June 24: Washington, DC; Kenny
Most of our time in Rio Dulce was spent getting the Mary T prepared for our absence as well as packing various things we needed to bring back for storage. We did manage to make a few forays into town and to visit a few waterside restaurants. We’re very impressed with the area and the low prices. We felt safe and found the people very accommodating and quite tolerant of our poor Spanish. Temperature-wise, it’s not much different than the DC area. Maybe even cooler by a few degrees. However, the humidity is greater and more persistent.
Our journey back to the US began early on the morning of June 10, when we loaded up what seemed like a ton of luggage on to the marina launch. From there, it was a quick boat trip to the dock at Bruno’s where Grechen, another slipholder, along with Elvi, wife of our marina’s owner, helped us carry our bags about a block to the bus terminal. (Thanks again, ladies.) Then it was about an 8.5 hour bus ride from Rio Dulce to Guatemala City. Normally it is supposed to be about a five hour trip but there were a few accidents along the way that stopped up the two lane road. This was a good re-introduction to the perils of land travel. Thankfully, it was a comfortable bus.
The scenery along the way was quite beautiful. We may have enjoyed it more were we not constantly second guessing the decisions by our driver to pass slower vehicles as oncoming traffic was heading towards us.
We spent the night at the Aparta Hotel Las Torres, a place recommended by several folks in the Rio. It is in a fairly upscale part of town but has low prices. We didn’t see much of the city but hope to when we return.
Two flights on Thursday, June 11, and we were back in our home state of Maryland. Thanks to the Keatings, our beleaguered, but still running old car was waiting for us in the airport’s daily parking lot. Too bad we misunderstood and spent a good deal of time looking for it in the hourly lot. A couple of kind ladies cleared up the mystery for us and then loaded up their trunk with our stuff and drove us to the other garage–a random act of kindness.
We’ll be around for a few months staying with friends and family.