Traveling While Introverted

After too short a stay in Flores, we headed on to Rio Dulce. Rio Dulce is the name of the river in the eastern part of Guatemala, near the border with Belize and Honduras. One end of the river is Lago de Izabel, while the other end merges with the Caribbean Sea. Of all the places we visited, Rio Dulce was at the top of both of our lists. Not only because we were so excited to be so close to water, but also because we knew our accommodations would be so unique.

When we arrived in the city of Rio Dulce by shuttle, we were dropped off right in the chaos. Neither one of us were quite prepared for the noise and crowded sidewalk/street front, especially with all of our bags. We had scheduled a lancha (boat) through the hotel to pick us up a while later, but we were so overwhelmed that we decided to splurge on a private lancha to the hotel directly. The captain of the boat kindly offered to give both of us a ride on his motorcycle with all of our stuff to the dock, but we both declined. (Maybe you had to be there, but we laughed about this for days.)

Soon enough, we arrived at the Hotel Kangaroo y Restaurante, an establishment right on the river only accessible by lancha. The river has plenty of these accommodations, some nicer than others. We can’t speak for the other places, but there was something so warm and inviting about Hotel Kangaroo that we immediately felt comfortable and at home. Our room was a little cabin at the end of the walkway, behind the main house & restaurant. Besides very friendly staff who seemed to carry our bags with much more ease than we did, the hotel had its own mascot: Toby! (Surely you can see what a love bug he is.)

We really only left the hotel once to go to a town called Livingston. (For all the details about the Mexican-inspired food we ate, check out Yahm’s corner.) Livingston sits on the country’s Caribbean coast, where the Rio Dulce empties into the sea. As is the case with this part of the country, we took a lancha to get there. This time, though, we were on a tour boat that stopped a few times to admire the natural landscapes and wildlife, as well as view the Castillo de San Felipe de Lara fort from afar.

When we arrived in Livingston, we realized that it is strikingly different than any other place we visited in Guatemala. Due to its location and the history of French and Spanish colonialism and enslavement of Africans, Livingston is the hub of an Afro-Caribbean-Guatemalan subculture. The town itself isn’t very large, so having only 3 hours to walk around was more than enough. Despite the tourists that come through, Livingston felt like a town that was struggling financially. Yahm noticed a pharmacy was completely powered by a generator. Despite that, we saw two children gleefully playing soccer on a side street, because no matter where you are in the world, kids will be kids.

One group of note are the Garifuna people, whose culture spreads into Honduras, Nicaragua, and Belize (in addition to Guatemala). We visited a restaurant and had an opportunity to learn more about their culture. We would have liked to walk around more but it was so swelteringly humid and hot. Yahm is a big fan of humidity but even she was fading. We spent quite a bit of time looking at the water and watching an egret bumping along to “Murder She Wrote” by Chaka Demus and Pliers. (Volume up.)

Our time in Rio Dulce was, by far, the most relaxing of our entire stay in Guatemala and possibly our favorite. Besides vibing with staff, Toby, and other guests, Adam also took the plunge and used a rope swing to jump into the river. (For those who don’t know her, Yahm likes her feet on the ground and doesn’t swim. Doubly-so in murky rivers where monsters may lurk.)

On the final morning before heading back to Guatemala City, we took the time to enjoy the quiet calm that surrounded us. We watched bees and butterflies, swatted away a few mosquitoes, and tried to take in not only our experience of the last few days, but what a special place this country is. Guatemala has been an incredible introduction to Central America and we are both sad to leave it. Alas, a plane ticket was already booked and we needed to get on our way.

Can you guess which country we’re going to next? Take our poll below and let us know!

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