July 27, 2006
Location: Rio Dulce, Guatemala
Nautical Miles Traveled: 0

So things are going well on the river. A lot of boats have shown up in the last month to wait out hurricane season. There are so many more boats here this year compared to last year that all the marinas are now full.

Our plans are still on track for a departure this fall for Panama and maybe Cartegena Columbia. We’re excited! All the boat work is caught up and David has just finish putting on six more coats of varnish. I’m headed to California in a couple weeks for a short visit but when I return David and I have high hopes on getting the boat out of the slip for a few days. Speaking of getting out of the marina, I finally needed to go on a small vacation. I went up to Flores two weeks for three days and just got back today from another four day trip up here. I really like Flores. Though it is a tourist destination it is very laid back. This last trip I even expanded my wings and tried some new restaurants and found two coffee shops. The food has been great and I fell in love with the pollo a la plancha (grilled chicken) at this little hole in the wall. I had a regular seat there during my stay. The other place I found that I need to frequent more often is a little taco stand at the top of the hill in the center of town. They had the bet burritos I’ve ever had, and for 75 cents it filled me up! The coffee shops are not what I was hoping for. My favorite drink is the cafe mocha and I miss it dearly. The mochas here consist of a cup of coffee with some chocolate syrup, it’s just not the same.

By the way, Flores is a small little town situated on an island in Lago Peten just outside of Santa Elena. Santa Elena is one of the largest towns in this part of Guatemala and I had plenty of opportunities to walk around and explore. My favorite part of Santa Elena is the market. It encompasses 10 acres and anything can be found here, including clothes, kitchenware, food, produce and electronics. Just a neat place to hang out. Check out the photo gallery of some pictures I took during this trip.

Copyright 2004, 2005, 2006 S/V Bruadair. No reproduction without written consent.