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Well, my mission in Antigua was a complete success. I set up transportation and airport pickup for my father for Monday and reserved us a room in Antigua during Semana Santa. None of you realize how difficult that task was. Due to the size and popularity of the festival in Antigua, people are supposed to reserve rooms at least 3 or 4 months in advance. I spent all day going hotel to hotel getting the same answer; we're full! The word around town was that every establishment was booked for that week and the rooms were going for around $110 (American) per night. I was presently crashing at the same hostel (Posada Ruiz#2) I had stayed at when I first arrived in Guatemala; at a bargin price of 25Q ($3.25).

The Arrival of Big Daddy Benny

Jeremy Curl
2006-08-28 16:00:04

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(Bruno’s) on the river where she introduced us to the manager (Monica) and got us oriented with our surroundings. Bruno’s had a nice little set up which included a pool, water’s edge view, dock, and restaurant. Our room, which had a deck with hammocks and a great view, was much nicer than what I had been living in lately. After a good nights sleep, we signed up for a boat excursion which included a lake
The Longest Bridge in Central America Full Image
tour, a ride up the Rio Dulce, and a visit in the town of Livingston; where the river meets the Caribbean. Making our way west towards the lake, we crossed under Central America’s largest bridge. The tour of Lago de Isabel was only of a small section of the lake, due to time constraints being that it is the largest lake in Guatemala. We did get to see El Castillo de San Felipe, which is an old Spanish fortress built in 1652 to keep pirates from looting the villages. We learned most of our information from an old Swedish lady in her 70’s (Eva) who read aloud from her Lonely Planet book to everyone on board. Eva was accompanied by her husband John. The two made the sweetest couple, with John complementing his wife’s sociable nature by just smiling quietly as he stared through his photo lens. My father and I spent a lot of our time talking with the couple and enjoying their youthful approach to life.

The boat ride up the Rio Dulce was spectacular! The river feeds into Lago de Isabel with the Caribbean as it's life source. We made our way through lush jungle scenery
and a gorge covered in vines and giant foliage. The air was filled with tropical birds, the shore line with flower lilies, on the banks were thatched roof huts, and in the depths swam manatees (walrus-like mammals) which are rarely seen. We made a stop off at a riverside hostel called Finca Tatin whose thatched bungalow's were nestled into the jungle. Dad and I walked back a ways and marveled at the plant life all around us. The swamp-like ground was teaming with tiny crabs and gigantic toads. This would be a great hide away to come to if you just wanted to kick back in a hammock, relax, and get away from the busy world for a while.

When finally reaching the mouth of the river, we could see out into the Caribbean with Livingston along it's shore. The small ocean town of Livingston is much different than the rest of it's country. The locals are Black Guatemalans (Garfuna) that speak both Spanish and their traditional Garfuna language. The town is very layed back with a Jamaican-like vibe in the air. Just off the main strip of restaurants, bars, and tourist shops, are poor conditions similar to many of the other small towns in the country. Several people had told me that they found the atmosphere here a little uncomfortable, but of course they weren't in the presence of someone as intimidating as my father. Just the tweak of his brow has made many a men flee. After three hours had past, we all met at the dock and made our way back to where we had started. After our tour had come to a close, we lounged about on Bruno's deck. For dinner, Dad and I enjoyed fried Mojarra; a native fish of these inland waters (Delicious!).

Well, that is two days down and 22 to go for Big Papa. I have decided to do separate entries for the Rio Dulce and Tikal; mainly because of the number of pictures. Tomorrow we head North to Flores and Tikal, where my father and I will lead a major archeological dig into a newly discovered section below one of the sacrificial temples of Tikal; yeah I'm kidding. It is great to hear from you all. I promise to reply to your e-mails in the near future (hopefully before I return), but know that I am reading them all
Thatched Roof Huts Along the River Full Image
and that they are much appreciated. Write you later. We're out!