Quirigua, Biotopo Chocon Machacas and Rio Dulce, Guatemala
The exotic sounds from the marimba band gave us a warm welcome as we entered the commercial port of Puerto San Tomas , Guatemala. Guatemala is an impressive land with a variety of attractions to offer to its visitors. It contains lush primary rainforest, active volcanoes and Maya ruins. Rich in Native American heritage, Guatemala has more than three million Maya speaking twenty different languages! Today, our plan was to visit the ancient Maya ruins of Quirigua and then cruise down the Rio Dulce. Quirigua is a lowland Classic site situated on the alluvial flood plain of the lower Montagua river. It has been suggested that late Classic Quirigua was ruled by a single dynasty which produced an extraordinary individual who appears to have served Quirigua’s dependence upon Copan and transformed Quirigua into a vigorous and independent power during a reign of over sixty years! The Acropolis that was found here represents the most ambitious construction effort at Quirigua with the introduction of sandstone masonry. In 720-740 A.D., a large ball court was built on the west side of the Acropolis Plaza. But the most impressive sight were the numerous stellae that adorned the area. These stellae recorded the births, accessions, deaths and defeats of named rulers and were enormous and weighed in at over 60 tons!
We then pulled into a banana plantation which seemed to surround the ruins and watched as bananas were carefully selected and placed into boxes to be shipped to unknown destinations. Our next adventure of the day was the Rio Dulce, which is a wide river that connects the Lago Izabal to the Caribbean. The Indians who have made their home along the riverbank depend on this river for their livelihood and we watched as they skillfully cast their nets. One of the dugouts showed us their catch of the day- several huge blue crabs hidden under freshly cut branches to protect them from the elements.
Off to lunch but first a stop to see the impressive fort of Castillo de San Felipe. Early in the 16th -century, trade was developed between Guatemala and Spain thru what was then called the Golpo Dulce. Constant attacks by pirates into Guatemala through the Rio Dulce made it necessary to defend the entrance into the Lake Izabal where the warehouses had been set up for goods entering or leaving for Spain. So a fort was constructed to defend the entrance into Lago Izabal.
After our delicious buffet lunch at The Catamaran Club, we headed down the Rio Dulce to explore the various waterways and rivers that dominate this area. The water hyacinths that seemed to choke some of the smaller creeks made a great floating platform for the northern jacanas to run across in search of something to eat. The huge towering trees of the rainforest supported the wild flowering orchids with their blossoms of purple and orange. Philodendrons wrapped their roots and vines around the trees that they love so much. And of course there must be rain in the rainforest and rain it did!. But this did not diminish the high spirits of our guests as we continued to motor our way down the spectacular Rio Dulce gorge.
As we said goodbye to the Garifuna settlement of Livingston and made our way back to the ship in the rain I couldn’t help but think of the lyrics of the song by Caribbean musician Lord Laro “rain can’t stop this reggae jam!”
The exotic sounds from the marimba band gave us a warm welcome as we entered the commercial port of Puerto San Tomas , Guatemala. Guatemala is an impressive land with a variety of attractions to offer to its visitors. It contains lush primary rainforest, active volcanoes and Maya ruins. Rich in Native American heritage, Guatemala has more than three million Maya speaking twenty different languages! Today, our plan was to visit the ancient Maya ruins of Quirigua and then cruise down the Rio Dulce. Quirigua is a lowland Classic site situated on the alluvial flood plain of the lower Montagua river. It has been suggested that late Classic Quirigua was ruled by a single dynasty which produced an extraordinary individual who appears to have served Quirigua’s dependence upon Copan and transformed Quirigua into a vigorous and independent power during a reign of over sixty years! The Acropolis that was found here represents the most ambitious construction effort at Quirigua with the introduction of sandstone masonry. In 720-740 A.D., a large ball court was built on the west side of the Acropolis Plaza. But the most impressive sight were the numerous stellae that adorned the area. These stellae recorded the births, accessions, deaths and defeats of named rulers and were enormous and weighed in at over 60 tons!
We then pulled into a banana plantation which seemed to surround the ruins and watched as bananas were carefully selected and placed into boxes to be shipped to unknown destinations. Our next adventure of the day was the Rio Dulce, which is a wide river that connects the Lago Izabal to the Caribbean. The Indians who have made their home along the riverbank depend on this river for their livelihood and we watched as they skillfully cast their nets. One of the dugouts showed us their catch of the day- several huge blue crabs hidden under freshly cut branches to protect them from the elements.
Off to lunch but first a stop to see the impressive fort of Castillo de San Felipe. Early in the 16th -century, trade was developed between Guatemala and Spain thru what was then called the Golpo Dulce. Constant attacks by pirates into Guatemala through the Rio Dulce made it necessary to defend the entrance into the Lake Izabal where the warehouses had been set up for goods entering or leaving for Spain. So a fort was constructed to defend the entrance into Lago Izabal.
After our delicious buffet lunch at The Catamaran Club, we headed down the Rio Dulce to explore the various waterways and rivers that dominate this area. The water hyacinths that seemed to choke some of the smaller creeks made a great floating platform for the northern jacanas to run across in search of something to eat. The huge towering trees of the rainforest supported the wild flowering orchids with their blossoms of purple and orange. Philodendrons wrapped their roots and vines around the trees that they love so much. And of course there must be rain in the rainforest and rain it did!. But this did not diminish the high spirits of our guests as we continued to motor our way down the spectacular Rio Dulce gorge.
As we said goodbye to the Garifuna settlement of Livingston and made our way back to the ship in the rain I couldn’t help but think of the lyrics of the song by Caribbean musician Lord Laro “rain can’t stop this reggae jam!”
