Rio Dulce and Tortugal

After Tikal we headed south and east in Guatemala to a town called Rio Dulce. It is quite close to the Caribbean. We arrived via bus...okay, scary bus ride. It was one of those that is referred to as a ¨corriente¨ because although the bus is a large tour type bus and we had purchased our tickets at the bus station and had a set destination, the bus stops randomly to pick up and let off people all the time. It´s like a city bus and a tour bus in one. Anyhow, the driver was a madman, taking turns like the bus was on rails. I think I prayed about 5 times during that trip. We´d be driving in what felt like the middle of nowhere and then the bus driver would spot a small refreshment stand on the side of the road and come screeching to a halt and jump out and buy a drink, hang out for a couple minutes, then get back on and keep going. Wow.

Boat ride to Tortugal

We arrived in Rio Dulce in the evening which makes it hard to know where you are and where you want to stay. The moment we got off the bus a tour agency fellow was quick to throw out a bunch of names of places to stay. It actually was a blessing because he walked with us to a couple until we made a decision. Once again, humidity was quick to overwhelm me. We have been trying to avoid staying in places with air conditioning because they cost more and we are doing the budget thing, however I´m realizing that sleep is important and if I´m going to be freaking out and not sleeping because I´m so hot, then we´ll have to start doing the A/C option. James seems to be handling the heat much better then I am. Thank goodness he´s patient with my bits of whining...I need to toughen up.

Hi James

Rio Dulce is a little river outlet from Lake Izabal. The next a.m. we decided to move on down the river by a 2 minute boat ride to a place called Tortugal. It´s a heavenly little jungle retreat right on the river that is actually owned by an American woman but run by Guatemalans. We stayed in a little bungalow and read our books and relaxed. Loved it, especially because it had a breeze! They had free kayaks so we decided to go for a little adventure to a nearby park area where we could swim. Oh my...the ride over was hilarious. Our little kayak (old school kayak, not the newer ones) had a tendency to want to veer left despite our many efforts to paddle straight. It felt like we were never going to get to our destination. The ride back was so much easier and confirmed to us that the wind and current do make a big difference when trying to operate a small boat with paddles.

our bungalow

While at Tortugal we met a woman from Texas who, along with her husband, had quit their jobs and were sailing for an unknown period of time. They were planning to be in Tortugal until December! It was fun to learn of the ¨cruiser¨ lifestyle (that´s what they call people who are sailing around the world).

Quetzal...the national bird of Guatemala

Tortugal