Livingston and the Rio Dulce

For the last few days before I left the country, I decided to travel out to the Carribean coast, since that's one of the few parts of Guatemala that I hadn't seen yet. Joy and her friend Adam decided to join me, and I was happy to be able to avoid traveling solo. We took the bus from Guatemala City to Puerto Barrios, and then a small boat out to Livingston. (the only way to get there) The carribean coast of Guatemala feels a lot more like Jamaica than Guatemala, except that they speak spanish. Most of the people are a mix of Mayan and black, tracing their ancestors to a couple of slave ships that wrecked off the coast. The culture and music draw from both African and Mayan traditions. After spending the night in Livingston we took a boat up to Siete Altares (seven altars) a series of pools made by a small river just before it flows in the ocean. Then from there we rode into the mouth of the Rio Dulce (sweet river) and up to a small eco-hotel called Finca Tatin. We spent the next couple of days swimming, reading in the hammocks, playing scrabble, chess and cards with other visitors, and even took a few hour kayak trip. I couldn't have asked for a better end to my trip. The view from the last river pool of Siete Altares out to the ocean. Another pool, and the cascading stream stretching back into the jungle. A fisherman on the river in a hollowed-out-log canoe. The entrance to Finca Tatin, and some river-front hammocks. A house, with their laundry and canoe out front. All the houses sat on pylons against the river, most had a place where the trees had been cut down so that they could park a boat. Little convenience stores and the occasional restaurant lined the waterways, each with a small dock. I don't think that there were roads for miles, everyone gets around by boat. Joy and Adam in their Kayaks. Me, waiting for Joy to catch up....apparently she was busy taking pictures.