After traveling with Lourdes with all the rain/mudslides I went to the boat in Rio Dulce, about a 6 hour bus ride from Guatemala City. That was a mistake as its always a lot more work than what you remember and without Tom added to the anxiety of trying to remember after 5 months where things were and how they were supposed to work. I initially arrived Oct. 10th and Tom would arrive November 14th. So I had 3 weeks to finish my land travel before he arrived. Well one week was sucked up by Sojourn, cleaning mold from below (not as bad as what others had expressed) and green/slime on the outside, fixing the bilge pump, putting stuff away, sanding/painting the pedestal, refinishing the cockpit teak and toe rail, etc. etc. During this time I was trying to find someone to travel with. Fortunately, Sarah on S/V Wilde Matilda said she had wanted to see similar area so we started planning. I really wanted to go the same week I got back as it was GREAT weather but Sarah/Les had promised others that they would go up the Golfete to anchor/explore during that weekend. I was able to go along which was nice to get away from the boat projects.
So we started looking for a weather window. I was a bit cautious that I not travel in rain again. Well I think we left about 1.5 weeks before Tom would arrive and thought we would be gone for about a week. We took a slightly upper grade chicken bus to Flores and then shuttle van to El Remate. So we arrived around 10am at La Casa de Don David owned by a Texan and Guatemala lady. It was a bit higher than expected to pay but very nice for $45/night which included dinner, etc. We determined that other guests had arranged for a guide and driver/van to take them to Yaxah which Sarah had always wanted to go to so we asked if we could join them and off we went. This Mayan ruin is difficult to get to as it is off the rain road and remote. We arrived such that we could explore for a couple hours and then climb to the highest ruins and watch the sunset over 2 rivers with a spectacular view. Well it still was a great view but the clouds moved in. So we got back to hotel late, ate and went to bed as it was a long day and needed to get up by 5am to get shuttle to Tikal Mayan ruins built in 700BC and explored in 1848.
We walked and climbed I think all the temples and structures. Even Temple V which was closed and went straight up. We had cloudy skies in the AM and around 10am sun which was great as too much sun you can boil. Its amazing how they built these temples mostly for the Kings to live and surrounding area where the others lived. From atop you could see the complex that was overgrown by trees/bushes but originally was completely clear. There is so much to learn about this history…..
We went back to hotel and explore El Remate village around 1pm. This area is known for his forest and unfortunately cutting them down for export. So the government is trying to stop this by incorporating protected national forests and placing military protection. This area also has many great wood carvers that make all sorts of craft. We saw a few men hand carving with very basic tools creating beautiful animals, Mayan statues (some used for worship), bowls, etc.
A day later we went via shuttle van we thought via back roads directly to Lanquin with other back packers. Well the back roads were damaged from previous rain so it took us a bit longer than had anticipated 9 vs 5 hours with a stop for dinner in Coban. We also hadn’t expected to drive onto a ferry to take us across a river with a VERY strong current at Sayaxche. This ferry was powered by a side structure with a outboard motor and manual ramp. I love this about traveling as long as I have water and food. This time we sorta forgot about the food and weren’t sure where we were or when we would get there. We didn’t have any reservation so driver called for us as he knew it was going to be late when we arrived.
We got there around 7pm, checked in and were told we had reserved a loft above a bamboo cabana. We were taken there and realized it was a 10′ ladder straight up we had to climb to get to our beds. Now as I age I seem to have to go to the bathroom more often so had thought that this may not be a good idea so we both decided to upgrade after much laughter. The upgrade was a bit expensive for the night so next AM we settled on a individual thatch roofed bamboo cabana without a loft so others wouldn’t be disturbing us. This facility had a sauna made of bottles and cement and actually worked pretty well on a cool evening.
The reason we came to this area was to see Semuc Champey Natural Monument (established in 2005) which means “where the river hides beneath the earth”. This is near Lanquin and took a van via dirt roads about 1 hour away. This BEAUTFUL area of Cahabon River in the Chama mountains drops below this naturally made 300′ long limestone bridge with spring fed 7 turquoise pools that you swim in with the STRONG river rushing out the other end. We hiked the park to see the vistas of the pools. Prior to this hiking we swam and climbed with a guide in the mountain caves with a candle. It was hilarious to be exploring, climbing via ropes, jumping into pools and swimming against the current inside a cave by holding a candle. As well we went down the river via inner tubes which was very cold from all the rain water.
During this same time the country was having a presidential election. We walked early for our breakfast and found LOTS of Mayan families (with children) in their finest wear walking to Lanquin to vote. It appeared some had obtained rides from cattle trucks passing by. The Mayan usually live not even close to a road so you knew they had been walking for quite some time. They would be in long lines waiting to get their opportunity. I was told that the voter turnout is around 90%. It appeared they had divided the voting stations by region as there were many. A few hours later after voting and going to the market they would pack up and start walking into the night. You wouldn’t see any US citizen doing that!
We explored the area for a few days and then made arrangements with a driver/van to take us the direct route via the mountains, Cahabon village and river, to El Estor north side of Lago Izabel and ending at Rio Dulce. It was a fascinating beautiful 6 hour journey over BUMPY dirt roads with at times only passable by barley ONE vehicle. Our driver seemed to be in a hurry or had driven this BUMPY road way too many times so didn’t notice. The van took a beating but was worth all the bumps! So we went again from cooler weather to the hot/humid heat of Rio which is an cattle ranching and agricultural area with lots of flat riverbed land. Not sure where they send this beef as what we get too purchase its not good aged beef. Oh well beef isn’t good for you anyway….
Thanks Sarah for being such great travel buddy. We had a lot of laughs!