We are working on our fifth Hurricane Season on the Rio Dulce. That is hard to believe. It is not the same place that we pulled into several years ago. I still remember the first time we crossed over from our anchorage at Cabo Tres Puntas. We were in company with several boats: Procyon, Continental Drift, Artemesia and us in Dragonheart. It was a foggy morning and as we approached “The Bar” we were all nervous. Some because of draft, some because it was new and some had heard rumors that the sea buoy had been moved. All went well and we anchored as the mist was lifting. We were excited about getting here and couldn’t wait for the new chapter in our travels.
We all went in and did the check-in dance, Raul didn’t do all the running around for you back then, and had lunch and bought some of the biggest carrots that I have ever seen. We wanted to get to Gringo Bay for the night so we were pushing against the current and the setting sun to get there before dark. None of us were sure which bay was Gringo Bay so we anchored outside a couple of bays and figured we would be safe for the night.
During cocktails on Procyon a small cayuco came up to us. No one spoke Spanish so we didn’t know what he wanted. It made all of us a little nervous. So back to your boats to make sure all was okay. It was…he just wanted to sell us some shrimp. Missed out on that one.
Then it was on to Mario’s Marina. We all had reservations. The place was packed! Packed, not just with boats, but with people. Every place was busy. People lived on their boats full time it seems more then, than now. Just one of the changes on the river. The river now seems more like a “Park and Fly”. There are plenty of boats now, just not many people.
Boats on average were smaller when we first got here. Now if you aren’t 45’ or bigger you are really small. Yes, I remember when Westsail came out with the 32’ and made cruising affordable. When we started looking at our cruising boat we wanted it paid off. Thirty-eight feet was the norm and something that I thought I could handle alone. Most boats were monohulls. Now Catamarans are more numerous. For livability I don’t think you can beat them. I am still not convinced I want to sail one.
That first year was the start of the original Sweet River Band. It really used to rock the house down. Like most band there have been changes to the members and the style of music. They still can play though. I have noticed there is more room on the dance floor. May-be it will fill up when people come back to get ready to cruise.
That is another difference. More people use to hang around. More people just went back for a month and then it was back home to the boat. Now it is two weeks before the season and two weeks after the season. New condos and new grandbabies seem to be the big pull. More people are swallowing the anchor and becoming “dirt dwellers.” I won’t lie to you. It does get harder every year that you age. I personally think that the anchor gains weight each year. I have noticed that I am not as nimble either. The truth is we are getting older!
Many of the restaurants are limiting their hours. There aren’t enough people to keep them open for three meals a day plus Happy Hour. However, as the marinas don’t seem to have the people in them I must admit that the town of Rio Dulce is booming. So many new items in the Dispensa Familia. We even have a meat counter and fresh veggies in the store now. There is a mall. It is a small mall, but a mall none the less. New businesses are cropping up all the time.
Can’t find what you want in Rio Dulce, Morales, or Puerto Barrios you can always hop a bus and go to Guatemala City. Good food, great hotels, movies and department stores. I am convinced if you want something you can get it right here in Guatemala.
The people of Guatemala are some of the most friendly I have ever met. Yes, learning a new language is a challenge, but isn’t that part of why we cruise? We like a challenge. Because we keep returning the employees are more than just employees. I have helped bring their children into the world, pronounced their dead, stitched their wounds and provided medication to their ill, shared a tear or hug and prayed with them. The employees are like family. We have history. I worry about them with the economic down turn.
The geography of the river is changing. In the short time that we have been here entire islands have disappeared. Shell Bay is missing a few islands and the old big bird island is gone. Wakes from power boats, jet skies, and now cayucos with motors are all taking their toll on the river banks, wildlife, and the overall tranquility of the Rio.
There use to be so many Jesus lizards on the property that you could get run over walking down the sidewalk. Though I have noticed a small come back.
Why this walk down memory lane. Well, I AM getting older. New arrivals always ask, “Do you go out in your boat?” When they find out how long we have been here. Here has become home to us. We like it here. We want you to like it too. So we may not be doing long passages, just the jaunt to the Bay Islands and Belize, but we enjoy it. We like our time on the hook. We like our time in the marina.
Some days you just can’t stop wool gathering and remember how something was versus how it is. Nothing bad about how it is…you just remember the “Good Ol’ Days” with fondness.
So to all the cruisers whose paths have crossed with ours, for good or bad, for following seas or beating into it, for full moons and the pitch black of night, may you have fond memories, yet look forward to the new challenges of our ever evolving time on the Big Blue Marble.
If you have never been to Central America let me tell you...they like their music LOUD! No matter where you were in the park you could hear it. Not just hear it you can feel the bass pounding through you body. So the music is playing and now there is a fashion show sponsored by Victoria Secrets. At this point Michael is now the photographer and most of our photos are of lovely young Guatemalan women in various pajamas, swimsuits and other clothes.
