Placencia to the Rio Dulce, Guatemala! YES!

After getting provisions, water, fuel and doing laundry for the last time till we get to Livingston, we treated ourselves to a beer at Yoli's. While chillin' at Yoli's, an attractive woman in her 40's walked up to David and said “I'm Mia, you must be Dave”!! I'm thinkin' what the hell, who's this, as she didn't acknowledge me! I'm about to go off, when we learn that she is friends of guess who, Pat & Penny! This is the couple, Mia and Clyde that were going to bring Pat & Penny to Placencia to meet us.

Clyde and Mia have a huge luxury yacht, which Clyde built and used for charter; just a mere $8000 US per week and it's yours to cruise. We didn't get a tour, but I'm sure it's unbelievable! Penny stayed on the boat to babysit their Doberman for two weeks. A little slice of heaven. Apparently, Clyde is somewhat of an entepreneur and has started recycling plastics here to make plastic wood for use on docks and such. Good for the environment too.

We met some other cruisers that afternoon at Yoli's; John and Sheila from Triumphant and Jim and Donna on Go My Way. Jim and Donna invited us to come over to their boat on Tuesday afternoon, but 4:30pm it began to kick up a bit in the anchorage and we were too concerned to leave the boat, in fear of dragging anchor. They have been cruising for 12 years; we were so disappointed we weren't able to visit them and hear their cruising stories. Hopefully, we will run into them some where in the Rio.

On Tuesday, at sundown, a boat pulled in next to us to anchor. We were quite surprised when we saw the transom, Adrienne Marie, Pittsburgh, PA! Too weird! We spoke to Ralph and Cindy on the VHF and they invited us to come over the next day; since we told them we were leaving in the morning for the Rio Dulce.

David went by their boat and they gave him two cell phones and chargers for Guatemala! So kind! We also learned that they knew Pat & Penny. Pat & Penny are becoming celebrities; everyone knows them!

David brought up the anchor and we were on our way to New Haven, about 20 nm away. It was a completely overcast day and pretty uneventful. We arrived to the anchorage about 3pm and got settled in for the evening. There wasn't a soul around, but John and Angie on Blu (we met them later at Texan Bay) were anchored on the other side of New Haven; about a nautical mile away. We only saw one abandoned home on the beach, nothing else but trees.

Thursday was also quite dreary as we headed for Cabo Tres Puntas. The only excitement was seeing a Del Monte freighter off our stern! We arrived around 4pm. It was hard to sleep as we were so excited because we were only 10 nm from Livingston!

We followed Blu and Moonshine across the shoal, playing chicken with 4 freighters! Again another dreary morning, though the sun broke through the clouds long enough to hoist the Guatemalan and quarantine flags.

We arrived in Livingston at about 10 am. We anchored in the bay and went below for a minute as it was beginning to drizzle and we were waiting for the Port “Capitan”, immigration,etc. I heard someone hailing us from outside and peaked out the companionway, I couldn't believe my eyes! Pat & Penny had come to greet us in their launcha (16 ft boat)! They took a chance, since we expected to arrive by Friday, but you never know. We were blown away! It was so good to see our old friends! It's been way too long.

The Port Capitan, a doctor, a Navy sergeant, immigration and our agent “Raul” boarded the boat shortly thereafter. I served them some iced tea, in about 7 minutes they were on their way! No problemo, welcome to Guatemala! Enjoy your stay!!! OK, let's go into town!!!

We had to go to the ATM for quetzales. Pat & Penny came around the corner and we checked out Livingston with them. Stopped in for a cervasa and lunch, although lunch must have taken an hour, I think they just caught the fish! It was so good and well worth the wait. I think the total for the four of us was like $17 + tip US; for beer and food! Now that's what I'm talking about, I could get used to this!

We tied their launcha and our dinghy to New Horizons and made the scenic trip up the Rio Dulce! It is magnificent! Beautiful emerald colored water flowing through a gorge of foliage and wildlife. Sorry, I took a lot of pictures, but it was just breathtaking!

It took us a while to get up the river, the current flows at a couple of knots, but we didn't even notice. We did it, we made it to the RIO DULCE!!!!! It took almost four months, but we finally made it!

About an hour later, we came upon “No Name”, Pat & Penny's boat and the palapa they are having built. The roof is just about completed, but the main floor and the loft is not. There is a walkway that runs between their landlord's property and theirs. Pat has built a bodega, his workshop. It is so cool. They found a couple of turtle shells in the river and Pat is going to make sconces out of them. They want it to be “all natural”. I, for one, can't wait till it is finished.

We arrived in Texan Bay Marina a few minutes later. It is so nice. They built the docks “around” the trees and foliage, water lilies and turtles everywhere! The bar/restaurant sits atop a hill. They serve breakfast, lunch and dinner. A cheeseburger and fries is like $5 US! There is a library, showers, a washer and dryer and wifi service. It's about $150 US a month, plus electricity! Wow!

They have been here about 6 years, so it is still evolving. I also have found a new pet, Royal, but there are others, Ima and ??? Royal comes by for breakfast every morning, he just loves my oatmeal! Of course, he doesn't complain when we have a little ham leftover either.

So far we have met Dave, our next door neighbor, Mac the proprietor, Gracie and Ed, Mavis and Morris, Angie & John, Richard, Chris and Ashka. They are all so nice. We plan to take a “launcha” or New Horizons up to Fronteras to explore and get some supplies within the next few days. There are two “tiendas” (grocery) within a short dinghy ride, they have a good selection of fresh veggies, frozen meats and a few other staples, but I need to stock up a little.

On Monday, David, Pat and a few other guys went to El Hotel Perdido to help Chris and Ashka lay a floor in a new bungalow. Chris and Ashka came here about 6 years ago from Europe with a vision. Their original plan was to build a hostel, but it has grown and is an ongoing labor of love. They have 3 bungalows (almost) for rent with a main house for gathering and eating, and their own bungalow. Check out their website, http://www.hotelitoperdido.com (link on blog home page). Their pics are great, but perhaps a little dated. I tried to take a picture of their pics of the before and after album, but it didn't come out very well, but you can certainly see that they have worked hard to make this a paradise. There were hardly any trees when they bought the property. They have done an unbelievable job! It is just so neat! After the work was done they provided dinner for everyone, it was just wonderful! Unfortunately, they didn't publish the prices of the bungalows on the website, but I will try to find out.

Stay tuned, there's more to come!