20 August: A Lake and a Treehouse in Rio Dulce

Thankfully we left the campsite relatively early today, we ended our day in Rio Dulce but before we got there we had a four hour drive ahead of us. We stopped for breakfast in a cute cafe, I didn't eat anything as I'm not one for breakfast typically but I did love the dogs and the toilet they had haha.

Obviously I signed it

We broke up the four drive by stopping halfway and having a barbecue beside a beautiful lake. En route to said lake we stopped at a supermarket to stock up on things to throw on the grill, this proved quite difficult for me and again highlighted the difficulties of being a vegetarian in Central America. THEY HAVE NO SUCH THING AS A VEGGIE BURGER. I did consider getting a baked potato and foil and throwing it in the coal to bake but I had no idea how long this would take and I'd probably end up burning it. With that in mind I wandered around aimlessly looking for something to eat; I ended up with tortillas and salsa -_- nachos used to be my favourite food but I swear if someone so much as mentions them to me when I get back... Well I feel sorry for that idiot. 

Once everyone had stocked up on burgers and sausages etc. we headed back out onto the road for another couple of hours. Forty five minutes of this was spent on THE BUMPIEST ROAD I HAVE EVER EXPERIENCED. No lie the amount of potholes and ditches we had to manoeuvre was insane and we were all tossed about the bus like sacks of potatoes. It was great fun! 

Finally we reached the river and it was gorgeous, all mini waterfalls pooling into a secluded lake, with trees and mountains surrounding it. Guatemala is very green and visually stunning; as we drove through to the site I was gazing out the window and was amazed by how many mountains and green landscape there was.

After everyone was stuffed and was finished swimming and swinging of the rope into the lake we carried on to Rio Dulce. By the time we reached the ferry (our hotel was reachable only by boat, although it's not on an island) it was pitch black. We clambered out of the boat and were designated our rooms, this time there were eight of us sharing and we didn't just have a room we had a whole treehouse (well that's what I called it). 

The front entrance 

Bathroom 

Looking down the stairs 

It was so cool and definitely one of my favourite places that we've stayed in. I felt sorry for Maud who had the top floor to herself only to discover what we called a small tarantula above her bed. It might have been a huntsman... This put everyone on edge a bit and I was pretty nervous as I turned the light off in my room but luckily I fell asleep very quickly. I think the sway of the treehouse on its stilts in the water lulled me to sleep... 

XOXO