Guatemala

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Motoring up the Rio Dulce, or Sweet River was so different from everything we had experienced so far. The river winds narrowly to the SW and we were flanked on both sides by thick rainforest. Looking into the foliage we could see the colorful feathers of tropical birds and we could hear the calls of the Howler Monkeys. Wow.

The Rio Dulce has been a refuge for sailors for hundreds of years. It is a very unique place in the world in the simple fact that there are few roads, the main form of transportation is boat! We spent our time tied up at Mario's Marina. It is possible to anchor off the main town, but due to some security incidents we decided it was better to stay in one of the many marinas available there.

I was particularly thankful for the hot showers available at the marina because I managed to contract head lice! I managed to get rid of it quickly using horse shampoo. Seriously. We went to a vet supply (really a feed shop) and got horse shampoo for $7 when lice shampoo costs upwards of $25- and mine worked quicker! But enough about that.


No News and Moonshadow med-moored together at Mario's in the Rio Dulce

We caught up with Moonshadow, and Tiffany went 'home'- 35' is really small for 3 adults! We checked out our surroundings, the market in the little town was packed with fruit and veggies, something we hadn't seen a lot of in awhile. Two weeks there was enough for us, we were new to this cruising life and had very 'itchy feet!' We did, however, take one land trip during that time.

Antigua, Guatemala. A city rich in history, it was the third capital of Guatemala, serving as the military seat for 200 years during the 15th and 16th centuries. We missed the famed New Years festivities, but throughly enjoyed our (small)taste of the arcetecture and tradition still very much alive there.

Tiffany also accompanied us to Antigua, but treated herself to a 4-star hotel while we stayed in (private room) hostels! This is also the city where Jeff and I adopted out kitten, Maya, who was to be our companion on No News for the next few months. Jeff and I braved the bus system for our trip back to the Rio. We had to change busses in Guatemala City, not one of the safest places in Centeral America! The 3 of us (Maya included) made it home unscathed and within 2 days we were loaded up and headed back out to the salt water. We were limited by the moon cycle for the highest tide, so if we didn't leave when we did we might have been 'stuck' there for another 2 weeks.

Our next adventure was a tipping point in our cruising life... stay tuned!