October, 1997

Life in the Rio Dulce, Guatemala, goes on. Really not much to report. The gossip and intrigues abound, just like they used to at work. Did the guy who owns the marina really "help" his wife have her fatal heart attack? [Word later received was that the body had been exhumed twice and nothing was found that pointed to foul play.] Did the marina manager really buy his way out of jail for murder for 25,000 quetzales (about $4200 US)?

[His wife paid.] I guess I shouldn't be so vocal in my criticism of him or the way he runs (or doesn't run) this place. At least it stopped raining EVERY day, and the toilets and showers are now usable, without boots. The UV water filter is backflushed a couple of times a day and the electricity only goes out for an hour or so in the early evenings instead of one or two or four days.

But apparently things aren't as hopping as they used to be here in the Rio Dulce and the marina manager keeps trying to gouge more money out of those of us who are stuck here and can't leave. (Journey developed a transmission problem in southern Belize and had to be towed 30 miles up the river to this marina, the only one with an available slip at the time.) I've quit eating in the restaurant, even though I don't have to wade in it anymore. Everytime I eat the price goes up and the manager tells me that the price on the menu isn't right--he's going to change it.

I do occasionally drink the "special of the day" up at the bar during the 4-7 pm happy hour--it is usually a gin and tonic or rum and Coke for 4Q--$.67. That is cheaper than just a Coke, which is 5Q. Sometimes I just order a rum and Coke without the rum. Last night they had a Toga party at the bar. Since my boat is berthed right next to it, I couldn't ignore it. I should have. I remember now why I don't drink to excess anymore--getting too old to recover. It could have been the Jungle Juice--they emptied all of the old bottles of every kind of booze that was found in the storeroom into two coolers and threw in a bunch of fruit juices and cut-up fruit. Couldn't taste any of the booze after it soaked for 2 days. Sure did feel it today though! I guess I am not a good "Banana Republic" ex-pat like some of the oldtimers down here--they were walking around hale and hearty at 7 am drinking beer. Maybe they just hadn't gone to bed yet.

The torrential rains have slowed since mid-September. We have had a few showers, but nothing drastic and the water is about 5' lower than when I first arrived on August1. We get some weather info here and heard that Alcapulco was destroyed in a Pacific hurricane. But none of the tropical storm systems make it here. The eastern stuff goes north and the western stuff hits the mountains and breaks up before it gets here. So the Rio IS serving its purpose of keeping us away from hurricanes. Lots of people are getting antsy though, and heading on up to Belize already. NOT among those are a couple of people who lost their last boats during Hurricane Lili in the Virgin Islands last year at this time.

The day after the Waterfall Incident, when Mike almost drowned, it was over 100 degrees and we were not in any shape to lay in the sweltering boat--so dock neighbor Pat, of Shang, suggested we go with him and his daughters to Antigua. Antigua is about 45 minutes from Guatemala City, up in the mountains and COLD. Since I felt I had almost killed him (and he didn't even know it until I told him!), I felt we should go with them. It was cold and rainy and we slept under 2 blankets the first night.

Antigua was the first capital of Guatemala—actually New Spain-- and was founded by the Conquistadors in 1542. It has been destroyed 17 times or so by earthquakes or volcanic eruptions (it is surrounded by 3 volcanoes) in its history, so the captial was moved to Guate City which wasn't so susceptible to natural disasters. Antigua is still mainly a colonal town and a lot of the buildings still standing date back to the 1500-1600s, including church ruins. The architecture is fantastic and students from all over the USA come down to study it. I bought a digital camera on my last trip home and Mike has made it his, getting not only great building shots, but also impressive shots of Indian weavers working in the marketplace—see our Photo Album page).

Anyway, the cold helped Mike heal more quickly and comfortably than he would in the heat in the jungle, I think. One thing good came out of it--since I saved his life by showing him that he could fit through, we decided I should be rewarded with AIR CONDITIONING on the boat. So we spent a day in the big city on our way back, looking for a small window unit to stick in the hatch. However, when we tracked some down and I found out the cheapest was 4,000Q (about $670), I decided I could suffer a while longer without it.

Most people head up to Quetzaltenango for its impressive multi-colored fabulous native market--but the one at Antigua was plenty enough colorful and big for me. It was small enough we could make friends with some of the Mayan vendors and weavers and get information on where they lived and their addresses and information on the styles and colors associated with their region. I got to where I could pick out people from the area where the weavings (patterns and colors) we liked the most were produced. So guess what everyone is getting for Christmas (if we can force ourselves to give them up).