My hunt for the "right" boat has taken me to Mango Marina on the Rio Dulce.
To get here I flew into Guatemala City on Saturday November the 7th and stayed over night at the Torres Guest house, an OK if slightly run down place with one unusual feature not found in any guest house I have stayed before. The charming young man who carried my bags in sported a pump action pistol grip shotgun.
Armed guards were everywhere and the pump seems to be the weapon of choice.
Pretty scary when you go to the local version of Macdonalds and this guy is leaning against the wall. Hamburger bandits rule OK.
When I got the bus for the long trip down here I got my next surprise.
The bus which looked like a new [ish] coach on the internet was a really old Mercades that had many hard miles behind it and many holes in the bodywork. Yet more armed guards greeted me when I boarded the bus and I was efficiently searched my backpack opened and searched and a metal detector waved over me. The bus was driven by a very neatly dressed boy who did not look like he needed to shave yet. Still we got here and in reality despite the holes and rattles eveything vital seemed in excellent working order especially the horn. Oh yes all the safety searches were a waste of time as the bus picked up people all the way down at roadside stops without a guard in sight.
Guatemala, so far seems to be a beautiful country full of really helpful people and many of them carry guns!
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