Rio Dulce Gorge

I've booked my flights home for 3/13.  I'm flying out of Guatemala City on Friday the 13th.  So I've less than 2 weeks here in the Rio Dulce Marina area.  In fact I'll likely take the bus to Guatemala City 2 days early but certainly one.  It depends on what I find as far as hostels near the airport and if I want the extra day in the big city?  I guess it also gives me an extra margin of time for any bus breakdowns.  It's a 6 hour bus ride.  

But this is about the Gorge of the Rio Dulce.  It's impressive especially the first half or so of the 7.5 mile "gorge".  The cruising guide book talks of seeing parrots and hearing howler monkeys but on the drizzly day we went through it was only pelicans, cormorants and egrets.  For those who ever saw any of the old Johnny Wiesmiller Tarzan movies I guess they were filmed here or at least some filming was done in the Rio Dulce gorge.  It makes me want to find some of those old films and watch them again.  I think they were from back in the 1940's?  

There is a lot of boat traffic and at least half is various kinds of tourism.  Some were just shuttling tourist from Fronteras to Livngston or visa versa and some more like guided nature boat tours.  I'm sure some are a day trip with lunch in Livingston and back?  Just guessing as I've not been checking out the tourist brochures.  The other boats were fishermen or local families and while plenty had outboards on the various kinds of boats there were a fair amount if dug out canoes being paddled with Mayan couples or familes.  The dwellings on the shore along the way ranged from simple thatched roof huts with no insect screens or electricity.. To fancy Eco lodges or newer private homes of wealthy Guatemalans that still fit well into the jungle landscape.  It was fortunate the rain held off to just drizzle for the gorge but it rained heavily as we motored down the length of El Golfete.  I mostly stayed in the pilot house monitoring Navionics while Walter stood out in the rain.  Then the sun began to shine just as we reached the Marina area.  We were anchored just off the Bruno's Marina dinghy dock in Fronteras 4 hours after pulling up the anchor in Livingston.  Today (Sunday) we will go look at some more marinas.  Walter is shopping around for the one he will keep Asperida at for potentially a year.

Some photos...