Blogs from Río Dulce, Caribbean Coast, Guatemala, Central America Caribbean - page 13

We arrived in Rio Dulce on Friday afternoon, after a nice trip by mini bus from Copan Ruinas to Rio Dulce. It was a six hour trip with a stop at the ruins in Quirigua, and cost us each $20 US. On board were an American couple from San Francisco and a Honduran family with two very cute girls who proceeded (after I gave them pairs of glasses with fake eyes..thank you Haddy!) to help me work on my Spanish pronunciation... When we arrived here, a helpful man at the dock convinced us to stay at Tortugal, instead of Denny's Beach as we had planned. While we were trying to work out a place to stay, Bill checked email, and found that the house deal is done!!!! So we had a beer on the dock to ... read more

We left Antigua at 8am ( Wednesday 22nd ), and by private taxi, made an 8 hour journey to Rio Dulce. The journey was tiring, the heat had picked up once we had driven past Guatemala City, and it was in to 30 degrees. Arriving at Rio Dulce, we were met by a boat to take us on the short trip across the river, and to the hotel, the Hacienda Tijax. The hotel is on the river bed, and is made up completely of wooden chalets, and is basically in the jungle. There are expensive yachts anchored here too, mostly from the States and Canada. The hotel is linked by wooden walkways between the trees, its really a great jungle/hotel experience. There is also a swimming pool, with the water channeled from the river. We had ... read more

Rio Dulce, the city almost by the sea. Wondering how to spend my time, I go and visit the Castillo de San Philippe. The fortress was built during the 1500's to combat pirates who were raiding the merchant ships along the river and to protect the town. It is fairly easy to get to the site, just jump in a taxi. Returning is a different matter all together. I find it necessary at this point in my story to mention that the fortress is four miles outside of town. I found myself contemplating this very dilemma over a bottle of water in a little comedor (eatery) as I watched the heat rising from the asphalt. As I wiped the sweat from my forehead I thought four miles, maybe I should get another bottle of water. "Hello" ... read more

The journey to Rio Dulce was quite entertaining. The kamikazi driver had a 'no fear' approach to driving, overtaking on tight bends and racing along bumpy mountain roads. The pit stop halfway for a toilet break allowed Karen to see the locals in all their glory. Rather naively looking for the 'ladies', she walked into the communal bathrooms to find an aging cowboy, pants round ankles. With toilet doors apparently being a luxury, he maintained the friendly Guatemalan approach giving a warm 'Hola' and a cheeky smile! Upon getting off the bus in Rio Dulce we were besieged by touts offering river trips and places to stay. We decided on one that was a short boat ride into the mangrove swamps at the side of the river. In a stroke of genius we had already had ... read more

A visit to the old Spanish Fort.... read more