Livingston and Rio Dulce, Guatemala
Livingston is Guatemala´s only claim to Caribbean culture and is only one of two towns on Guatemala`s tiny Atlantic coast. It claims a fascinating Garifuna culture with some nice beaches. Unfortunately our experience did not live up to our expectations. After the cultural experience in Utila, Livingston pales in comparison; there was very little evident Caribbean culture, the town is quite dirty and smelly and the beaches were a joke.
So we quickly moved on to Rio Dulce town, on a boat trip along the river of the same name, stopping off at a remote jungle community, some caves and thermal springs on the way. The trip was nice enough, although not as beautiful as fellow travellers had led me to believe. But Rio Dulce proved a much more interesting stop. The town is based on two sides of Rio Dulce, but most of the tourist accommodation is within the swampy jungle deltas. We spent two days in one of the traditional style straw-roofed cabanas of Casa Perico, which comprises basically a hostel, restaurant and bar completely surrounded by jungle swamps, and the only way to get around is to use the hostel´s kayaks or pay for a boat ride into town. We spent those two days nearby the hostel, swimming in the river and kayaking. One day, during a water fight in the kayak I managed to capsize it (on purpose, of course). While I was up to my neck in swampy water, with mud up to my knees saving our things, Esteban was rescuing the kayak and bailing out water!! We headed back to the hostel in hysterics!! A fun experience, that was until our last night, when on returning to the cabana I spotted an enormous spider (10cm) on my backpack. Esteban froze on the spot and I was left to kill the blighter. It took all my courage to get close and splat the thing (that was actually bigger then the shoe I used). After 5 minutes of nerves and trembling I recovered, only to discover a similar sized one on the wall beams near our beds. With no chance of killing this one we rushed into the safety of our mosquito nets and tried to sleep…… of course I was too scared to sleep!
Here are the photos, including one of the spider!
DISTANCE TRAVELLED (OVERLAND) SINCE USHUAIA: 32,190 KM
So we quickly moved on to Rio Dulce town, on a boat trip along the river of the same name, stopping off at a remote jungle community, some caves and thermal springs on the way. The trip was nice enough, although not as beautiful as fellow travellers had led me to believe. But Rio Dulce proved a much more interesting stop. The town is based on two sides of Rio Dulce, but most of the tourist accommodation is within the swampy jungle deltas. We spent two days in one of the traditional style straw-roofed cabanas of Casa Perico, which comprises basically a hostel, restaurant and bar completely surrounded by jungle swamps, and the only way to get around is to use the hostel´s kayaks or pay for a boat ride into town. We spent those two days nearby the hostel, swimming in the river and kayaking. One day, during a water fight in the kayak I managed to capsize it (on purpose, of course). While I was up to my neck in swampy water, with mud up to my knees saving our things, Esteban was rescuing the kayak and bailing out water!! We headed back to the hostel in hysterics!! A fun experience, that was until our last night, when on returning to the cabana I spotted an enormous spider (10cm) on my backpack. Esteban froze on the spot and I was left to kill the blighter. It took all my courage to get close and splat the thing (that was actually bigger then the shoe I used). After 5 minutes of nerves and trembling I recovered, only to discover a similar sized one on the wall beams near our beds. With no chance of killing this one we rushed into the safety of our mosquito nets and tried to sleep…… of course I was too scared to sleep!
Here are the photos, including one of the spider!
DISTANCE TRAVELLED (OVERLAND) SINCE USHUAIA: 32,190 KM
1 Comments:
Louise! You party animal!! We are home and are awaiting your Belize reports! Sure had a great time caving and hanging out with you and the Chrises. Hope you have a fun and safe time wherever you are!
Sandy & Phil (tattoo people from Texarkana)
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