Living the Sweet Life in Rio Dulce

*Water lillies for miles on the shores of Lake Izabel*

In the eastern reaches of Guatemala there is a place like no where else we had visited during our month in the country so far.

On the shores of Lake Izabel, Guatemala’s largest lake, life moves at a very different pace. Tiny boats zip between villages, mega yachts are parked outside luxurious lakeside villas and, following the river down to the Caribbean Sea, the laid-back take on life in the Garifuna community of Livingston is infectious. Welcome to Rio Dulce - you’ll never want to leave.

At least, we didn’t. It was a five hour bus journey followed by a short boat ride from the municipal harbour of Rio Dulce to our hostel, a beautiful chalet-style building in a small inlet off the main shore of Lake Izabel, complete with a wooden deck reaching out into the inviting water.

We literally did a double-take - surely the boat captain heard us wrong, this idyllic place cannot be the £16 per night hostel we are staying in? It absolutely was!

I was pretty hot and bothered as I climbed off the boat with my big backpack, so it took me a few minutes to realise we had walked right into a wedding reception. Eek! I tried to shrink into the wall and look for where we were supposed to be, but there was no way around it: we had to walk right past the top table and through wedding party to get to the reception desk to check in. My worst nightmare!

After quickly being shown to our room and dropping our bags off, we weren’t sure where to go - there were wedding guests everywhere! We had spied a few travellers on the deck as our boat had pulled in, so we skipped across the dance floor to find them. They filled us in: the wedding was for the hostel owner’s brother, and it was a huge family celebration. Not long after, the hostel owner came to the table to make sure all the guests had everything they needed and made us feel like part of the family. How lovely! We spent the rest of the afternoon chatting to the other guests, drinking beers and watching the wedding party carry out their traditions and wrap up - surprisingly early by English wedding standards, as most the guests departed by boat around 7pm.

We decided to eat at the hostel - mainly because any other options were a boat ride away - but oh my god were we glad we made that choice. The hostel served the most incredible Mexican food! We spent the next three days working through as much of the menu as possible.

Rollin’ down the River

The next day we were up early to experience the main attraction in the area: a boat trip down the Rio Dulce to the town of Livingston on the Caribbean Sea.

The boat took us back to the main waters of Lake Izabel and first to the fortress of San Felipe. Built in 1652, the fortress was there to keep pirates from looting the villages around the lake, and later served as a prison. It was here we spotted our first heron of the day, resting on the grass next to the stone walls. It was the first of many!

After passing under the bridge that connects the town of Rio Dulce to main highway, we entered El Golfete, an adjoining lake that is lined with luxury villas and huge yachts. The area here is part of a bio reserve with incredible plant and bird life. We wound our way through mangrove swamps filled with colourful water lilies, watching tiny birds skate across them in search of food. It was so peaceful and beautiful I could not stop taking pictures. Seriously… I have more pictures of lily pads than all of humanity will ever need.

After passing a natural thermal bath in the area (all of our boat opted not to stop there - a thermal bath is not what we needed in that heat!) the river entered a gorge. This was my favourite part of the journey. Huge, forested cliffs rose either side of us - a tangle of dense, dark, jungle tumbling from the sky down to the water’s edge. The cries of monkeys and birds filled the air. It felt like a scene from a Disney movie!

Finally, as we approached the town of Livingston the river widened once more, and hotels began popping up along the water’s edge. Abandoned and derelict boats bobbed about in the waves, overrun by gangs of pelicans squawking at us as we drove past. Soon enough, we pulled into the dock at Livingston. It was one of the most spectacular, jaw-droppingly beautiful boat rides I have ever been on.

Livingston is a quirky town with a distinctly Caribbean influence. We had just enough time to walk around the tiny town and enjoy some of the local ‘Garifunan’ food - we shared a seafood feast of ceviche and fried fish with rice and beans.

Some travellers opt to stay in Livingston - a sleepy place but with natural sights to explore in the surrounding area. We decided to get the boat back to lake Izabel the same day. It took a much more direct return route so we were back in half the time. A bit of a shame because I would have loved to have done the full route all over again!

The next day we stayed in our little slice of paradise at our hostel. We lazed in hammocks reading our books, interrupted only by jumping into the lake for a swim to to cool off.

We quickly understood how some of our fellow travellers had spent weeks there, lounging on the wooden deck, gorging on Mexican dishes and swimming in the lake. It was a magical place where it felt like time slowed down. A place to stay a while, and enjoy the sweetness of life.