Life on the Water

The way of life along Guatemala’s Rio Dulce as it empties out into the Caribbean appears to be ‘as it always has’. As we paddle by in modern kayaks, local people use Cayucos as they fish, gather food from the river’s shore and get around from village to village. While there are footpaths though the dense jungle, almost everything appears to be done on and in this river. It starts out as a large lake (Lago de Izabal), before narrowing a few times into a steep-walled jungle canyon, then making it’s way to the open sea. We spent 5 days in a jungle hideaway, up a tributary called Rio Tatin. It was an interesting change from the highland Mayan villages we explored the weeks before and gave us a deep appreciation for a different kind of life on water.

Rio Dulce, Guatemala, 2011.