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After reconnecting recently with a very good girlfriend (Paige) that I lost touch with several years ago, I received an email saying that she was interested in visiting Guatemala at some point. I forwarded her the info on the Las Sirenas boat trip from Rio Dulce in Guatemala to the Belize Cayes in the hope that she may want to join us...
So here we are, sitting and sweating together on the deck of the Rio Bravo restaurant in Rio Dulce eating Mojarra (a local fried fish dish) and ceviche awaiting our dingy to pick us up and transport us to our catamaran that we would call "home" for the next 7 days as we sailed through Rio Dulce, Livingston and then to the Belize islands.First order of business... get ourselves settled on the boat and go over rules and regulations. "This is not a room" Paige says as she peers into what she started calling her "isosceles triangle coffin bed". "Where do you think the shower is?"James chuckles, "there is no shower, there is usually a hand held hose in the head (toilet)". She looked at me, I shrugged, I had never been on a boat like this before and had little idea what to expect but I could tell from James' face that he was enjoying Paige's discomfort. (I was pretty sure he was kidding).
I had the pleasant duty of being translator for those on the boat that did not speak Spanish. "Breakfast will be at 7 or 7:30, lunch will be between noon and 12:30 and dinner will be at 6:30pm. Don't put paper down the toilet and when you use the toilet pump it 10 times and then wait one minute and pump it another 5-6 times to ensure it is fully flushed and..." I paused not wanting to translate the rest."Did he just say there are no showers?" Paige questioned me. I suppose some things need no translation as the captain indicated that each person had a one liter bottle of fresh water to "shower" with each day. I think she was wishing at this point for the hose that James had mentioned earlier.
We settled into our regular pattern of early nights and early mornings. The most challenging thing seemed to be dodging the sun during the middle of the day when we were under sail or sleeping in a breezeless cabin (although we did have a small cabin fan that sounded more like an electric weedwacker, a far cry from the sounds of waves lapping against the hull while we were at anchor for the night)We awoke each morning just before the sun peeped over the horizon, did a few exercises and stretches on deck, sucked up the serenity and watched the sunrise with one or two of our "neighbors".
The Rio Dulce river was beautiful and relatively uninhabited. There were a few grand houses dotted along the river but most were small one or two room thatched roof huts. The chosen mode of transport was by boat. We saw many different types of craft but the most common were wooden canoes powered by paddle. There aren't many places in the world where your oldest brother pilots the boat or canoe for the ride to school.
We stopped briefly in Livingston which was enough to see most of the small afro-carribean town known for its Garifuna language and music. We walked the narrow streets amongst the markets and restaraunts and saw the last of the shrimp fisherman bringing their catch to market. It was also our last chance to use a fully functioning flushing toilet. We all seemed to take advantage of the opportunity.
Back on the boat we headed under sail to Nicholas Caye the first of the Islands that we would be visiting. The journey went quickly as we watched the beautiful scenery pass us by. We had seven hours to read books, play cards and scrabble and get to know more about our "neighbors" until we arrived at our first island. Our group of 12 consisted of three Australians, five from the UK, three from the US and one local Guatemalan. Jude, on of the girls from Australia had taken a vacation to Mexico and decided not to leave. She had been living there on and off for the last six months. James, a divemaster from the UK, had spent the last 12 years globetrotting and surprisingly only carried one backpack. (We are hoping to dive with him in Thailand in December). Sharing stories with different people from other parts of the world is definitely a highlight of our travels.
After our first night on the islands I had the pleasure of translating once again what would be good news for some and bad news for others. Due to hurricane Gustav we were going to have to head back from the Cayes to the shelter of the Rio Dulce and Lago Izabal two days early. We would visit White Reef, the most beautiful of the coral lagoons, for the next day and a half and then finish our journey on Lago Izabal. This gave some the opportunity to deboard in Rio Dulce a day or two early. I saw a smile creep over Paige's face as she planned her escape. Those who stayed would visit an old fort built in the 1500's (to defend against pirates) and the beautiful waterfalls in Finca Paraiso.
We arrived at White Reef, a beautiful coral fringed lagoon with turquoise blue translucent water and a sandy bottom dotted with several coral formations. "Kayaks" were deployed. (the kayaks were not conventional kayaks just modified wind surfboards). We snorkeled, swam, fished (James), and "noodled", (the art of floating around on a foam noodle.) That was until we realized that James was fishing for a four foot long barracuda only a couple feet away from us. At that point many of us thought better of relaxing and "noodling" so close to the barracuda bait. The trip was a success for James, having caught two mackerel one afternoon. However the barracuda did continue to taunt him as it swam within feet of the boat. The real bounty from the ocean came via the captain and first mate as they spent five hours snorkeling and spearing lobster and reef fish for our dinner.
(I realize now that I may be spending too much time with James as the thought of spearing fish and lobster actually sounded like a lot of fun)
Paige and Erika made the decision to deboard in Rio Dulce and explore Tikal before they returned to the US. Although Paige's delight was obvious as she thought of a warm shower and a real bathroom I could tell that she would miss us and the others she befriended on the boat. The rest of us sailed on through Lago Izabal and made our last stop at Finca Paraiso where we experienced a natural phenomenon, a hot spring waterfall. The warm water cascades over a 15 foot rock wall into a cool mountain fed stream below. It was a unique sensation to be standing in 68F or 19C degree water while having 140F/60C water raining over us all this in the middle of a temperate rain forest. The waterfall experience was nearly as unique as the tractor ride to the falls which was driven by a boy that could not have been older than 9 or 10 and had trouble reaching the peddles.
James and I had a fantastic trip. We enjoyed the river, the islands and I was happy to make some new friends and spend time with an old friend. (although I am pretty sure she will be happy just to meet me in Philadelphia the next time!)
This was our second to last night in Guatemala. We felt lucky to have been able to spend the time we did to get to know the people, the culture and appreciate the challenges most of us don't have to face in our day to day life.
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