After taking the lancha from our hotel to Pana, we got on our own private shuttle to take us to Rio Dulce at about 7:30 am. The trip was going to be about 7 hours, so it was a good thing each of us got our own row in the van so we could put our legs up and stretch out. The driver stopped to pick up his wife and small daughter to ride along along with us. He was going to have to drive the 7 hours to Rio Dulce, then drive the 7 hours back to Lake Atitlan, it's no wonder he wanted some company!
After about only 10 minutes into the ride up the mountain, Reina and I were having an awful time! Both of us were getting extremely car sick as the van quickly turned left and right (over, and over, and over again) on a bumpy, narrow road! I have never felt so sick in a car in my life! I just kept my face buried in the hood of my sweater, closed my eyes, and prayed for it to be over, afraid the if i even made the slightest move, I would loose my breakfast. Meanwhile Reina was sitting behind me, not doing so well herself. Luckily, at least one out of the three of us (Sara) was coherent enough to be able to actually enjoy the scenery and take a few gorgeous pictures for us of the amazing views of the lake as we were driving away. So at the very least we could enjoy it later when we didn't have our heads buried in plastic bags!
About 4 hours later, we stopped to have lunch. Luckily by then, Reina and I had recuperated from the horrific first part of the car ride, that we were able to eat! Then at about 3:00 we arrived at the main dock at Rio Dulce. The entire area was crowded with people because of Semana Santa, and we even saw another religious procession complete with speakers playing loud music and people carrying statues in a boat, then after the boat docked, the people climbed out, and continued on with the procession.
We ran into more trouble with transportation when we got to the dock. Because it was Good Friday (again), there weren't many lanchas (boats) going out, nor were there many people needing rides, which again meant we had to pay more than usual. Like Lake Atitlan, all the places along the river could only be reached by boat, there are no roads, so we had no choice but to pay the $16 each to get us to our hotel. Our first stop while on the lancha, was to fill up on gas.
The trip to our hotel took about an hour. The views of the bright green jungles and surrounding areas along the river were breathtaking.
The river was very large, the biggest I've ever ever seen. On our ride we passed by many other lanchas, larger speedboats and jet skis filled with with other vacationers, local people paddling in "cayucos," which are small and narrow carved wooden boats (the picture below), mangroves, and little huts and small homes. 
The large river then branched off into smaller rivers, and that's where we arrived at our hotel. It was called the Finca Tatin and it was a quaint, small lodge nestled right into the tropical and lush green wildlife along the river. The picture below shows the hotel's small dock and entrance.
There was a main large cabin in which the downstairs had the reception desk and was lined many hammocks, long benches, tables, and a small sitting area with couches and chairs for guests to lounge around in. They even had a ping pong table, and numerous board games and books for the guests to use. The entire top floor was the more affordable, dorm style part of the hotel, there were about 10 or so beds lined up each having its own mosquito net. 
This main building had an attached hut which served as the dining area. There were two beautiful and large wooden tables on either side of the dining room, which allowed for family style eating at every mean. Then also branching off from the main cabin, little paths lead to restrooms (the picture below), and other private little huts. The entire hotel had a wonderful relaxing feel.
After checking in, one of the workers sat us down and showed us a list of different tours and activities we could do. He also showed us a little notebook which the guests used to tally all their different expenses, such as meals, drinks, rentals, and tours, then they paid everything at the end. It was refreshing to see that this hotel ran on such a strong level of honesty, each guest responsible for marking down their own expenses. 
The we were taken to our adorable little private cabin/hut that was right along the river. We even had our own little dock with tables and chairs, and a hammock.
Our hut had two beds, also with mosquito nets, and a small attached bathroom, with the tiniest shower I've ever seen (of course with only cold water).
Because the hotel was situated right into the surrounding wildlife, there were many small and large insects and creatures scurrying about. We saw many small crabs that running around along the mud on the ground. Sara even caught one in our room stealing a cracker. Aside from crabs, we had many unwelcome visitors in out cabin, like scorpions and extremely large, scary spiders!! Sara spotted a scorpion hiding near one of our curtains. I called one of the workers to help us, and he gladly came and chased it out for us. Of course he thought it funny that we were scared by such a "small scorpion." Small or not by his standards, a scorpion's a scorpion, and I was completely freaked out nonetheless! 
After unpacking and getting settled, we headed to dinner. If you planned to eat dinner at the hotel, you had to sign your name on a board under vegetarian/ non-vegetarian by a certain time. The family style dinner was very nice, we had a chance to meet the other, very friendly guests while all sitting together at the large tables. Everyone had their own plates and served themselves from the large bowls and plates of food along the center of the table.After dinner we headed back to our cabin to spend our first nervous night among the jungle and its many little inhabitants. I took about 10 minutes before laying down to go to sleep, to make sure that the mosquito net was tucked in under the mattress all along my bed. It took be a good while to finally fall asleep, as I was sure I'd be soon greeted by a spider, scorpion, or other scary creature!
SATURDAY, MARCH 22:
We slept in a little bit, ate breakfast, and decided to rent kayaks to go out on the lake. Sara and I had never been kayaking before so we rented a double kayak. Since Reina had been a few times, she got a single. Our plan was to kayak from our hotel to a town called Livingston, which we were told would only take about 2 hours. From Livingston, we would leave the kayaks there, explore the town, and then take a lancha back to the hotel, or so that was our plan.....
However, after about only 30 minutes out on the river, hilariously TRYING to kayak, we realized our high hopes of making it to Livingston were probably not going to pan out! It was really difficult to paddle in sync with each other and maneuver around. Most of the time I felt like I wasn't even paddling right, getting extremely exhausted, but not actually helping us get anywhere! We hadn't even made it to the large part of the river, and were only practicing in the small tributary along our hotel. There was no current, the water was very still, and we were pretty much out there on our own without having the interference of other boats. We quickly realized that if we were having this much trouble here, it might not be such a smart idea to try our luck out in the big open river, with a stronger current, and many large boats and jet skies speeding by. So after about an hour and a half of kayaking around that small tributary, we decided to just head back to our hotel, and accept our defeat!For the rest of the day, we decided to relax, and give our sore arms a break. We went swimming in the river and laid in the hammocks. I actually fell asleep for over an hour in the hammock near our cabin. The house across the river It was the most peaceful nap ever, I'm definitely going to have to take a hammock back with me to the States!
SUNDAY, MARCH 23:
After we got dressed and ate breakfast we went on a hiking tour through the jungle behind our hotel, to a cave, and to a nearby village. The three of us hiked for about 10 minutes by ourselves, following red flags tied on trees, until we crossed the river, where we met our guides. 
From there we started on our hike which took about an hour. We hiked through the jungle, passing through a large cornfield, then arriving at the small village. It was so incredibly hot and humid, i felt like I was literally baking. While going through the jungle, there was at least some shade under the trees, but through the large cornfield, there was absolutely no way of escaping the intense heat! And of course, I had lost my sunglasses right before we arrived in Rio Dulce!
From there we started on our hike which took about an hour. We hiked through the jungle, passing through a large cornfield, then arriving at the small village. It was so incredibly hot and humid, i felt like I was literally baking. While going through the jungle, there was at least some shade under the trees, but through the large cornfield, there was absolutely no way of escaping the intense heat! And of course, I had lost my sunglasses right before we arrived in Rio Dulce!While walking thought the cornfield, we passed a small hut with dried corn lined up all along one wall. There was a women there grinding the corn, who we later saw on our way back from the village, carrying a large sack of the cornmeal on top of her head like it was nothing. I was miserable with only a light backpack!
The small village we walked to had a very small school with only 2 classrooms in the main building. One classroom for grades 2 and 3, and the other for grades 4 and 5. 
There was a nearby hut where the kindergarten and 1st grade classes were held.
The village had less than 10-15 homes, and there were many animals like horses chickens, and pigs running around. The picture below shows a new church which they were in the process of building.
After we saw the school, our guides took us to see their houses, and a few others in there village. All the homes were one room huts, all with dirt floors, a small stove, and hammocks hanging from the beams across the ceilings. 
We saw one home that actually had a TV. I was surprised at first but then I remembered that it's just like everywhere in Honduras, even if the house doesn't have running water, they always have a TV.
Everyone was very friendly, inviting us into their homes and allowing us to take pictures. We saw women cooking on the large wooden stoves and making tortillas.
After we saw the school, our guides took us to see their houses, and a few others in there village. All the homes were one room huts, all with dirt floors, a small stove, and hammocks hanging from the beams across the ceilings. We saw one home that actually had a TV. I was surprised at first but then I remembered that it's just like everywhere in Honduras, even if the house doesn't have running water, they always have a TV.Everyone was very friendly, inviting us into their homes and allowing us to take pictures. We saw women cooking on the large wooden stoves and making tortillas. In the other homes we saw women and children making artisan crafts. The little girl below is making bowls using the shell of a fruit called a calabash and dried leaves to decorate the outside of the bowl. 
The women below is weaving a purse using a loom. They were selling all the hand made crafts, and I was able to buy a seed carved into a turtle for my cousin :) and a necklace with a pendant carved from coconut.
After visiting the homes, we headed back towards where our hike began. We stopped by a cave called "La Cueva del Tigre" to explore and go swimming. First we had to climb down a large handmade ladder, then we had to carefully make our way down into the dark cave. The rocks were a little slippery, but it was definitely worth it! I took the picture below while we were inside the cave looking up towards the mouth of the cave. It was so beautiful! I felt like we were in the movie Goonies!
One of the guides ran ahead of us on our way back from the village to prepare the cave for us before we arrived. He lit candles and placed them throughout the cave to help light the way (which made it even more gorgeous and romantic), and he placed a ladder along a waterfall leading down into a large, dark pool of water. To get to the water you either had to jump off one of the large rocks perched over water, or climb down the slippery ladder while the waterfall was gushing down on you. I opted for the easier, much more fun and exciting (though a little scary) way, and jumped off the rocks. This again was something I could never see myself doing before I came to Honduras, but after visiting quite a few waterfalls, and slowly taking my fear of heights head on, I was able to jump of the rocks into the sea of darkness below!! I couldn't tell if I like it better or worse being able to see exactly how far up you are and where you're jumping into, but it was so much fun I did it 3 times!
I must admit it was scary swimming in dark water, not knowing what was beneath you, but at the same time it was so thrilling to be able to swim in a cave (my first time ever) and jump off rocks, so it outweighed that fear! We climbed down deeper into the cave with one of our guides, but only came across more slippery rocks, and smaller pools, so we decided to head back to swim the larger pool. The water was chilly, but definitely refreshing after that long, smoldering hike! The only way back up to the rocks above was to climb up the slippery rope ladder, it was extremely difficult with the powerful waterfall gushing down on you body, and smashing right into my face so hard I couldn't see a thing! One guide had to stay below and hold the ladder from the pool below, while the other pulled you up as you reached the top.
After our cave adventure we walked back to the river, were we stopped to rest at a restaurant. The heat had finally caught up with me and I felt really dizzy and dehydrated all of a sudden, so it was perfect timing for a pit stop. We stopped to look at a little artisan shop, then decided to take a lancha back to our hotel. Which sadly, was only a 10-15 minute hike uphill, but after all the hiking we had already done, and with the heat, we opted to take the lancha.
The women below is weaving a purse using a loom. They were selling all the hand made crafts, and I was able to buy a seed carved into a turtle for my cousin :) and a necklace with a pendant carved from coconut.After visiting the homes, we headed back towards where our hike began. We stopped by a cave called "La Cueva del Tigre" to explore and go swimming. First we had to climb down a large handmade ladder, then we had to carefully make our way down into the dark cave. The rocks were a little slippery, but it was definitely worth it! I took the picture below while we were inside the cave looking up towards the mouth of the cave. It was so beautiful! I felt like we were in the movie Goonies!One of the guides ran ahead of us on our way back from the village to prepare the cave for us before we arrived. He lit candles and placed them throughout the cave to help light the way (which made it even more gorgeous and romantic), and he placed a ladder along a waterfall leading down into a large, dark pool of water. To get to the water you either had to jump off one of the large rocks perched over water, or climb down the slippery ladder while the waterfall was gushing down on you. I opted for the easier, much more fun and exciting (though a little scary) way, and jumped off the rocks. This again was something I could never see myself doing before I came to Honduras, but after visiting quite a few waterfalls, and slowly taking my fear of heights head on, I was able to jump of the rocks into the sea of darkness below!! I couldn't tell if I like it better or worse being able to see exactly how far up you are and where you're jumping into, but it was so much fun I did it 3 times!I must admit it was scary swimming in dark water, not knowing what was beneath you, but at the same time it was so thrilling to be able to swim in a cave (my first time ever) and jump off rocks, so it outweighed that fear! We climbed down deeper into the cave with one of our guides, but only came across more slippery rocks, and smaller pools, so we decided to head back to swim the larger pool. The water was chilly, but definitely refreshing after that long, smoldering hike! The only way back up to the rocks above was to climb up the slippery rope ladder, it was extremely difficult with the powerful waterfall gushing down on you body, and smashing right into my face so hard I couldn't see a thing! One guide had to stay below and hold the ladder from the pool below, while the other pulled you up as you reached the top.After our cave adventure we walked back to the river, were we stopped to rest at a restaurant. The heat had finally caught up with me and I felt really dizzy and dehydrated all of a sudden, so it was perfect timing for a pit stop. We stopped to look at a little artisan shop, then decided to take a lancha back to our hotel. Which sadly, was only a 10-15 minute hike uphill, but after all the hiking we had already done, and with the heat, we opted to take the lancha. After we got back to the hotel, we rested for a little bit, then decided to head into Livingston on a lancha. As soon as we saw exactly how far Livingston was from our hotel, we quickly agreed how lucky we were that we decided to turn back around and return to our hotel in the kayaks yesterday! The town was really far, and I'm sure I wouldn't have been able to even make it halfway there.
Livingston is a very small Carribean town located right at the mouth of the Rio Dulce and Carribean Sea. The town had one small main street filled with restaurants,hotels. souveneir shops, street venders, and tourists. We followed the main street down to the end where it ended at the beach. There were many tents, chairs, and banners being taken down form the crazy Semana Santa parties and celebrations that had just finished the night before. We ate at a small restaurant along the beach called "Tilingo Lingo" which randomly served Indian, Mexican, Italian, Guatemalan, and Chinese food! We met the owner of the restaurant, who was interesting to say the least, she was Mexican, but lived in India for some time, and swore by here curry dishes. So we decided to try them out, and we were very pleased!
After dinner we walked around the town a bit, and had a few drinks at a nearby hotel. We had to wait until 8:30, when we had arranged for a private lancha to come pick us up and take us back to Finca Tatin, our hotel. Since it was so late, no public lanchas were running. We enjoyed a private boat ride back to our hotel, and relished in the cool breeze and most amazing views of the stars above. It was so dark, the man driving the boat only had a small flashlight to flash every so often so that oncoming boats could see us coming, but besides that faint light, everything around us was pitch black. The only sound we could hear was the motor of the boat, and the sounds of birds and other wildlife along the river. It was a perfect way to end our last night on the river!
When we returned to our cabin we were greeted by giant spiders! Once again we had to seek the help of someone working at the hotel. Carlos, the funny owner from Argentina, gladly came and took care of the first one we saw, and of course had to comment on how he thought it was only a "baby spider".... yeah right!! Only a few moments later we ran into another spider, but were too embarrassed to call them yet again, to take care of another insect in our room. So we took turns standing watch, and staring at the spider and other bugs to make sure they wouldn't move, while one by one we took showers. The shower, like I mentioned before was TINY, and the cold water drizzled down slowly from a small pipe, it was the most uncomfortable shower I've ever been in, not only becasue of the size or water, but also because of the added fear that large insects and bugs were going to come right in and join me in the shower!
MONDAY, MARCh 24:
We had to wake up bright and early at 7:30 am to eat breakfast and pack up and start our long journey back home to Tela. Sara and I were starting school again on Tuesday, so sadly, or Guatemalan adventure was coming to an end!
We had to take a lancha back to Livingston. Where we took another boat to Puerto Barrios, about 30 minutes away. Just when we arrived in Puerto Barrios it began to pour rain, so we opted to take a taxi all the way to the border, about 1 hour away.
At the border we had to stop and get our passports checked, then got back in the taxi to the first town past the Honduran border called Corinto. We stopped in Corinto for a bit to grab a quick snack from one of the roadside restaurants, then got on a bus to Puerto Cortes, about another hour and a hlf away. If we could have taken a direct bus from Puerto Cortes to Tela, we would have saved so much time and traveling, but no main roads went that route, so we had to make a huge loop and go about another 4 hours out of the way!
From Puerto Cortes we had to take a shuttle to San Pedro Sula, about 2 hours, then finally get on a bus to take us to back to Tela, another 2 hours. WE FINALLY arrived back home at around 5:30 pm.
Overall, I had an extraordinary experience in Guatemala! It was nice traveling with Sara's sister Reina, and I felt like we got to see many different parts of Guatemala. We had a chance to see a lot of the culture, especailly in Antigua, and a lot of the nature and wildlife through Lake Atitlan and Rio Dulce. And we did it all without trying to pack in too much into a short time, or trying to race from place to place. It felt like spending about about 3 days in each area was a perfect amount of time. I told Sara that she should consider being a travel agent, since she pretty much planned our entire trip for us, and everything ran so smoothly! :)
Overall, I had an extraordinary experience in Guatemala! It was nice traveling with Sara's sister Reina, and I felt like we got to see many different parts of Guatemala. We had a chance to see a lot of the culture, especailly in Antigua, and a lot of the nature and wildlife through Lake Atitlan and Rio Dulce. And we did it all without trying to pack in too much into a short time, or trying to race from place to place. It felt like spending about about 3 days in each area was a perfect amount of time. I told Sara that she should consider being a travel agent, since she pretty much planned our entire trip for us, and everything ran so smoothly! :)
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