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Published: June 27th 2007
Mo and I decided that after our long and arduous journey of two days (😊 ) we deserved a day of rest and relaxation. We splurged a whopping $40 to stay at a little piece of paradise on the Rio Dulce. We arrived in the city, a small little affair with lots of little tiendas and immediately boarded a small boat that took us across the river to Hacienda Tijax- a self proclaimed jungle resort where we were greeted with gentle music and led along a wooden path elevated above the wet jungle floor to our own private bungalow. It came complete with mosquito nets and a backdoor that opened onto a small deck in the water of the jungle swamp (needless to say, we kept that door closed to keep out the mosquitos.) We spent the day lounging around in the pool (that´s 3 for 3 for finding pools so far), reading, playing cribbage and eating. The day was entirely about relaxation.
Okay, this is Mo speaking now. Nicole failed to mention that I kicked her butt in cribbage...
Seriously, we fell in love with Rio Dulce. It was 24 hours of heaven. Our biggest decisions were the following: Should we swim or read? Should I order the salad or a sandwich? Should I take a shower or go for yet another swim? Should I have a liquado (smoothie) with milk or water? When my friend Suz and I were in the Amazon she was lucky enough to discover that an incredibly monstrous BUO (bug of unknown origins) had breached the sanctity of her mosquito net. Yet again (but this time in Guatemala) I found myself laughing hysterically at my travel companion (Nicole this time) who had discovered an enormous beatle in her bed under the mosquito net. After an epic battle, the beatle was unceremoniously chucked out the back door.
Mo is right, I used up all my good luck in our first game, and was ever after struggling to catch up to her...
We also had one of the best meals we have had so far- I was pretty much floored by the amount of food we had ordered. First there was a monstrous bowl of just about the most delicious black bean soup I've ever had- it was pretty much all liquid, but truly phenomenal. Mo had the amazing idea of ordering honey to go with the delicious homemade bread- so superb. And then came the biggest cup of shrimp ceviche I´ve seen, and definitely the best tasting. They also brought an enormous chicken dish Mo ordered. I watched in amazement as Mo, who so far has eaten pretty sparingly, ate the entire plate. Go Mo!
Correction: Mo AND the little one ate the enormous chicken dish (I told the kid to stop, but did he or she listen?). Obviously already possesses the obstinance of Russ. Not my fault. Anyway, after the sleep of the dead and satisfied, we took a boat on a tour of the Rio Dulce and made our way towards Livingston. We saw the Castillo de San Felipe, the largest lake in Guatemala, egrets by the thousands, and locals paddling in their hand carved wooden lanchas. We made a stop at Aguas Calientes (these sulfurous hot springs were HOT). It was an incredibly beautiful and pleasant ride along this pristine river surrounded by mangroves, towering mountains, and green, lush trees.
Our sleep was that of the dead- and was assisted by the fact that a torrential downpour gently lulled us (well at least me) to sleep, after an hour or two of reading by flashlight, since the storm knocked out the electricity. We were so dead that we overslept and missed the 7am yoga class a lady there had generously arranged at our request (I therefore spent the whole of the morning dodging her angry glances). There was a certain contentment for me in racing along the pristine, placid waters of the river with the sun shining on my legs and the water splashing warmly (even the river water here is warm) against my hand. Simplest pleasures are best sometimes. It was the perfect complement to our day previously at Tijax.
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Cristal Cooke
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Keep it comin' girls!
Beautiful descriptions, loving "coming along" with ya'll as you experience your journey! So appreciate it, and enjoy knowing what you're doing. Sounds like somewhere I'd LOVE to be right at this very moment... Again, have fun, be safe, and keep these posts coming... they're just awesome! Love to you both, Cristal