From Livingston, the Rio Dulce twists and winds for about 7 miles through a spectacular gorge, with 300 foot towering limestone cliffs, backed by dense tropical jungle. It then opens a large fresh water lake, El Golfete, aprroximately 9 n.m. Long. Not too far upstream, we turned into Texan Bay Marina, which is tucked in a small bay, just off El Golfete.
Kathie had been there last year, and highly recommended we drop in for a few days, before going farther up the lake. We are so glad we did! It was an experience we will never forget.
We arrived late in the afternoon and by the time we were settled in, it was time to go up to the marina's restaurant and have dinner. At first glance, I have to admit, I was not sure I was going to be comfortable here....everyone, or just about everyone, was seated around two very large wooden tables, most were either drunk or stoned...or well on thier way.....where to sit? I felt like we had just dropped in from another planet. However, it was not long before we felt comfortable, had a delicious home made stew/soup and "climatized" ourselves to our new environment. The owners, Mike and Sherrie, are from Texas ( of course ) and are "down home folk" They are one of the few marinas that allow the native Guatemalan's from the area to use their restaurant. In the river, it's the wealthy Guatemalan's and the poor...something like the American South, before the civil rights movement. Both Mike and Sherrie grew up in a southern Texas black community...so they have no problem with this, and treat everyone equally. That being said, Gringo's still pay one price, and the "Guate's" pay another....as Sherrie says, " that's just the way it is...."
The next day, they stuffed us all, ( most of the cruisers in the marina ) in the Texan bay launches and headed us down the river, to, what else....a rodeo! It seems, once a year, a local wealty Guatemalan man, does this for all the native Guatemalan's that work for him on his ranch, and any other locals in the area. Mike and Sherrie and their guests are also always invited to attend. While watching the rodeo, we asked Sherrie if the man from Guatemala lived and worked on his ranch....with Jim just behind us, she turned around and said " hell no! he's a fuckin lawyer! " We all keeled over in laughter....they hold nothing back...the day was interesting and spontaneous...we could never have expected to see this, and be a part of it. The next few days, I think we were in stitches most of the time....we planned to leave much sooner, than we did, but the meals were like mom's cooking and the conversation too good to miss...Ya'll come back now....you bet we will!
