On To Rio Dulce
Monday, March 17th, 2008After a frustrating bus ride to rio dulce we got a triple room at a place Sharien had stayed before: Hacienda Tizal. It’s a nice place on the rio dulce a boat ride across from where the bus drops off (any restaurant on the far side can radio the hotel for a launcha). It has a wide range of rooms and a good restaurant however the other side of the river seemed to have a better breeze. We just stayed one night and in the morning arranged our boat transportation down river to Livingston. There weren’t too many boats heading down due to some problems the indigenous people in the region were causing but all went well.
It was blazing hot in Livingston and the walk around town to find a hotel on the first Saturday of semana santa was not fun. After a false start at the African Place hotel (which is a very decent, reasonable place but not at all near the water) we found a triple with a balcony and view of the river/carib at Dona Alito. This was such a good find and it’s thanks to Sharien and the big spider she saw in the other place that we persevered. We stayed 3 nights, toured the areas around Livingston (a garifuna community) and had lots of fun people-watching in the evenings. It’s a totally different vibe than the rest of Guatemala.
To escape the heat we tried to lay low in the heat of the day, occasionally sneaking into the pool at the fancy hotel down the way. Our last day there semana santa crowds began to pick up and the tent restaurants on the beaches opened up. It’s amazing what an important family time this is all around Guatemala. Our last morning we caught a 9am launcha to Puerto barrios and a 10am direct luxury bus to guat city (6 hrs). Note: the beaches along the coast just north of Puerto barrios are FAR better than near Livingston and there were lots of resorts along the way. If you are looking for beach time in guat I recommend this beach but can’t give details about the hotels.
We got to guat city in the middle of a semana santa procession so getting out was harder than anticipated. We eventually found a taxi to take us to a major chicken-bus spot and caught one to Antigua. I said goodbye to the girls and found my way to ahsanti’s guesthouse south of the cathedral. Tired from a full day of travel I skipped dinner and went to bed! I have a full week in Antigua before I head to MX – so no rush!!
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Peggy Rehm