Arriving in Rio Dulce we were picked up by Gary, the owner of Hotel Kangaroo. 5 to 10 minutes boat ride later we arrived in a side arm/swamp of the river were the hotel lies. We were just settled in when the three canadians showed up as well ;)
So the next day the five of us and another french canadian couple (seems to be holiday season there) headed to Finca Paraiso. For a small fee you can go swimming in the cold river into which a waterfall fed by hot springs plunges. You could dive behind the waterfall which felt like being in a steam bath. Most of us (hint, hint ^^) jumped the waterfall, but Nic really couldn't get enough of it.
After a while the river was getting crowded by guatemalans so we decided to head on to Boqueron. There we had to pay some locals so they would take us up the narrow and high canyon by boat. The steep cliffs were quite a sight. After a while they dropped us off and we continued on foot as far as possible. Jonathan, Nic and I then tried to swim upriver against the current. It took us forever for just a short stretch and we were (at least I was) quite exhausted afterwards ;)
The next day we headed downriver to Livingston on the caribbean coast. First we took a peek at the fort close to Rio Dulce. It was once built to hinder any Pirates of sailing any further up river and harass local settlements.
On the way downriver we would pass through some nice canyons, some in form of steep cliffs and other totally overgrown with vegetation.
Livingston itself turned out to be a typical caribbean town. Rundown wooden shacks with rusty corrugated roofs. The inhabitants of this town are a mix of freed black slaves, pirates and other early white settlers. We tried the typical (read touristy) local garifuna dish of tapado. A soup of coconut milk, whole crab and whole deep fried fish. It was not that bad, but in my opinion the cook is just lazy and throws everything unpeeled in a pot ;)