Mar Marina on the Rio Dulce

The lake has a wonderful Spanish fort that is well worth seeing. With a number of iron and bronze cannons the Spanish had used for fortification. The grounds were well kept and nicely manicured with lots of park area to walk around and enjoy. We only had a few weeks there before we flew back to Canada for the hurricane season. Rather than stay during their rainy season we decided to spent the summer at home in the Soo. We flew out on June 27 and our flights back were on Sept. 10.

Traveling up the Rio Dulce

On the way there is a limestone cliff that previous sailors have written their boat names and dates when they sailed by it. It is a busy river with numerous watercrafts plying the waters. Every thing from tour boats to pangas cruise up and down the river. The trip takes most of the day to get to the lake, which are ringed with cloud-covered mountains. Once there we took a few days to find a marina to dock the boat. All of the marinas have a flare to them with different amenities. Mar Marina was the one we chose it had security guards at night the dockage was well spaced, laundry, showers, cable television, a restaurant and a marine hard ware store. The marina is situated on the opposite other side of the lake from the town with a bridge spanning it. Walking there does not take long and the view from the top is great. The town’s main street is also the highway and crossing it is tricky. You have to dodge street vendors, transports, gauchos, buses and tourists.

Belize to Guatemala

We traveled two more days until we arrived in Guatemala at Livingston. The mouth of the Rio Dolce is situated there. Entering is a bit tricky because it has a sand bar that has a depth of five and a half feet. Going over it in the afternoon is advisable because the river runs out of the mouth higher. As soon as we anchored the Port Captain and his entourage came on board and began our clearing process. Later we went ashore and finished up the paper work. The Port Captain welcomed Gilbert to Guatemala when we told him it was his birthday. He also gave him a kiss and a hug. Livingston is a very pretty town with many colorful shops and a resort named Gil.
When in season the locals catch shrimp that is fairly inexpensive. We purchased jumbo shrimp in a bucket for about twenty dollars. Fresh Shrimp done in a tempura batter is incredible with ice cold beer. Two days later we started our journey up the Rio Dulce to Lake Isabelle. The river is very wide and in some place 80 feet deep. Going up the river is like going through the Grand Canyon only the walls are covered with jungle.

Mexico to Belize

We set sail with some fellow cruisers we met while we were anchored in Isla Mujeres. Mike and Babet had a racing boat that they outfitted for cruising. Not only was it beautiful it was fast also. We set sail hours before them and they caught up in no time. We sailed to Cozumel together with a couple of other boats besides Babet and Mike. The next couple of days were spent touring the main attractions on the waterfront and getting to know Mike and Babet. Gil and I did our clearing out paper work in Cozumel and it is just as time consuming as clearing in. Once that was done, we headed south towards Belize. At one of our overnight anchorages, we ended up being stormed in for four days. The first named tropical storm came in and all we could do was play crib and do odd jobs around the boat until it was over. Once it cleared up, we took off again doing twenty to thirty mile jaunts down the coast until we reached Belize. Once In Belize we sailed inside the reef along the coast. Belize City was a very different experience. Most of the people speak English there. The city is teaming with people who will guide you or sell you handcrafts of artwork in one form or other. The taxi drivers know their stuff and can help you find what you want. We only spent a couple of days there and on of those days an island a culinary and drinks contest was going on. We were able to sample a lot of the Island cuisine and popular drinks. When we were checking out the food, we met a couple from Australia who vacationing at the hotel. Their home was in Cain’s Australia. They had come to Belize to dive the reef. The evening in their company was entertaining as they spoke to us about the harbor in Cain’s. They operate a dive boat and take people out to the Great Barrier Reef. One of the sites is an underwater volcano. I am sure Gil and I will take the opportunity to dive it when we arrive there. As the evening progressed, they spoke to us about the marinas and the services they provide for boaters. Apparently, they will move your boat up the rivers if you are away from your boat traveling. As it always happens, the evening was far too short. We were heading out in the morning so we exchanged addresses and went back to the boat, promising we would look them up. The morning brought fair weather with it and it turned out to be a nice sail to our next anchorage. The island had a fisherman’s station there so we dinghied to it. So far, we had not eaten any lobster yet and lobster season had just started. Enlisting the help of two fishermen for our next meal is Gil’s Fortier. We were invited to come along with them and for the next two hours, we rode around while one of the young men would dive down pull up our dinner. These two fellows had been fishing since they were young and knew what they were doing. Once our next meal was caught, there were rounds of beer and good conversation. Gil and I always find it fascinating to hear about peoples lives and how they live and make a living. And these two fellows did not disappoint us.