Rio Dulce, Lago Izabal and Livingston
Hotels & Travel
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Tikal
The Rio Dulce, Lago Izabal and Livingston
The "modern" history of Rio Dulce began on March 10th of 1524, when Gil Gonzales de Avila left Santo Domingo with an expedition consisting of 300 men, 500 horses and some women. After a brief mishap on the Honduran coast, Avila and his crew sailed towards the "Golfo Dulce" where he founded in late March of 1524 the first colony called San Gil de Buenavista... only five years after Cortes' arrival in Mexico, a date which make it the first known settlement by Europeans in Guatemala, predating Alvarados founding of what was to become Antigua Guatemala by four months!!
Hotels nearCortez himself later decided to take a trip to the Rio Dulce... which makes him the first important tourist to visit the area!! Unfortunately, in those days traveling in the area was not as pleasant as it is today as it took him some six months to get here from Mexico and tend to his business. His travels are described in his 5th letter to King Carlos V of Spain. Cortez found only a few survivors in San Gil.
It seems that the colonists did not get along with the natives of the lost city of Nito. Cortez describes his arrival to this city and rescuing the survivors. Later that century and for the nest two hundred years other settlements were established and eventually the Rio Dulce became the most important waterway connecting the kingdom of Guatemala to the Spanish crown. A Port was built and a road to Antigua Guatemala by these means were transported most of the goods to and from Guatemala to the rest of the world. If you would like to have a more pleasant visit than Cortez, please click here to see a full list of the hotels in the area.
Fronteras
Most of the hotels and restaurants in the Rio Dulce are found in or close to the town of Fronteras. It's where the road into the Peten from Guatemala city crosses the river, and is about 2 km. from the eastern end of Lago Isabal.
For transport around the Rio Dulce area, between hotels or trips to Lago Izabal or downriver to Livingston, we highly recommend the sailing catamaran "Shin Tzu" (Contact the via Martsam Travel on www.transportguatemala.com). They do private or group visits to all the major points of interest in the Rio Dulce area... a nicer trip for the same price as the mafia which runs all of the shark boats. For more information, click here to contact the captain.
El Castillo de San Felipe
Today you can visit the nicely restored Castillo de San Felipe de Lara. Within its wall is the over 400 year old Torreon de Bustamante. From the cannon embattlements you can admire the view of Lago Izabal to the west as far as the Sierra de las Minas and imagine the galleons sailing upstream in the afternoon breeze and setting anchor in the San Felipe bay. Today you're more likely to see sailing yachts from all over the world anchored at the various marinas. "Sunset Sailing" (Contact the via Martsam Travel on www.transportguatemala.com) tours around the lake which includes sailing past the fort just like the pirates did many years ago....You can also visit the "lookouts" on top of the hill at our rubber plantation from where the pirates were spotted as they entered the Golfete sailing towards the Fort of San Felipe.
Lake Izabal
Around the bend from the Castillo de San Felipe is the eastern end of the largest lake in Guatemala, Lago Izabal. This lake is the basin for all of the water which falls on northern and eastern Guatemala, and as such is subject to a changing water level. At the far western end, one can glide up into the tributaries through the mangroves swamps and see many howler monkeys carelessly browsing their way through the canopy of the forest.
Located about 1/3 of the way up the north shore is one of the most unique natural phenomena to occur in nature... a hot water waterfall, produced by artesian hot springs on a farm appropriately called Finca El Paraiso (Paradise Farm). What makes this more impressive yet is the fact that the water falls are exactly the right temperature for bathing, and that they fall into the clear cool waters of another mountain stream... where you can pass the afternoon in bliss. If this were in Hawaii, there would be a four year waiting list to visit it, and swimming would be prohibited. Here in Guatemala... well... dive in!
Livingston
Home of the Garifuna people, Livingston is more like Jamaica than anywhere else in Guatemala. Complete with their own language and culture, these descendants of escaped slaves really know how to kick back. The reggae is fierce here, as is the incredible seafood. You will also have the best banana pancakes of your life.
Even though there are two distinct schools of thought on this little Caribbean town, you should come and draw your own conclusions. One school says Livingston's a tourist trap, with too many drugs and hustlers and thieves. The other school says it's an awesome anomaly of mixed cultures, music and history, right on the beach. I think that if you have good weather, Livingston is a wonderful place to spend a few days. If it's sunny you can relax, hike, swim, eat, drink, and relax some more. Don't be fooled though, this place is not a resort town. It has a gritty edge.
The only way to get to Livingston is by boat, furthering the illusion that you are, in fact, on a tropical island. Lying halfway between the Belizian border to the north and the dusty city of Puerto Barrios to the south, it could take anywhere from 45 minutes to eight hours to get to Livingston. If you have time, take it.
There are two ferries to Livingston every day, one in the morning and one in the afternoon. When I was just there, they left from Puerto Barrios at 10:30am and 5pm, returning from Livingston at 5am and 2pm. The trip take ninety minutes and costs approximately $1.50 or Q15. Make sure to check the schedule, as they have a reputation for changing without notice.
A much faster way to get there, once you actually leave the dock, is by speedboat. Each speedboat leaves whenever it is full, usually around 15 passengers. Sometimes this works out well, and other times you're just praying for more people to show up. The guys will try to charge you more than the locals, but just don't take it. They're not really expecting to get away with it anyway. The ride to Livingston takes about 40 minutes and should cost you about $4 or Q25. If you're in a hurry, you can get a "private" boat to take you right away for $25 or Q150. Same deal from Livingston to Puerto Barrios.
From the town of Rio Dulce, 4 and a half hours by bus from Guatemala City, you can grab a snack and a boat from the dock at the nameless restaurant under the bridge. You'll most likely be lead here anyway by friendly boatmen looking for a fare. Getting to Livingston by speedboat, with a few additional stops to look at wildlife and hot springs, should cost you about $10 or Q80. It takes at least two hours, depending how long you stop along the way.
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