Google Map To Rio Dulce River, Guatemala.

Green Bay Hotel Dock. Rio Dulce River, Guatemala.
Rio Dulce River, Guatemala.

Approximately 30 miles long, the Río Dulce is Lake Izabal's outlet to the Caribbean. At its widest point, the river has a "lake-like" stretch known as El Golfete. The El Golfete is a long, huge lake-like body of water between Rio Dulce and Lake Izabel to the southwest, which is the largest lake in Guatemala. The river is only 12 km long and is breath-taking, lined with lush tropical vegetation, cliffs and awe-inspiring scenery. To get to Rio Dulce we had to go through Puerto Barrios. While we ate at a resturant at the edge of the ocean, Puerto Barrios is like a dead end of the world. While it is not pretty, it is dusty and most of the people seem very listless. The town fell into this condition after the United Fruit Company moved its headquarters out of there in the 1960's. And it really looks like it. However, the countryside is brilliant green with jungle and cocoa farms. It is about 90°F and very hot and humid most of the time. The Rio Dulce is over a quarter of a mile wide. Over the millennia it has carved a spectacular gorge in the mountains at the end of El Golfete and empties into Bahia Amatique on the Gulf of Honduras. The Rio Dulce is a large aquatic community. Outside the towns of Fronteras and El Relleno there are no roads or footpaths other than a road leading to San Felipe, therefore most of the homes and businesses on the Rio Dulce have a boat dock and a boat. The thick jungle on its banks is full of the voices of monkeys and many species of birds. White egrets perch in trees along its shores searching for fish. Parrots, pelicans and other water birds are everywhere. Narrow tributaries off the river twist and turn, leading to secluded lagoons. Dwellings sprinkled along el Rio are constructed with walls made of wooden planks or slender tree trunks and roofs of palm thatch. Water lilies grow in gigantic clusters here and there and mangroves send their roots into the water at the shore.

George At Green Bay Hotel	George At Green Bay Hotel
Audrey leaving Green Bay Hotel	Cliffs On The Rio Dulce
Hot Spring In The Rio Dulce	Boating Up The Rio Dulce
Birds	Lily Pads
Mangrove Trees	Turtles Of All Sizes
Castillo de San Felipe	Castillo de San Felipe
Our Cabin At Hotel Catamaran Was Named Zebra	Our Cabin At Hotel Catamaran Next To The River
George At Hotel Catamaran	The Rio Dulce Bridge