Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Other options include
Monkey Bay Marina
(
www.monkeybaymarina.com
),
Mar Marine
(
www.marmarine.com.gt
)
,and
Texan Bay Marina
(
www.texanbaymarina.com
)
.Thelatter
is situated near El Golfete and is the closest full-service marina to the Caribbean. A full
listing of other available options can be found online at
http://riodulcechisme.com
.
SAFETY
Sailing vessels should take care to anchor in protected private marinas and not out in the
middle of the open water where they may fall prey to local pirates. In June 2008, an Amer-
ican citizen was murdered while attempting to resist an armed robbery aboard his yacht
anchoredinthewatersnearRíoDulcetown.Intheaftermath,severalofthetown'smarinas
andlocaltourismauthoritiescontractedtheservicesofanovernightboatpatroltomakethe
rounds at several of the better-known marinas. These include Hacienda Tijax, Bruno's, and
Tortugal, among others.
Guatemala's largest lake is a mostly undiscovered region. Of particular note are the Bocas
delPolochic Wildlife Preserve, centered aroundtheRíoPolochic'sdelta, andthe17th-cen-
tury fortress of Castillo de San Felipe de Lara.
More commonly known as “El Castillo de San Felipe” (8 A.M.-5 P.M., $1.50), the fortress
also gives its name to a small community on the northern shores of Lake Izabal. The castle
was originally built by the Spanish in 1652 in an attempt to deter the activities of pirates,
who would come up the Río Dulce to raid supplies. It would later serve as a prison but was
finally abandoned and left to deteriorate. The present fortress was reconstructed in 1956.
It's worth a look around for its thick walls enclosing a maze of small rooms as well as its
old cannons. There are some nice lake views, a picnic area, and green grounds.
Accommodations and Food
One of the fancier options along the shores of the lake near the Castillo de San Felipe
is
Mansión del Río
(tel. 7930-5020,
www.mansiondelrio.com.gt
,
$109-133 d), a large,
95-room resort-style property popular with vacationing Guatemalans. Large and attractive
rooms have air-conditioning, ceiling fan, cable TV, minifridge, gorgeous bay views, and
nice decorative touches, including marble counters in the private bathrooms. There are
a large swimming pool, a restaurant, two bars, a fairly well-equipped gym, and well-
cared-for gardens. Paddle boats and a playground will keep the kids busy. The Cocodrilo
