On the East of Guatemala: Rio Dulce, Lake Izabal & Livingston
For the next half of our travels we headed east. We were initially just thinking Rio Dulce, but then that expanded to Livingston, and then to Puerto Barrios, but just to catch the bus back from there. So first up, Rio Dulce!
Like I mentioned on my last post, traveling via public transportation can get tricky. Researching showed that to get from Lanquín to Río Dulce would have taken us at least 3 bus changes and 9 hours, and that’s if we were lucky and the buses pass by at certain times. In the end, we decided to just get a shuttle for Q175, and had an easy and hassle free journey to Rio Dulce.
We left Lanquín at around 8:20 (supposedly 8am, but we had to wait for a few people), and had a direct trip with no stops to Rio Dulce, getting us there 5 hours later. It’s a small town, so we got off with everyone else and walked the 5 minutes to our hostel, The Shack. It was right on the water, and seemed really fun. It was a small two story hut with a bar below and one big room with 7 beds on the second level. The structure reminded me of a nipa hut back in the Philippines, and the vibe was somewhat similar to that of the beaches back home.
After eating packed, light, and quick meals the past two days, we went for some hot comfort food and ordered a burger and chicken wings. The Shack burger was delicious, and I would definitely recommend it if you’re ever in Rio Dulce.
We deemed this day our “day off,” and spent the rest afternoon just chilling at the hostel. We unpacked a bit and unwinded, had a good shower, and discussed our next plans. A little before 6, we headed up to the bridge, and watched the sunset from there.
The next day we had a late morning (for once). After asking around the day before on things to do, we decided to go to Finca el Paraíso, which many people had recommended. It was about 45 minutes back (near El Estor, a big town we passed on the way to Río Dulce), but we went for it. We got there easily enough, and got off at the side of the road. We walked ten minutes into the farm, and arrived at this pretty sight. Finca el Paraíso is a little paradise of hot water falls which plunge into cool pools. We were there a little before 9, and had the place to ourselves for a while. We swam a little bit in the pools, then we climbed up to the top of the falls and sat in the hot(!) waters, kind of like a hot tub. Then we headed back down (I didn't want to jump as the pools seemed shallow, though others jumped it later on), and relaxed in the pools some more. It was also fun to get up close to the falls, and it felt like standing under a really strong pressure hot water shower.
On Friday we had another late morning since we were taking the boat to Livingston and it didn’t leave until 9:30. The only way to get to Livingston from Rio Dulce via water is by a tour boat, and they leave twice a day, at 9:30 and 2:30. It’s a bit pricey at Q125, but we were quite looking forward to it.
To be honest, the attractions were nothing great, but I did enjoy going through the Río Dulce canyon, and it was a scenic ride.
The seaside town of Lívingston is where the Garífuna culture thrives, and is a very interesting contrast to the rest of Guatemala. The Garífunas are Afro-Caribbeans with cultural traditions that are a mixed of West African and Carib-Arawak. A long history of slavery, colonization, and travel led them to settle in Honduras, Nicaragua, and southern Belize. Those in Belize spread to Guatemala, establishing Livingston in 1806.
Lívingston was bright and colorful with street art, felt hot and humid, and smelled of the sea, reminding me of Cartagena in Colombia. I wanted to stop every five minutes, but I reminded myself that I could do so later. We made it to our hostel Casa de la Iguana, which had a lovely vibe.
After checking in, we were offered a welcome shot of gifiti, a garífunan blend of rum, herbs, roots and spices.
Then we set out to explore Lívingston. We really wanted to go to the museum to learn more about the Garífuna culture, but had bad luck trying to get to it. We found three cultural centers, but all were closed. In the end we had a great time just walking around enjoying all the street art and the seaside weather.
We ended up back at our hostel for dinner, where we signed up to have some tapado. Tapado is a garifunan stew which consists of fresh seafood (ours had fish and crab) cooked in coconut milk and green plantains. It tasted familiar as I'm used to coconut milk, but in a way the dish was still different and delicious.
The night and our trip ended with some live punta music. It's the garifunan form of musical expression, and consists of rhythmic chanting, drum beats, and dancing. I sat out learning to dance, but watched the first set of lively music.
On Saturday, I spent the whole day traveling back. First a boat ride from Livingston to Puerto Barrios where we got drenched (a combination of the rain and the speedboat; water was just constantly spraying at us), then a bus ride from Puerto Barrios to Guatemala City (in a comfort bus, since the woman at the bus station said the cheap bus wasn't leaving... we didn't believe her, but didn't want to risk it either), and then finally a chicken bus from the City back to Antigua.
Like I mentioned on my last post, traveling via public transportation can get tricky. Researching showed that to get from Lanquín to Río Dulce would have taken us at least 3 bus changes and 9 hours, and that’s if we were lucky and the buses pass by at certain times. In the end, we decided to just get a shuttle for Q175, and had an easy and hassle free journey to Rio Dulce.
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| Ready for more travels |
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| The Shack |
Río Dulce is both the name of the waterway connecting Lake Izabal with the Caribbean Sea and the town that sits where the river meets Lake Izabal. It's a small town with not much to do in the town proper (most activities are about a ride away), but it offers beautiful views and a relaxing time.
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| View of Rio Dulce from our hostel |
We deemed this day our “day off,” and spent the rest afternoon just chilling at the hostel. We unpacked a bit and unwinded, had a good shower, and discussed our next plans. A little before 6, we headed up to the bridge, and watched the sunset from there.
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| Sunset over Rio Dulce |
Growing up, I was a big meat eater, and rarely if ever craved fish. After not having it for almost year though, I was surprised by how much I had been craving it here in Guatemala. Since we were by the water, we decided to have some fried mojarra for dinner. I had had it once before, and it was as delicious as I remembered.
The next day we had a late morning (for once). After asking around the day before on things to do, we decided to go to Finca el Paraíso, which many people had recommended. It was about 45 minutes back (near El Estor, a big town we passed on the way to Río Dulce), but we went for it. We got there easily enough, and got off at the side of the road. We walked ten minutes into the farm, and arrived at this pretty sight. Finca el Paraíso is a little paradise of hot water falls which plunge into cool pools. We were there a little before 9, and had the place to ourselves for a while. We swam a little bit in the pools, then we climbed up to the top of the falls and sat in the hot(!) waters, kind of like a hot tub. Then we headed back down (I didn't want to jump as the pools seemed shallow, though others jumped it later on), and relaxed in the pools some more. It was also fun to get up close to the falls, and it felt like standing under a really strong pressure hot water shower.
At around lunch time we headed out in search of food, and stopped by the little restaurant at the entrance. Unfortunately, they weren't serving any food, but they mentioned they had another place at the shores (the beach, they call it), off the lake. We had been wanting to see Lake Izabal, so we decided to go for it. We had lunch by the water, and saw a part off Lake Izabal, the country's largest lake. After lunch, I couldn't help myself, and took another quick dip in the lake before we headed back to Rio Dulce.
On Friday we had another late morning since we were taking the boat to Livingston and it didn’t leave until 9:30. The only way to get to Livingston from Rio Dulce via water is by a tour boat, and they leave twice a day, at 9:30 and 2:30. It’s a bit pricey at Q125, but we were quite looking forward to it.
We started off by going around the lake picking up a few more people at lakeside hostels and hotels (some which looked cool and hidden, and others which were fancy resorts), and then set off to start the tour.
The sights that you see from the boat are the Castillo de San Felipe, a sort of bird "island," a garden of water lilies, and stopping on the banks of some hot springs (which were not really hot).
To be honest, the attractions were nothing great, but I did enjoy going through the Río Dulce canyon, and it was a scenic ride.
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| Cruising down Río Dulce |
Two hours later, we were approaching Lívingston. We docked, got off the boat, started our walk to the hostel, and fifteen minutes later, I was already falling in love with the town.
The seaside town of Lívingston is where the Garífuna culture thrives, and is a very interesting contrast to the rest of Guatemala. The Garífunas are Afro-Caribbeans with cultural traditions that are a mixed of West African and Carib-Arawak. A long history of slavery, colonization, and travel led them to settle in Honduras, Nicaragua, and southern Belize. Those in Belize spread to Guatemala, establishing Livingston in 1806.
Lívingston was bright and colorful with street art, felt hot and humid, and smelled of the sea, reminding me of Cartagena in Colombia. I wanted to stop every five minutes, but I reminded myself that I could do so later. We made it to our hostel Casa de la Iguana, which had a lovely vibe.
After checking in, we were offered a welcome shot of gifiti, a garífunan blend of rum, herbs, roots and spices.
Then we set out to explore Lívingston. We really wanted to go to the museum to learn more about the Garífuna culture, but had bad luck trying to get to it. We found three cultural centers, but all were closed. In the end we had a great time just walking around enjoying all the street art and the seaside weather.
The streets and people also reminded me of some provinces back home in the Philippines.
We ended up back at our hostel for dinner, where we signed up to have some tapado. Tapado is a garifunan stew which consists of fresh seafood (ours had fish and crab) cooked in coconut milk and green plantains. It tasted familiar as I'm used to coconut milk, but in a way the dish was still different and delicious.
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| Delicious tapado |
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| Live Garífuna music |
The whole trip was such a fun adventure discovering new places. As always, itchy feet for the next!
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