Travel near Rio Dulce and we move to Nana Juana

June 24, 2008

Aside from getting acquainted with the rhythm of life and the things that are and are not part of that, we have three things to report. We have taken two excursions and changed location.

Our first sight seeing trip was in our dinghy to the Castillo de San Felipe, which guarded Lake Izabal from pirates. It was built in the 1590’s and rebuilt and expanded during subsequent centuries and is now a National Historic Site and Park. The written brochure was in Spanish and the guides spoke only Spanish as well, but we got the gist of the story and never went somewhere that we shouldn’t.

Dorothy from Pearl S. Buck arranged our next trip. Bryan and Dorothy from Pearl, Richard and Pam from Tisha Baby, Russ and Shelley from Jacana, Bob from Viva and Barb and I formed a group of nine and hired a van driver to take us to Quirigua. As we drove out of the Rio Dulce river valley and into the hills, the landscape changed from jungle to pasture land, then to hilly plantations then back to rich bottom land. The recent heavy rains left some flooding behind in many of the pastures and a landslide had been removed from the highway in the hills. As we approached Quirigua we were let out of the van to visit a Del Monte banana plantation and shipping facility. This was an unexpected opportunity and we were fascinated to watch the process from banana stalk, to cutting, washing, inspecting and measuring, bagging, box assembly and boxing to the shipping area. These were very green bananas. We had been given some by friends and after over a week they still weren’t yellow. When one showed the slightest hint of yellow color we peeled it for our cereal and it was delicious. The rest of the bunch was consumed over the next few days – very tasty.

We reboarded the van and drove a very short distance to the archeological site of the Mayan ruins that seems to be on the Del Monte plantation property. The site was a major city in the 700 AD range and for several hundred more years, with its temples and ball court in the process of being restored. The stelea and zoomorphs that remain are among the best examples in existence. I will let the photos tell the story.









With much consideration we have decided to switch marinas from Tijax to Nana Juana. Tijax was exotic in a jungle setting. The marina prices are moderate to high for the area - $200/month + $0.40/KWH for electricity + $30/Month for Internet. Bryan is paying for a side-tie slip at $240/Month. (When we checked out, we discovered that we in fact paid $0.54/KWH and nothing for the Internet. The internet connection was weak and unreliable however.) The best access route to town was a short water taxi (free) ride or dinghy trip. The restaurant and bar were quite good and reasonably priced. The pool, with its waterfalls and lush jungle setting was well maintained and the filter was run for a while most days. The staff was friendly and could understand our needs usually, but spoke Spanish almost exclusively. The facilities were kept very clean and I would recommend Tijax to cruisers. The downside was the intermittent power outages and the med mooring. Med moorings are the most common kind of docking in Rio Dulcie and seem to work here. However, the dock to which we were tied was old and it seemed tired enough to cause me concern if hurricane winds blew through. Nana Juana offered a side tie slip for $180/month, $0.35/KWH electricity and free Internet that is robust enough to use Skype. It is pretty, not as scenic as Tijax, but has more breezes to keep our boat and us cooler. So we moved last Sunday and are satisfied so far.

We are flying back to The States on Tuesday, July 1 so the next news will be about that trip. We have much to make ready before that. Until then, be well.

J&B