RIO DULCE (FINCA TATIN)
Transport
From Livingston: 40 GTQ by boat, reserved through Finca Tatin. It leaves from the Hostal el Viajero pier at fixed hours, departing hours are listed on the Finca Tatin website.
To Rio Dulce: by boat owned by Finca Tatin, 90 GTQ
To Flores: Fuente del Norte bus, leaves at 11.30, 65 GTQ, other departure times are 9.30 and 10.30. Alternative companies: Linea Dorada (12.30 and 16.30) and Maya Ora (13.30 and 15.30). Please consider that Rio Dulce in some cases is not the starting point, so, at least concerning the bus I caught, it was probably arriving from Guatemala City, it was packed, no passengers got off, so at least for an hour I stood up in the aisle. Travel agents sell tickets regardless of available seats.
Let’s now talk for a moment about the touts mentioned in the Tripadvisor forums. These guys board the bus once arrived in Santa Elena, and try to convince foreigners to get on a free shuttle to Flores island, and then forcing them to buy excursions or other not required services.
Well, it happened to me as well. Here are some tips on how to deal with the situation. Premise: Flores is the part of the city that rises on the island, Santa Elena is the portion located instead on the mainland. An isthmus connects them. First of all, it’s true when they tell you that the buses do not reach Flores. The bus (as happened to our Fuente del Norte) will stop in the dirt road facing a hotel, in front of you will have a crossroads and a traffic light. On the right, a yellow wall with marvelous murals, and the headquarters of the San Jual Travels. Turning left at the traffic light the isthmus connecting Santa Elena to Flores begins. It is enough then to walk it, and you will be safe. But if you stay on the shuttle, at least for what my experience is worth, nobody will try to sell anything. If they do, you are not obliged to buy anything. To get them out of my way, I invented a random hotel. When we got there, I went down and left. They tried to call me, but I did not even turn around and went on my way. Nobody followed me.
Sleep
Finca Tatin, 100 GTQ. This is a very special accommodation in the middle of the jungle, on the river. Various types of bungalows, there is also a kind of dormitory. The cheapest ones, where I slept, were not bad but not exciting as well, the sheets had the classic smell of laundry which dried in a damp place. It did not look dirty, but when I lay down on the bed I felt some sand in my hands, so I slept in my sleeping sheet. The mosquito net was so tight around the canopy bed frame that it could not reach the mattress, leaving an unprotected area. It also had a disgusting smell, so I removed it, and set up my own one. Electricity is supplied at set times, otherwise solar energy is available. An electric torch is indispensable. The restaurant part is adorned with numerous hammocks for relaxation
Eat
There are no alternatives, you have to stop and eat at their restaurant. 55 GTQ for the vegetarian menu. 7 GTQ for a tea in the morning, I brought some breakfast pastries from Livingston, looting a bakery before leaving ….
Excursions
Just to be precise: Finca Tatin, like many other accommodations in the area, for convenience on the various guides is circumscribed to Rio Dulce area, but in reality all of them are separated from Rio Dulce by a variable handful of km, are only reachable by river, and completely isolated . Kayaks for river excursions are available. During my stay there were no night walks planned, too bad, because it would have been very interesting. Beautiful the first part of the journey by boat from Livingston.
Less interesting in my opinion is the second part of the journey, during the crossing of the lake Izabal up to Rio Dulce.
Impressions
The reason for choosing an accommodation like Finca Tatin is the desire to try to disconnect any contact with the outside world, without wifi and radio links for mobile phones, to enjoy nature with limited access to water and electricity. One therefore imagines a lot of silence, a lot of nature, and few human beings.
I do not know if I was unlucky, but during my stay it happened that at day time the Finca was reached by local families on a day trip. Guatemalans, like all South Americans, are not by nature reserved and silent people. Add to this spoiled and screaming brats, and you will have a complete picture of my afternoon. Another thing to keep in mind: Finca Tatin is on the routes of some tour operators such as the Italian Avventure nel Mondo (some kind of Intrepid Travels). In the evening, returning from their daily activities, the Finca is stormed by 2/3 large groups (40 people!) returning from their daily activities, which will invade the relaxation area like grasshoppers, so farewell relax!!. In a few words: I escaped after one night. Too bad, because the place is really nice.
Saved a night at Finca Tatin, I had originally thought of spending it in Rio Dulce. There is a kind of fortress on the lake, mostly visited by the locals, whose pictures dominate on the calendars in all the tourist offices of Guatemala. And even in the city I had read there should have been some lake front accommodations, such as Bruno’s. When the boat left us on the pier right next to where I thought to stay, in the suffocating heat, and the roar of engines of the overlying viaduct, I thought well to escape at the speed of light, and jumped on the first bus on arrival without thinking twice.