We’ve spent the last few days in RAM marina on the Rio Dulce. We tested GoPro mounts, we worked on the Lorena. We also met an Australian couple that are going to hitch along for the ride for a while: Jordan and Libby. Libby has offered her services in the kitchen for a few days, which will be great as I’ve had about as many egg and bean breakfasts as my stomach will allow. I’ll eat whatever you feed me, but my spoiled pallet will welcome the change. One of the managers at RAM mariana had a death in his family and so left on our launch date for Guatemala City for the funeral, taking with him the only boat lift operator in the marina. It’s given us time to complete a few projects we would not have had time for otherwise on the boat, but has caused an insatiable case of stir crazy. Today, however, we were offered a reprieve. At 5:30 AM this morning, we paid a local tour boat (called a launch, probably a 15 or 20 footer) to take us up the Rio Dulce to Texan Bay and Livingston so we could get our immigration papers taken care of ahead of Jim and the Lorena.
The river in the morning is breathtaking. Surrounded on both sides by rolling green hilltops and mountains, a light mist hovers just above the trees and the mountains. Couple it with small dugout canoes piloted by paddling mayan fisherman emerging tenuously from said myst and it feels like I’m in a disney movie. Our first stop was Texan Bay, a small ex-pat hang out where they’ve built a school and a very small community, about forty five minutes from Fronteras. We got to film school kids on their way to school across the river paddling in dugout canoes. Talk about a back-in-my-day story. A friend of ours that volunteers at the school told us tonight that most of the kids can’t swim. A common phrase is to be hungry for knowledge, and these kids must have huge appetites.
Afterwards we headed up river toward Livingston. We passed a natural hot spring in the mountain that smelled like rotten eggs. Nothing like a warm sulfur bath to take your skin, I mean, the edge off. From here the Rio opens into winding caverns of limestone and tree covered cliffs. Josh and I have our work cut out for us to film it. It is truly awe inspiring. Even with numerous passes, the reality is it would be impossible to show the scope and the beauty of this passage without a helicopter and a 35mm film camera with all the bangs and whistles. I have been to the Jungle, and it is amazing. I didn’t venture very far in mind you, maybe a big toe. Maybe the next smaller toe down, but I have been to the Jungle.
Afterwards we cleared out passports through Livingston. We’ll be making another pass through Livingston when we have Lois aboard on our way back through in 9 days, so I will leave this posting brief. Leave it to say Livingston is a multicultural community with a large Garfuni population, which is largely composed of the predecessors to African slaves dropped off by French Trade ships decades upon decades ago. A large Reggae community exists, I almost bought a bamboo flute of sorts, and Josh nearly ended up with braided dread locks. It took way too long to process our passports for leaving Guatemala, and it cost way too much money but we got the job done.
After heading home, with only brief stops to mount the GoPro cameras to small mayan fishing boats, we arrived back at RAM marina just in time to launch the Lorena from her dry dock. I’ve been on many boats in my life, but none like this. A sixty foot sail boat with beds for 5 is no small boat. Today, I feel like this is something that could very easily get into your blood and stay there. We’ll see how I feel in nine days when I’m stir crazy and jonesing for some permanent terra firma.
We had dinner with the crew and new friends at a small cantina off of Texan bay and early tomorrow morning we ship for Belize. I’m glad to be moving. I’m even happier to be filming. We’re working, we’re playing, and we’re experiencing life. It seems to be there to be lived, all you have to do is hop on board.
Michael
06/15/2011
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