August 7, 2010 |
| Grab a coffee and have a seat... |
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Fisherman poling across the Rio
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....my apologies in advance this is a long one.
Rio Dulce up to Fronteras
We left Utila around 11:00 for the twenty six hour passage to the Rio Dulce. We set a course heading west southwest in a fresh breeze and sunny skies. The trip was mostly uneventful save for a few squalls later in the day. We had a few with twenty five knot winds and eight to ten foot seas. The auto pilot did an admirable job though it did work a bit harder to keep a true course (extra rations earned for him). We passed the illumination of LaCeiba, Puerto Cortez and Puerto Barrios off to our south as we headed west along the coast. During daylight one can see the mountains of mainland Honduras from many miles at sea. At night time they disappear into the black void leaving no horizon to follow. This is made worse by overcast skies which blocked out all starlight as well. Therefore; these “glowing” cities gave us some orientation while on watch. Around 05:00 the eastern sky awakened with the faintest bit of light. Soon we had a marvelous sky with red purple hews and the silhouette of large billowing clouds (all long before the sun even broke the horizon). We made the mouth of Rio at 08:00 which was four hours ahead of our planned schedule. We crossed the bar without incident and motored to Livingston where we set anchor awaiting the Port Captain to clear us into Guatemala. By this time the sun was up and shining over the very picturesque town of Livingston. We had to wait until 11:00 before the “entourage” showed up onboard (before such time captain and crew are not allowed ashore). There were five officials. Port Captain, Customs, Immigration and two “mystery” guys (they didn’t say or do anything except smile). Once check in was complete we went ashore to sample the sights at Livingston. Yet another great little place. That said; we were on a mission. We wanted to get to Fronteras which was four hours up river and our ultimate destination. We hauled anchor and proceeded up the gorge. This is a narrow gorge with towering cliffs and jungle vegetation. Actually it was the original location for filming of the Johnny Wisemiller “Tarzan” films. We didn’t see Johnny but I sure could see the old black & white Tarzan movies in my mind’s eye! It was very cool! We arrived (mid afternoon) in Fronteras which is the focal point of this area. It is on the Rio Dulce just before it enters into Lake Izabal (very large lake) and just above the Golfete ( smaller lake). By the way…this is all fresh water. We anchored off Bruno’s Marina just at the base of the bridge. We heard some disparaging remarks about Bruno’s which have proven all to be “bunk”. We’ve rented a slip for a month and are loving it here thus far. We can walk to the center of town in five minutes. There you’ll find most anything (foodwise) in the street side market stands lining both sides of the road. The road is actually the Pan American Highway which is the major road north and south through Central America. This makes for some interesting traffic conditions. Chickens, vegetable stands, bikes, buses, cars, buses, pedestrians…all vying for a little space to move (and avoid getting run over). Something you’ve really got to see to believe! It is really inexpensive here. So much so that it’s almost cheaper to eat at any one of some fifteen to twenty local places than to cook onboard (so far ALL have been fantastic). Monday we are taking a four hour bus ride back in to the mountains of Honduras at Copan. There we’ll visit the Mayan ruins and see the local sites. We'll post our Copan trip as well as a pleasant afternoon at the "hot water falls" yesterday.
Pics Here
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2010
Hurricane Mon...
2009