Day Trip to the Caribbean
We joined a group of cruisers on a day trip from the Rio Dulce marina area to a waterfall along the Caribbean Sea. This meant passing back through the canyon entrance of the Rio Dulce and that was worth the trip alone. In addition, we visited some hot springs and other sights of the Rio Dulce.
Friday, September 18 – Thursday, September 24, 2026
Boat Ride to the Caribbean
On Tuesday Jimmy and I took the dinghy across the river to catch the lancha along with the rest of the group.
We zipped on down the river at 23-25 knots towards Cayo Quemado to pick up two cruisers who are building a home in there. By 9:15 a.m. the lancha approached the canyon at the east end of El Golfete.
It was a treat to go down river and into the canyon purely as a passenger. With a boatful of cruisers there were lots of comments on how the lancha could zip over the shallow areas that we all carefully avoided on our trips upriver. We were once again fascinated with the cliffs and vegetation of the canyon and enjoyed seeing the boat traffic along the river, even if it rained a bit as we sped downriver (sunglasses can protect eyes from speeding rain droplets).
Flying past Livingston, then turning north into the sea we were greeted with calm seas and the smell of salt water. The lancha continued to fly over shallow waters with no worries, arriving at Siete Altaras at 9:45, just over an hour from our departure in Rio Dulce. Waiting for us at the Siete Altares dock was the crew from Cast Off a Caliber 40 that was anchored nearby, increasing our group to 13 cruisers.
Siete Altares
Pops welcomed us to his establishment and to give us an explanation of the park. The Siete Altares was formerly a Garifuna ceremonial center known as Los Altares, is a series of freshwater pools and waterfalls that was believed to have medicinal properties. Our 20Q (~$3 per person) entrance fee helps preserve and maintain the park.
Cathie & Jimmy on stairs Jimmy crossing the stream Sondra in a happy place
A maintained walkway guided us to the stream and along its banks.
It took less than 30 minutes to reach the uppermost pool that had a depth of 14’ and we lingered here for about an hour. Our Canadian friends did have a little chuckle at the Floridians since we found first plunge into the water to be a bit cold. A waterfall supplied water to the pool that was surrounded with rocks for lounging on (as long as one is careful not to kick the sharp underwater rocks as you approach them). Tall trees and lots of vegetation provided shade and an incredible atmosphere. It was a very pretty place to be, and we really should have taken more photos, but we were enjoying the moment and left the phones in drybags on the rocks next to the pool. Our friend Cathie from Catnip did step out and took a few photos of Jimmy and I under the falls.
Sondra & Jimmy under the falls
Once ready, we slowly worked our way downstream by walking down the middle of the stream where possible.
Lunch on the River
From there we passed Livingston again and headed back upriver for lunch at Restaurante El Viajero, one of the restaurants recommended by our guides, and I had noticed it from a few blogs about traveling in Guatemala.
We invited our guides / lancha operators Moses and Ismeal (I probably have the spelling wrong) to join us for lunch. They happened to sit next to me, and I had a good opportunity to attempt a lunch conversation in Spanish.
My Robalo (fish from the Rio Dulce) was very tasty, as was Jimmy’s Tapado, a seafood soup that is a staple of the coastal area. Once we were finished eating, our friend Ross from Catnip jumped off the rope swing into the river, twice!
Everyone enjoying lunch Every restaurante has a resident cat Ross and the rope swing
Side Stream Sights
After lunch our guides took us up the Tatin River where we passed the cute Finca Tatin Hotel and some fancy houses. We turned around near the end of the navigable waters at Ak' Tenamit a school for middle and high school aged kids. During lunch Moses explained to me that they focus on vocational education like tourism, community development, and agriculture. I think they might also have a hiking trail and a hotel/restaurant run by the school. Other than a Facebook page, I could not find a decent website about the school but did discover that Engineers Without Borders had done some work at the school before.
Our next stop was to visit some hot springs on the banks of the Rio Dulce at Centro Ecoturistico Agua Caliente. For 15Q per person we were granted an opportunity to soak in thermally heated water. Entry fees for the spring and the caves (25Q entry fee, and perhaps a goal visit another day) are used for community improvements. I was the first one to descend the stairs into the water which felt very pleasant temperature-wise if not a little cool. Then as I waded away from the stairs, I had the surprise of passing through some very hot water and may have yelped in surprise to the entertainment of those nearby. A lot of us, led by Jimmy were playing around with “just how hot can you handle” as we edged closer to some mysterious heat source.
Once our time was up in the hot waters and we headed to Cayo Quemado. Our lancha took a back entrance to this little community giving everyone a treat as we wound our way over to Susan and Paul ‘s house where we dropped them off for the day. I enjoyed seeing this area once again.
Check out the video from our first visit (below is a link to the post).
The rest of the ride back to Rio Dulce was spent meandering around bird-filled islands and exploring the flora, fauna and fancy houses on a few tributaries.
Along the way, we passed Cast Off beautifully sailing westbound in El Golfete! Jay had covered some miles since we last saw him in the Siete Altares.
The lancha returned to Ram Marina just past 5 p.m. and we were able to dinghy across the river to Tijax without encountering any rain. It was really a lovely day, and we were glad to have been able to experience the canyon and see Cayo Quemado once again, while also seeing some new sights.
Other Things of Interest
Well, our ginger beer turned out good although perhaps a bit light in ginger and heavy in lime juice. We plan to make adjustments or to find new recipes for the next batch. But it was great to have a Dark n Stormy once again.
I attended the September lady’s lunch this week. During lunch we were able to ask some of the “long-timers” (at least three of them settled here after discovering Rio Dulce while cruising) questions about culture and customs and get advice on places to travel while in this very diverse and beautiful country.
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