Sweet River! - The Rio Dulce, Guatemala

Livingston is our entry point for Guatemala, a laid back Reggae filled cluster of ugly buildings, and perched on the Rio Dulce riverbank with no road access. After ploughing a new channel for Whakaari over the notorious bar then fighting to anchor in the raging current that rushes past the docks, we dinked in to be welcomed by a totally ripped dreadlocked rasta man who would mind the dinghy, run errands, and point us in the right direction for the Customs Officer, all for a few quetzals.

The welcoming attitude continued and we enjoyed Gautemalan food and beers during our brief wait for the port agent to do our clearance in - running around that the cruiser normally does, and takes all day.

Before dusk we were underway, huge blocks of ice aboard courtesy of the “Rasta Hulk” as my fridge had again died, and motoring in awe into the Rio Dulce gorge.

The cliffs continued to loom higher above us, and as the sun set the limestone cliffs began to glow, the birdsong swelled, and I was feeling compelled to find the first shallow bank to anchor for the night, not wanting to pass through such stunning scenery too fast.

In a few moments we entered the Rio Dulce. On each side, rising perpendicular from three to four

hundred feet, was a living wall of green. Trees grew from the waters edge, long tendrils descended to the water, as if to drink and carry life to the trunks that bore them. It was, as the name imparts, a Rio Dulce {sweet water}, a fairy scene of Titan land, combining exquisite beauty with colossal grandeur.

As we advanced the passage turned, and in a few minutes we lost sight of the sea, and were enclosed on all sides by a forest wall; but the river, although showing us no passage, still invited us onward.

John Lloyd Stephens, 1841

Traffic on the river seemed to increase with sundown, tours returning from upriver, families heading home in their dugout cayucos, water taxis buzzing past like bees, and the occasional luxury launch busting ignorantly through creating huge wakes to threaten all others.

Later that night when all was quiet I watched, or was watched by, bright globes moving among the ferns and vines along the riverbank, and fireflys floating around them.

With the first rays of light reaching down into the gorge, Howler monkeys thrust out their haunting territorial calls, carrion birds soared the cliffs overhead and soon the river was alive again with boats of every description.

The days that followed on the river and the lakes inland were magical, and we soaked up the sights and sounds of a refreshing new world. 

Fresh water replaced the constant clinging salt, smooth water for paddleboarding made for sublime exploration of the bays and stream inlets, drifting by birdnests and over schools of fish, marvelling at the thatched waterline level homes, indulging in the most delicious fruit and vegetables available everywhere for a few cents.

I found an expat US couple (who, like many cruisers, ran up the Rio Dulce for hurricane season, and decided to stay, or at least return season by season) providing boat services and had my refrigeration and propane sensor issues fixed. I was approached by an astute young canvas worker who saw my Bimini needed work, and did an extensive repair and strengthening over two days for $28. I'm thinking I'll send it to him again from the Pacific side and have a new Bimini cover made.

There are two lakes which feed the Rio Dulce, Golfette and Lago Izabal. They're essentially one, divided by a narrowing where the Spanish built an impressive fort to control marauding pirates after their looted Mayan and Incan gold treasure, cacao and indigo. Castillo San Felipe, built in 1652 is beautifully preserved, now featuring grassy meadows, hibiscus trees and picnic tables. You gain entry by crossing a drawbridge over the moat, to see bronze cannons and the chain mechanism used to block the narrow channel.

From Fronteras on Rio Dulce its a 5 hour drive to the north to Tikal, one of Central America's classic Mayan sites. But that's another story - See my separate blog on this trip.

We sailed across Lago Izabal to access Rio Agua Caliente, which is of course a small river with a thermal spring, and makes for a very enjoyable hike into the foothills, a rewarding soak in a natural steaming pool under a hot waterfall, and colourful scenes of villagers washing and bathing.

I boulder hopped upstream for half an hour and then swam into a cave following the river's source into a crevice some 75 meters in to where an underground waterfall tumbled out of the rock in absolute darkness.

Returning across the lakes and down the Rio Dulce to the Caribbean again was just as enjoyable as the journey inland, soaking up the powerful landscapes and life on the river-children paddling their cayucas to & from school, boys casting their nets, traditional Mayan thatch-roof homes lining the banks... A sweet little cabin on the water with a “Se Viende” sale notice had me wondering -it would be so simple to stop a while and try living here.

Along the river are numerous side branches to explore, a Manatee Preserve, and more agua caliente (some commercialised, some natural).

Aktenamit is a grass roots development and outreach project with an excellent health care clinic, medicinal plant gardens, textile and paper-making courses, adult literacy programmes, and so on. 

Donations, supplies and manpower from cruisers are always welcome. Have a look at their website : aktenamit.org