Sailing to Guatemala and up the Rio Dulce

I left Dangriga when everyone else left Dangriga and the party stopped. I trekked south towards Punta Gorda to catch a boat to Guatemala or Honduras. Along the way I stopped in Placencia for the Easter party weekend of Belize. Placencia was packed to the gills so i stayed across the bay in Independence and planned to catch the water taxi at Mango Creek. That night at the hotel bar I met Keith, a Brit working with banana growers for the European Economic Union, who invited me over to Placencia with him the next morning. Our first stop was Yoli's. A charming bar perched on the water with a mix of vacationing Belizeans, locals, cruisers, ex-pats, and tourists. There I met Grant who invited me to sail to Rio Dulce where he parks his boat. I thought about two seconds before accepting his offer and we decided to meet 8am Monday morning to deal with visas and clearing the boat. I stayed at Yoli's until mid-afternoon before wandering and bumping into Ladina, from Val's Inn. By evening it was time to catch the water taxi across the bay to Mango Creek, walk back to Cardie's Hotel, collect my bike, and find a place to sleep. The Hotel was booked so John, the owner, generously offered me a room in his home.The next morning I rose early had a cup of coffee and headed back to the water taxi before it got busy and my bike became a hassle. The Hokey Pokey Water Taxi service was rockin' out Easter morning to the 80's with large speakers stacked up on the dock. My bike fit up front for a wet 5-10 minute ride weaving around mangrove islands across the bay. I disembarked, grabbed breakfast, and headed back to Yoli's figuring i would run into Grant/find a place to stash my bike . . . then it was late afternoon . . . but i had an invitation to hang my hammock in the bar after close and sailing plans were solidified. I walked down the beach with Doug, a Wisconsin farmer with a spread in Belize, perusing the scene until slinging my hammock around 10pm.

Grant showed up early and we headed over to immigration . . . I was a little nervous being my fourth immigration office and still not legally in Belize. I took some sage advice and decided to lie. Worked great and was less complex than the truth, which had not been working for me, anyhow. I said I was dropped off the previous day by a passing boat and heading onward to Guatemala - the officer did not even blink. After thundershowers passed we headed out on a broad reach with following seas for a nearby sheltered anchorage and fell asleep shortly after dark.

I have seen more sunrises recently than in the previous two years and discovered they can be quite enjoyable with a cup of coffee on a sailboat in the Carribean. Grant with a warm cup always brings joy. Grant is a horse trainer from Georgia that has been living in Wisconsin for the past 30 years. About three years ago he sailed his boat from Florida and parked it on the Rio Dulce, Guatemala and he returns each winter to cruise around Caribbean solo except when his wife and family join him.
A 34 foot sailboat is manageable solo but well suited to two people allowing down time and more sailing. We spent the day cruising at 6 knots until anchoring off Estero Lagarto on Guatemalan coast on the opposite side of Bahia de Amatique from Livingston, Guatemala. We motored in on the dinghy to Estero Lagarto for a couple cervesas frias and at a muy tranquilo y rustico eco-tourist lodge run by local people. Nobody else was there and we inquired about food. We had great fish (mojarros) with white rice and simple salad - we both agreed it was the best fish either of us had.

We woke with sunrise and motored across a calm bay for a couple hours into the Port of Livingston.
Livingston, Guatemala is a mixed community of Garifuna, Indian, Mayan, and Ladinos sitting at the mouth of the Rio Dulce and accessible only by water. Livingston was Guatemala's main port providing access to the highlands via the Rio Dulce dating back to the Spaniards. An old Spanish fort still has a commanding presence where the Rio Dulce begins at Lago Izabal. Livingston was superseded by Puerto Barrios farther to the south and has become a sleepy port/host to tourists for brief visits.



Grant removed the Belizean flag and hoisted a quarantine flag to identify ourselves in port to Raul and the appropriate authorities.





Though when we arrived we were the only sailing vessel in port alongside a handful of rough looking fishing boats - locally built fiberglass launches and cayucas , a low canoe carved from a tree trunk, predominated the boating scene.
Eventually, we were boarded by Raul, the Port Captain, an immigration official, a doctor, and elegant young woman with inappropriate footwear holding a clipboard. Everyone cordially sat around the cockpit passing our paperwork around the wheel taking the appropriate notes before shimmying back into their lancha. Then Grant and I headed in to see Livingston while we waited for our paper work.
Grant and I were discussing how atm cards have made travel so much easier and comfortable not carrying large amounts of cash - but what if you lose your card? We both expressed our preference for swipe atm machines . . . you see whats coming, right? Well, I needed Quetzals having only Belize dollars but because Guatemala believes that Belize should be theirs it is not easy to use Belize dollars in Guatemala, I needed Quetzals. I go to the only atm it accepts my card then promptly reboots . . . keeping my card! Luckily, I was not alone and sat on the curb, across from a store that changed Belize dollars, while Grant went to the bank upstairs . . . an hour plus later a woman comes with the key and a guy with a sawed off pistol grip shotgun and I get my card . . . could have been worse. We get out of Livingston and head up the narrow limestone canyon confining the Rio Dulce. Amazing to picture Spanish galleons sailing up this canyon amongst the water taxis and cayucas. Steep hillsides force thatched houses down to the waters edge. Communities living up the side tributaries generally do not welcome intrusion due to rampant rumors of child abduction for the international adoption market. Lower down in the canyon exposed limestone walls are covered with nearly 500 years of graffiti.
The river widens and the winds pick up so we hoist sail and run up the river wing on wing at 6 knots avoiding the cayuca flotilla fishing. We continue under sail as the river necks down right into the Marios Marina. We had three days of great sailing making for a nice finish to the sailing season. I loved being on a sailboat again and Grant is great company. I have been staying on his boat in the marina getting things done like laundry and this post. I will head towards Honduras next passing through the cities of Puerto Barrios and San Pedro Sula in search of a new bottom bracket for my bike - mine just started clicking.