab die Augen zugemacht beim Essen und mich gefuehlt wie Daheim.....traumhaftes Gaumenerlebnis ein Schnitzel in Guatemala. Am Abend sind wir dann mit unseren Schulkollegen nochmals weggegangen. Aber vorher ist Max noch was passiert. In einer Seitenstrasse wo gerade am Muellplatz ein Hundedinner war sind wir vorbeigegangen und einige Hunde haben sich anscheinend um ihre halben Tortillas betrogen gefuehlt und sind uns deshalb angefallen. In Max hat einer sogar in den Waden gebissen. Haben versu... read more