RIO DULCE, GUATEMALA - November 2007
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After returning to the boat we moved to
another marina with a few nicer amenities (still less expensive than Panama or
Carenero). We can even walk to the village of Fronteras which was the main
selling point as walking/running are necessary for us. The walk
consists of leaving the marina
then a traverse through a swamp (wannabe rain forest)
to a teak forest
which is very unique
and after two miles into the
"lovely?" suburbs of Fronteras
(frontier) or Rio Dulce.
And
then beautiful downtown Rio Dulce.
COPAN RUINS in HONDURAS - November
2007 ---------------------------------------------------------
We departed the Rio Dulce by walking into
Fronteras (2 miles) and onto a nice bus. Six hours later after two buses
we arrived in the town of Copan Ruinas in Honduras. Copan in focusing on
tourists visiting the Mayan ruins in this beautiful valley.
Our
B&B, Casa de Cafe, was run by a Howard from New York who came to Honduras to teach 18 years
ago and never left.
The
town square had beautiful flora. And when we were not touring the ruins
and museums we hung out with the local Hondurans.
A
short walk was all that was needed to the Ruins the next day after a delightful
breakfast at the Bed & Breakfast and our first scene was of parrots flying
everywhere. They are as common as pigeons in this region but still a real
treat to view them in flight and always talking to each other when flying.
What
follows are many pictures of the actual ruins. The Ruins of Copan
are considered the Athens of the New World by some Maya archaeologists. If Tikal is compared to New York then Copan is Paris. This represents a
premier position among the Maya sites as to the quantity of stone sculptures
including stelae and altars. There is the longest Hieroglyphic Stairway
that likely discribes the history of the ruling dynasties over the almost 2000
years of existence.
Roy
and Yen walk to the first of many structures.
The
goddess of Copan shows her pose.
Fellow
cruisers Roy and Marlene from S/V Damiana
The
hieroglyphic stairway to heaven on Structure 26.
The
altar Q was a shrine of all the sixteen rulers of this Mayan site - difficult to
tell the difference from ruler "Jaguar Smoke" from "Smoke Smoke"
Striking
similarity to their symbol of the bat.
Pictures are can be so fun at times.
The walk from the town to the ruins was easy and actually on a real sidewalk for
most of the way.
We even found a real life cocoa tree in Copan so this was a first
Thanksgiving Day in the RIO DULCE 2007
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We enjoyed a real Thanksgiving Day at
Mario's Marina with fellow cruisers.
With Mike & Greg on board we were ready
to depart the Rio Dulce in December 2007
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Leaving the Rio Dulce was great as the
time had come to move on. We had Mike and Greg on board and it was down
the river on December 2nd. The Rio Dulce bridge was always a
back drop while there.
Passing
the local fisherman is a treat while viewing their feat of standing on a postage
stamp in the middle of the river.
We stopped into Texan Bay marina to allow us
to check out of Guatemala the next day and spent three days there. What a
great place - for cruisers do not miss this place if entering the Rio Dulce - it
was by far the coolest marina we have ever visited. Great food and the
hospitality is by far the best we have ever encountered. Just be ready for
a great time. On December 5th, just like that we were out of the Rio
Dulce after five months in there. It was a nice stay but happy to be on
the move again.
Here is Mike
advancing from swab to mate after cleaning the dingy.
We
had to tie the boat up in front of all the water lilies.
What
a great time exploring the surrounding canals and creeks in a rain forest
environment.
