Blogs from Río Dulce, Caribbean Coast, Guatemala, Central America Caribbean - page 6

un endroit magnifique... ! de bons souvenirs, une route d'enfer de 12 heures à travers les montagnes sur une piste défoncée le long du Rio Polochic, de belles plongées, de beaux poissons, et la meilleure piña colada de ma vie (ça vient de là mon addiction !) !!! fantastique ! guatemala 2002 ... read more

Destination 2: Rio Dulce & Livinston The next morning saw us taking the first bus out of Flores for the Rio Dulce or the'Fonterras'. I was excited about the getting there mainly because for me - it signified the Caribbean, my first chance to get a glimpse of it..... What of Rio Dulce? Well its a one horse town, minus the horse. It is essentially one street - that takes one blink of the eye to complete. There are some accommodation options on the 'city´side but it´s worth your while to find a lancha to take you to an establishment somewhere along the river itself. We went in search of the Tica travel booth (thanks Lonely Planet) to try and find our accommodation and ended up selecting a bungalow at the 'Hacienda Tijax´about 1 minute away ... read more

This looks like the sort of place you would smuggle a cargo of cocaine or get your dirty cash laundered. Also known as Fronteras , it seems that Rio Dulce has never been able to shed it's buccaneering past. This town is technically not a fronteer but it does bridge the gap between mainland Guatemala and the Caribean coast. In the past it was an entry route for British pirates to come and steal Spanish gold. Now the inland port is a storm shelter for yachts from the seasonal hurricanes that batter this side of the world. The dirt track town is a stark contrast to the millions of dollars worth of boats in harbour here. The yachties eat at waterfront restaurants, the locals eat fried chicken on the street. The first night I was lured ... read more

Got into Rio Dulce yesterday not too late, got a bit for late lunch and then waited a while as the heavens opened before we moved. Had a quick wander around, but not much to see, bit of a market. Got the water taxi over to Tijax where we were staying. It was a group of huts, joined together via boardwarks, separate showers and loo :-( Thouhg not as bad as the long drops at Trek Stop. I think if we´d arrived when it was light we may not of been so judgemental, but it was dark, the boardwarks were slippery and I think we just wanted to crash in our little huts (with mosquito nets!) Had dinner and the best mojitos so far (brownie points!!) before retiring a little early to bed. Got up for ... read more

Tim Version: * Double bussed again to Rio Dulce, found the main side to be hectic and dodgy so stayed on the more beautiful quiet side at an incredible hostel. * Visited the local fort, but didn't feel like river voyaging so was done and ready for Antigua quick. The water loving version: An apparently very beautiful place, I made Rio Dulce my destination and headed off. Upon reaching it, it feels like an end of the line port town, which I guess is partially because it used to be! Along the main street are loads of people trying to hawk lifts to Livingston and up the river, as well as many guys on bikes trying to get you to go to various hotels. This is all on the busier side of the bridge as Rio ... read more