Bleary eyed we made it to the bus upin time, just about. I had been tossing and turning. I had been very invested in a nightmare I was having in the night. I was sitting an RE exam and looked at the questions and had no idea how to answer them. I think I was still traumatised from the refried beans debacle.
The roads were busy already. We travelled in the dark for sometime, as if someone had flicked a switch it was suddenly light. Sunrise and sunset happen more quickly as it is nearer to the equator.
We had to travel four hours before we could stop for breakfast. The idea was we would sleep on the bus, as if!
The infrastructure in Guatemala is poor, lots of stopping and starting to avoid potholes. A bit like driving round Upperthorpe but on a bigger scale!
Arriving at our destination for breakfast, which is one of Ghee’s favourite restaurants. I am sure we will hear this a lot.
Always a comfort to see armed guards outside a restaurant. The gun was almost as big as the skinny teenager holding. Trying to exude a sense of Rambo, or similar cultural references, but failing miserably, looking just like a little boy with a big gun.
Guatemala has the highest crime rate in central America. It’s mostly extortion so we should be ok.
Ghee was right, the breakfast was very good and very big.
I
I had the healthier option if fruit, with the
accompanying eggs with chilli sauce. Certainly a winning combination. Pete’s looked so much better, french toast made from brioche.
As it was lighter I could see more along the way.
In what seemed like no time at all we had reached Hacienda Tijax, Rio Dulce. Ghee explained that it owned by an Italian man who had also bought the 500 acres of forest, as a way of kicking back at land being bought cheaply and turned into rubber plantations etc.
The hacienda is next to the river, many boats are moored here and in the surrounding area. Rich owners bringing them to dock to avoid the hurricane season in the Caribbean.
Walking to our accomodation it felt a little bit like the mangroves in Costa Rica.
I was joking as who would think there would be crocodiles so close to guests. However,later we did see a crocodile that was basking under a bridge. In fairness it was more scared of us, as it inched away from us.
Our little room is lovely, on stilts in the water, it feels like it is swaying slightly, which is relaxing.
We are the last hut before the marina.
There was a lot of deliberation as to what to do in the afternoon but in the end Pete went for a walk, not seeing the wealth of animal life that we experienced in Costa Rica. Then we went for a swim. Relaxing as we had the place to ourselves.
Later we got a boat to Rio Dulce for a meal. It was quite disappointing, it isn’t the easiest thing to be vegetarian here. Again Ghee took us to this brilliant place. The owner and staff all had guns in their back pockets. It is quite disconcerting and Ghee would not be drawn on it.
Random Acts of Travelling 