WorldScubaTrip: Rio Dulce

After the awful time i had climbing Acatenango, i headed straight to Rio Dulce, where i new Tomasz (whom i had met in Atitlan and to rebuild some houses in La Barona) was and i could hang out with him and perhaps stay on his boat. I had no idea what to expect of Rio Dulce. I imagined a sleepy port town by the lake. When i arrived i got off an air conditioned bus into stifling heat, with huge juggernaut trucks thundering by and torrential rain pouring down. I immediately thought this is shit i want to get out of here, i almost did get on a bus to Peteng. But i had to look for Tomasz who told me he was in the Sundog cafe/bar. No one knew where it was so i was wondering around the hot, wet streets with my heavy backpack for about half an hour. Eventually i found The Sundog and Tomasz and we had a few beers, watched the torrential rain storm and then attempted to get back to his boat, without getting too wet! The only way back to his boat was to get in his little dinghy and row to his boat that was anchored in the middle of the dock. I really thought, what on earth am i doing in the pouring rain with my backpack in a rubber dinghy, totally shattered from the previous night, i was just wishing i was asleep in a hotel room!

However, the next morning after a good sleep i woke up to explore Rio Dulce. Basically what's cool about this place is the community of traveller sailors that live there. They are either travelling through or they live there semi permanently. They range from French guys who have sailed the Atlantic, to Americans who travelled through Mexico, a Spanish guy who transported people between Rio and the Bay Islands in Honduras, and some Australians who are about to set sail for Indonesia. And then Tomasz a Czech Bio-chemist/software entrepreneur who has traveled for 2 years and decided to buy a boat a year ago to live on and sail around the Carribean, whilst running his e-commerce platform from his boat. It turns out that having a boat and being a sailor isn't just a habit reserved for the rich and famous (you don't find these kind of people in Marina's usually) , but it's also a way many people choose to travel and see the world. And what a way.

Tomasz has offered me the opportunity to sail through the Caribbean with him from November. First we would go to Mexico then Cuba, then through all the Caribbean islands to Colombia. What an adventure that would be... However it all depends on whether i go back to Amsterdam to study or i find something useful to do. I'm over traveling and seeing nice things. I love adventure but you have to mix it up with doing something useful, using your skills and your brain else is just a pointless existence, for me at least. Fortunately Tomasz has offered me the opportunity of working at his company. He needs people to sell his e-commerce platform, Koongo, to UK partners. However he only wants to work with people who have the same mindset as him, i.e people who also want to enjoy life a bit and travel. Everyone he works with works from home or remotely, because that's how he lives. I'm currently investigating what his platform is, trying to understand it, so i can get an idea of how i can get people with e-shops in the UK, agencies who make e-shops for people in the UK to use his software. I'm not sure how i do this currently, but i might hang out a bit in Rio Dulce so i can get an idea of what i need to do. If it works out this could be perfect as it could allow me to go back to Amsterdam and study and make a bit of money to help support my studies.

Other than all this amazing opportunity, Rio Dulce is another gem in the crown of Guatemala. It's far bigger than lake Atitlan, hotter, less hippy, more full of sailing travelers or extremely rich Guatemalans who own huge houses and yachts. Like Baldizon, the president of Guatemala. I swear we saw his helicopters flying overhead today. Today we just sailed to Dennys Beach, a place that feels almost very Carribean, but there's no sea just lake.