Fun Times on the Rio Dulce

For hurricane season hundreds of boats arrive for protection and spread themselves out at the many marinas scattered along the river. Some people stay and work on various boats projects but the majority put their boats on the hard and head home. We have had a couple of projects our biggest being replacing the coach window roof, that had a crack in it in Trinidad and had run, with fibreglass.

Before - Whilst the window looks great once removed, it was always covered as it was too hot

Before – Whilst the window looks great once removed, it was always covered as it was too hot

After - Looks good so we are happy and has anti skid on the roof side

After – Looks good so we are happy and has anti skid on the outside roof side

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Repainting woodwork in the shower

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Arney – fiberglass work inside

It’s not all work of course. Nana Juana this year has a good mix of people with lots of social activities and trips being organized. Friday night drinks, Sunday BBQs, exercise, games etc etc etc.

Ashtanga yoga at 7am is hot and very difficult

Ashtanga yoga at 7am is hot and very difficult

water aerobics at the pool early before it gets hot (yes we have men come too)

water aerobics at the pool early before it gets hot (yes we have men come too)

circuit training in the air conditioned gym (bliss!) for a change of pace

circuit training in the air conditioned gym (bliss!) for a change of pace

 Mexican train dominoes or is it catching up on the goss while the men work

Mexican train dominoes or is it catching up on the goss while the men work

Fronteras a 5 minute dinghy ride for groceries etc. The road being empty is NOT normal!

Fronteras a 5 minute dinghy ride for groceries etc. The road being empty is NOT normal!

Still NOT normal but getting close. The tuktuks are awesome, the huge trucks with cattle are not given the road size.

Still NOT normal but getting close. The tuktuks are awesome, the huge trucks with cattle are not given the road size.

Jennifer from Our Rose arrived in time to celebrate her BIG birthday with us all. We had lots of surprises organized for her. As you can see a good time was had by all. Happy Birthday Jen….

A river boat ride to our restaurant of choice "the Kangaroo" for Mexican 1099 /448 Swinging out over the river at the restaurant

A river boat ride for the birthday dinner to our restaurant of choice “the Kangaroo” for Mexican

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Swinging out over the river

a ballet performance from Fern and Molly back at the Marina

a ballet performance from Fern and Molly back at the Marina

The kiwi Haka; intro to the piñata event

The kiwi Haka; intro to the piñata event

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The kids helped Jen blow the candles out

The kids helped Jen blow the candles out

Belinda singing the Belinda revised edition of "The Lady is a Tramp"

Belinda singing the Belinda revised edition of “The Lady is a Tramp”. Awesome!

Phil & Stuart here entertaining us with great tunes & Jen with her air guitar soon to move to a real one?

Phil & Stuart here entertaining us with great tunes & Jen with her air guitar soon to move to a real one?

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Brett & Shannon

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Bill, Richard and Dean

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I think the Birthday girl had a great night.

And then suddenly Bill from Out of The Bag has hair! Nice look Bill

And then suddenly Bill from Out of The Bag has hair! Nice look Bill

Good times and more to come.

Arriving in the Rio Dulce, Guatemala

After clearing in at the town of Livingston, at the mouth of the Rio Dulce , we made our way up the River. It was a misty rainy day, which made the canyon look impressive with clouds hanging above the limestone cliffs and lush green trees that fall to the river. Fresh water; the boat already feels clean.

The town of Livingston over the murky waters at the mouth of the Rio.

The town of Livingston over the murky waters at the mouth of the Rio.

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As you move up the river you pass by native huts made of thatch with the odd store along the rivers edge.
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P1090355There are men out on the river casting their nets for fish. It’s so tranquil. We feel like we have gone back in time.
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We stopped to anchor in Texan bay the first bay after entering Lake Golfete, which has a small Marina with a nice restaurant and ended up staying for a week as the people here were so friendly and it was a perfect place to hang out and work on our project list, including getting some work done.

The Marina at Texan Bay

The Marina at Texan Bay

A great area to just hang out and meet the locals and cruisers

A great area to just hang out and meet the locals and cruisers

Brett preparing his new system for work to be done, interesting!

Brett preparing his new system for work to be done, interesting!

Every day in Texan Bay, we had local Quq’chi Indian women and children come by the boat in their canoes selling hand made woven baskets, fruit and vege. They live in the mountains close by.

After making our way further up the Rio thru Lake Golfete we arrived at Nana Juana the Marina we had chosen near the town of Fronteras for hurricane season. There are a great group of people here and our berth is good so we are pretty happy.

Lake Golfete every morning is very calm

Lake Golfete every morning is very calm to cross and then the winds get up in the afternoon

The Rio gets busier with big homes and marinas

The Rio gets busier with big homes and marinas

Our berth at Nana Juana

Our berth at Nana Juana

The day we arrived we were swept off to celebrate Canada Day at The Kangaroo

The day we arrived we were swept off to celebrate Canada Day at The Kangaroo

The palapa where everyone gathers to relax after a big day working on jobs

Looks like it will be a great place to hang for the season.