Rio Dulce 🇬🇹

Rio Dulce

A town located on the largest lake in the country, Lago de Izabal, from where you can reach the Caribbean coast by boat. We booked a stay at the Kangaroo Hotel together with Becci and Tino, which could only be reached by boat. A small family-run hotel & restaurant. There was a Liliane attached to a tree to swing into the river mouth. Besides two trips, we spent more time at the hotel and went swimming. I taught the owner's son the numbers from 1 to 10 in German and how to do a head dive into the water.

One trip was to kayak on a nearby river. We took a public colectivo (popular local transportation method) to get there. Unfortunately, this was not possible due to the rainy season, as the river was too dirty and fast. We managed to convince the rental company to let us try to row up the canyon together in a small wooden boat. After the two drivers only made it a small part, we got more paddles and everyone helped. We made a little progress, but not much. It was still a lot of fun. After that, we went to a waterfall around the corner, which springs from a hot spring and falls into a cold river. The feeling of showering your head with warm water and having your "eggs" in the cold lake was strange and special. A Canadian hotel owner showed me a hidden little cave that you could dive into through the waterfall and the rocks. This took me a short moment of overcoming fear. It was a kind of loss of control that made me hesitate. Diving through the waterfall and the river, unclear water, no idea how far it is, running out of air, all this went through my mind in an instant. He dived ahead and gestured for me to follow. Since I could see his hand, I knew that the dive should be very short and gathered my courage. He was waiting for me and also protected my head. The cave was very small, so the challenge was more the spectacle itself. When I came out again, we met a group of three Israelis from our shuttle ride from Semuc to Rio Dulce. They were also staying with us at the hostel in Semuc. I showed Gay the hiding spot and we made plans to sail to Livingston, a small village on the Caribbean coast, the next day. This place is characterized by a Caribbean and Jamaican vibe. We had a small group of 5 people and Guy organized a private tour with additional stops. One of them was a short hike through 7 waterfalls. Yes, you really had to fight through the rapids of each small waterfall to continue. And here too, the rainy season made it more difficult for us. When we arrived at the last waterfall, we were greeted by the largest waterfall, which we could climb past on the side. Another one was a small beach area where I enjoyed a coconut. Here, unfortunately, you could see the frequent problem with trash. The first section was kept clean. But if you looked behind the scenes and walked a few meters further, you would be overwhelmed by garbage. On the boat ride back, Gay and Nitzan invited us to the Kidush ceremony in their hotel (the Canadian was the owner of this hotel and had also invited us). This is a Jewish tradition that takes place on Fridays to usher in the holy Saturday. For the Jews, Saturday is like Sunday for us. I was also told that their day always starts with the sunset of the previous day. So on Friday evening, Saturday starts. A loaf of bread with a small heap of salt on the side, tahini, and a full glass of red wine to share are served for the ceremony. Beforehand, we sang in Hebrew and Gay blessed the bread. The eldest person takes the first sip of wine and then the glass is passed down according to age. Since he didn't have his kippah on hand, he replaced it with a small napkin. Afterwards, it is customary to spend the evening together and eat. It was nice to share this experience and be warmly included in the culture. Thank you all and hopefully see you again sometime.