More from Lago Izabal

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We have decided to stay here til Friday, and then head directly to the capitol of Honduras. We will hide out there during Semana Santa (Easter Week) since (hopefully) most people are heading for the coast for the holidays.

We have been kayaking and relaxing here. Today we will get picked up by a Canadian couple we met at Lake Atitlan who have their boat moored near here (they are the ones who recommended this place!). We will have lunch with them on their 56 foot ketch.

This morning I spent some time on the boardwalk that goes through the swamp here, observing the wildlife. We spotted a brilliant green parrot yesterday and I hope to see it again, but no luck. I did see tiny brown bats, a red headed woodpecker, some bright yellow and black finch like birds, two kinds of hummingbirds, at least 10 kinds of butterflies, and a cormorant! I never get tired of looking at the foliage here: every tree branch has dozens of parasite plants growing on it...some are tiny; others are bigger than the tree's own foliage!

This morning while I was in the communal bathroom I heard a thud and turned around to see a large iguana and the dominant cat behind me. I'm not sure if the cat knocked the iguana down or if she brought it in for me! The cat and iguana quickly went their separate ways!

Tomorrow, we will take a private boat tour down to Livingston on the coast for the day. We hope to stop along the way at the nature preserve and some hot springs.

Wednesday:

We did go to Livingston, and the trip was really beautiful! It took about two hours each way. We started out the Golfito, a body of water between the lake and the river, and then stopped at a nature preserve before continuing down the river. After the preserve we made a quick stop at a place where some natural hot springs enter the river (easy to find by the sulphur smell!)

The river then entered a beautiful limestone gorge before opening up to the Atlantic at Livingston. The scenery on the way reminded me of the San Juan Islands, only with a diverse tropical forest instead of Douglas firs on the shores!

Livingston is small fishing town with a more of a Garifuna culture than the rest of the river. We walked around the town for an hour and then headed back up the river, stopping at our friends' boat for a minute to arrange a trip to the hot water fall for the next day. That trip will be described in a new blog: "Running Out of Gas on the Lake"!

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Photos

Constructing a palm roof
The roof of our bungalow is made like this!

On the river
A howler monkey..! We saw a family of them.

On the river
We paddled up this creek and saw some expensive homes and even more expensive boats! There is a mix of wealthy Guatemalans, Europeans, and Americans with homes and boats here.

On the river
One of the houses

On the nature trail at Tortugal
This boardwalk goes through the wetlands here.

On the nature trail at Tortugal
Three litle brown bats on a tree! They were sleeping under the boardwalk and flew out to the tree.

On the nature trail at Tortugal
An example of the biodiversity on one tree branch!

"Our Cat"
She actually spent the night with us last night..don't tell Betty!

At the Nature Preserve
This the boat we took. Our guide and captain is resting on the bench on the palapa, because he was suffering from a bout Dengue fever....

Herons
These white herons are all along the river.

Hotel California
This is one of many in Central America. This is also the theme song of this area. In every town we've been, we've heard this song sooner or later...!

Beer Guard
All over Guatemala, people and companies hire armed private security guards like this one.

Beach at Livingston
Looking north up the coast

A dug out canoe with a young boy paddling
These are still used all over the river and lake. They are carved from a San Juan tree. They are used for fishing, hauling and transportation. This boy had one just his size and was out with a group of women and children fishing.

Our friends' boat
There are many small marinas on the lake.

Comments

[Jen & Julia]

Que Bonito
El rio esta muy bonito. The picture are awesome. I thnk we will have to extend class hours when you come back just to here all about your adventure.

[haddy]

questions
why do they have to gaurd the beer? Is that a boy or a girl in the picture of "looking up the coast"? What is Dengue fever? bye Lynn, talk to you later Haddy