Guatemala, Rio Dulce, Livingston to Burnt Key Marina (Texan Bay) – The Canyon section of the Rio Dulce river

We made it over the bar, more like bumped through it, and anchored up at the town of Livingston. We called up Raul, our agent (see former post for contact details) and he arranged to have a boat load of officials delivered to our boat in half an hour. They arrived about 10 minutes late, but he was not joking about ‘a boat full’. They checked our boat papers, passports, my pet passport and our exit zarpe from Belize, then asked if we were using Raul. When we confirmed we were, they were promptly off to the next boat.

The humans then went ashore to get some Guatemalan currency. Called the quetzal (Q) it is divided into 100 centavos. $1 US = 7.5 Q. They needed to see Raul to pay him for the check-in and his handing fee. The total cost of check in was 3756 Q. The most expensive part was 2000 Q to have the cruising permit extended to cover the whole hurricane season.

Livingston is the main supply town for the area and it is reflected in the variety of shops and services on offer. The inhabitants are a mixture of Mayan and Afro-Caribbean. The area attracts pack packers and visitors will find a whole selection of tours up the Rio Dulce on offer. Surrounded by high mountains and thick jungle it is not surprising that the Rio Dulce is the main ‘highway’ for goods coming in and out. Although the town is safe to walk around during the day, it is not recommended to do so at night, and not a recommended anchorage for an overnight stop. So as soon as the humans sorted check in we had the rest of the day to explore up the river.

Now you may not know it, but the Rio Dulce is a long river. It twists and turns between towering cliffs and opens up to large flat lakes. Branching off of the main river there are a multitude of little rivers that shallow draft vessels can explore often ending in lagoons and bays. The most ‘dramatic’ section of the river is at it’s start. Where fresh and salt water collide and the canyon walls ascend to dizzying heights. Here the sides of the river creep closer and closer in as the canyon walls grow higher and higher. Covered in thick vegetation the air fills with the heady smell of damp earth and honey suckle. Birds screech, chirp and sing all at once. Insects hum, buzz and fill the air with a vibration that runs through you as they rub their wings together in unison.

The river twists and turns, snaking around corner after corner. We found depths between 12-26m near the centre or slightly to starboard (right side) except in one tight turn where we saw 2.3m when we got too close on the inside. It is the turn with all the ‘stakes’ set out in the shallower water to port (left side). Perhaps we will steer closer to them when we return.

Once you are out of the canyon the steepness of the sides decreases and you start to get large overhanging trees and small home steads along the river banks. We stopped off at a sulphur hot spring along the way. It is just a short section of the river bank that leaches out hot sulphur water into the main river. Locals have built two short small walls to protect bathers from the full assault of the main rivers current and making it safer for soaking. If you can ignore the restaurant and bar they have built next to it, you can still feel like you are bathing in a pool in the jungle on the side of a river. The hot sulphuric water floats as a layer on top of the colder river water. You can submerge yourself to ‘just the right level’ to concentrate the hot water on those achy spots while the rest of your body stays cooler. We anchored, literally, right off the shoreline of the hot spring. I could bark at the humans as they enjoyed a beer, purchased at the bar/restaurant, to remind them not to soak about too long.

The ‘stinky eggs’ rinsed off in the river, it is so cool to be in fresh water again, and off we went. We had seen all sorts of boats plying waters here. Most had been sturdy fibre glass launchas, about 15 ft, with outboards. But now, in this part of the river, we were seeing much more of the traditional water crafts called canyucos. Made of wood, usually one log, these long slender crafts are propelled by handcrafted paddles. Families used them to visit friends while fisherman cast huge nets out into the rivers waters to catch dinner. Beyond the hot springs the river begins to widen. In fact it widens so much it becomes a 10 mile long lake, El Golfete.

We had been told by fellow cruisers in Belize that there was a lovely lagoon anchorage at the beginning of this lake with a small marina that offered the coldest beer in the Rio Dulce. The humans decided it would be a good idea to test this ‘hearsay’. Once known as Texan Bay the new owners of the Marina have renamed the place after the lagoon it is in, Burnt Bay Marina. You weave through the mangroves a bit, past the Marina, to find a far sized lagoon to anchor in 2.5-3m of water all round. It is quite a cool anchorage because you are totally surrounded by the jungle, but you have a cool eco-friendly bar/restaurant on one shore. And they are dog friendly. Well more than dog friendly! They let me run free on their property with their young girl dog as a play mate. I am in heaven!

One of the main tributaries into the Rio Dulce used to terminate here at the lagoon. The river now terminates near the Hot Spring. The result is a maze of little rivers, lagoons and swamps to get lost in by kayak. As we explored we saw lots of butterflies including a few flaunting the most iridescent reds and blues. Dragon flies also ‘pushing the envelope’ with the wildest colour combinations. There were floating lakes of water lilies and irises. Orchids growing way up in the trees and furry gourds hanging down. Birds, turtles, lizards and fish kept us company. We found small homesteads nestled deep in the forest with laughing smiling kids playing in the water or waving at us from ashore. It was all very humbling. We expected, but were not bothered by any biting insects. We did need a long cool swim after!

I am in heaven, but the humans are restless souls. They want to move on up the river to see more. I think they have a Manatee reserve and a hike on the books. Tell you when I know more.

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