Arriving Guatemala

With the forecast for high winds later in the week outside the entrance to the Rio Dulce, we decided, along with most other boats in Placencia, to advance our arrival in Livingston, Guatemala, a few days. Monday morning, Norm, along with people from three other boats, caught the 7:45 am Hokey Pokey water taxi from Placencia to the small village of Mango Creek. Once in Mango Creek, we negotiated with John, a taxi driver (in a minivan), a rate to take us to all the stops, wait for us at each stop, and return us to the water taxi. We piled in, and the first stop was immigration in the police station right in Mango Creek. Next, we went to Big Creek, about three miles away, to clear customs. Big Creek is a shipping port, primarily for exporting bananas. A ship was arriving, so the customs officer was not at the office. Nothing to do but wait. While waiting, the Port Captain rode up on his bicycle and processed our papers and collected a departure fee. Meanwhile, Kathy from Tundra would knock on the customs door every now and then, and probably out of frustration, a guy finally opened the door. He had worked a long, hard weekend and was not on duty, and asked us to please stop banging on the door. About 15 minutes later, he again opened the door and said he would process us. He just wanted to get rid of the noisy crowd.

On the way back to the water taxi, John stopped in town at a fruit and vegetable tienda, obviously belonging to a friend or relative, but we were pleased with the selection and the prices. Norm returned to the boat with a pineapple, a papaya, cucumbers, and tomatoes.

We decided to break our trip from Placencia to Livingston into two short days. We definitely wanted to arrive in Livingston in the morning and get upriver. Livingston is not a safe place to stay. High tide was at 7 am, and we crossed a couple of hours later. We were the last boat for the day, joining about a 1/2 dozen boats already at anchor as we cleared into Guatemala. We arrived in time to catch Raul, the agent who helps with clearing in or out, and the entourage of officials while they were still on board the boats, which is the beginning of the process. We had the anchor down for only about 15 minutes before Raul, the Port Captain, immigration, customs, and the medical officer (in scrubs) came aboard. They all gathered in the cockpit, where we presented our papers and answered their questions. They all spoke English and were very friendly and professional. After about 10 minutes, they were on their way, and we were left with a map and an 11:30 appointment at Raul's office to pick up our completed paperwork and pay our fees.

We had our first-ever experience with boat boys when we arrived at the government dock in our dinghy. Not really, boys, or at least not young boys, they will look after your boat while you're away in town. It is recommended to pay this small expense in Livingston. Well, our first experience was not pleasant. They were all clamoring for our business, and we chose a young man who appeared to be trustworthy. A guy we didn't choose felt cheated, and a pretty good shouting match broke out. We could not shake the rejected guy, and he followed us to the bank, constantly still arguing his case. He even went into the bank with Norm, but he sent him back outside. Coming out, he gave him Q20 to go away, and that worked. 1 USD = 7.88 quetzales. We walked around town while killing time before our appointment, but the heat was just too much, so we found a restaurant, ordered drinks, and watched the activity from our shady spot.

We had Raul also process our boat extension. The initial boat permit is for three months, but it can be extended for an additional year. We will fly back to the United States in June, so we paid Raul the extension fees and signed the application, and he will forward the extended permit to Monkey Bay Marina when it arrives.

We found our dinghy in good shape, paid our boat boy, and were back on Ariel before lunch.

Our reservation at Monkey Bay Marina is not until May 1, so we will take our time going up the river. We could certainly go in right away, but we wanted to spend some time at Texan Bay Marina, which is about halfway, just after entering El Golfete, a wide part of the river.

Going from Livingston at the mouth of the river to El Golfete is an amazing 10 miles or so. The river winds through a canyon with sheer rock walls that soar 300 feet. Most of the steep sides are covered with trees and vines hanging down to the water. It is just one of those places where pictures do not do it justice.

Texans Mike and Sherry Paine started Texan Bay Marina about five years ago. We took a slip ($10/day) and are using the opportunity to meet cruisers. Most boats stop here on the way and either take a slip or anchor in the peaceful bay in front of the marina. It is a fun place. Last night, the excuse for the party was a Full Moon.