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Hello again my friends. Ready for chapter 3?
An 8hr bus journey took me from the Pacific resort of Monterrico to the tranquil shores of Rio Dulce (which leads to the Caribbean coast) on the 4th day of my Guatemala Encompassed tour.
Along the way we decided to make a stop off at the ancient Mayan city of Quirigua. The ruins are famed for their relatively recent discovery (1909), the quality of the Mayan Carving and Glyphs on display and the for having the tallest stelae (tall stone pillars) in the Mayan world. 7 out of 9 stealae carry the carved portrait of the image of the city’s most prestigious leader, Cauac Sky, who ruled for 56 years, during which the city boomed thanks to money plundered during an aggressive campain of expanison.
The dirt track leading up to the ruins introduced me to one of the strangest phenomenon’s that anyone will ever have the pleasure of encountering, a Banana Crossing! The ruins are buried between a banana plantation and a region of lush wild rainforest and on looking around it became apparent that only a small proportion of the site had been excavated with many pyramids and
smaller building still being covered in dense foliage. We didn’t stay long at the ruins, swarms of mosquitos made sure of that, so having satisfied our photographic needs we jumped back into our bus and rejoined the road to Rio Dulce. To my surprise the bus had a DVD player and had the pleasure of enjoying Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire.
Our accommodation in Rio Dulce was a small eco-lodge located on the edge of he rainforest. I was warned to expect to see poisonous frogs, snakes and many big bugs. Arriving late in the day we all just jumped in the bug infested swimming pool and later enjoyed a cracking feed. The activities would commence early in the morning.
I had a slightly restless sleep that first night. I’m not ashamed to admit that the sound of snakes (rattlers), the constant noise of large insects impacting the iron roof of my log cabin and my awareness that there was more than one large hairy spider in my room had me on edge and I defy anyone that would boast to be more fearless than I! Needless to say my mosquito net was well and truly
fastened around my bed.
The next day I awoke excited about a very picturesque boat trip to the Caribbean city of Livingston, home to Guatemala black Garifuna people. The boat trip was awesome. under a scorching sun and with a cool breeze on my face we sailed past an old Spanish colonial castle on the waters edge used to fend of Pirates, a lot of giant marine life (although the Manatees mentioned in the trip dossier neglected to make a starring appearance), I swam in some natural hot springs, visited a local Indigenous village and floated through an impressive canyon. Livingston was small and differed greatly to the rest of what I had seen in Guatemala so far. Gone were many of the ‘normal’, tiny Guatemalan people (of Mayan origen) with their colorful textiles, eggs and beans, and in their place I found many towering people selling coconut bread and topical fruit juices. Although the tour didn’t allow for us to stay that long, the town was certainly worth a visit. I stayed long enough to watch Brazil play, eat a whole fish meal (eyes tails and all) and enjoy an exotic fruit ice-cream.
We left the Rio
Dulce early the next day. Taking a barely put together bus we headed first to the hot waterfall at Finca el Paraiso, where the gang experience a relaxing natural steam bath and sauna experience followed by a cool swim. Its not a big waterfall or even a big site, but it provided just the tonic I needed after a second restless-ish nights sleep back at the jungle lodge (I was progressively becoming immune to the potential dangers of my unwanted room mates). Sorry but no digital pictures of this place but for any interested in a Guatemalan adventure, I would recommend this as an essential place to stop for half a day at least.
We were soon back on the road headed north to the tranquil Finca Ixobel jungle lodge in the Peten region of Guatemala. This place is raved about in Lonely Planet and Rough Guide books as a perfect place to chill out, on the long road to Flores which was a further few hours north. Here i did little more than swim, drink and watch the World Cup but I will mention the highlights.
The food was the best thing about this place. I’ve never
Sailing down the Rio Dulce
Giant and leaves and a Black heron type bird to give you som perspective. eaten beef cooked so well (sorry Mum) and an all you can eat meal cost only 50Quetzals (about 3 pounds). I also went horse riding for the first time ever here and impressed myself as I managed to stay on despite my horse’s passion for running/galloping and jumping over objects that could have been easily sidestepped. However despite enjoying myself, this will not be an experience I repeat soon. I’ve never had such sore legs and sitting was uncomfortable for the next 2 days also. I also came a close second in a Limbo contest at the pool/pond side bar to a tiny French Canadian girl (bitch) on one night. Actually I did quite a lot here as I also climbed a suspiciously triangular hill on the second day displaying Tarzan like ability as I conquered the tree covered slippery path to the top. 5 set out on this quest - only 3 committed souls carried their sweaty, muddied bodies to the summit where we were rewarded with an awesome panoramic view of the Peten, a vast jungle and hill covered lowland expanse.
This place was a fantastic and I’m glad that I made a pit stop here. My
Sailing down the Rio Dulce - part 2
Rich Westerners summer houses dot the banks of this beautiful river only grip was the Giant ants, which attacked me on mass outside the bar. Their bite is really vicious!
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Danielle
non-member comment
Well, we can all boast you know...
Yesterday I washed my hair, bought some milk and tackled a seriously dangerous pile of laundry. Today I might live on the wild side and bake something. See, its not just you living on the wild side... In all seriousness (or at least something close), it sounds amazing and it makes me happy to know you are making the most of it. Take care and remember to apply suncream every four hours (I have very little good advice) Lots of love, D xxx