January 1992.  We spent part of our time in Guatemala traveling inland.  A cool aspect of cruising is that someone has usually done it before, and so the details, like which bus to take, what hotel to stay in, what restaurants are good value, and what’s unique about a place, are all passed around from one boat crew to another.  We always stocked up on those details and would head out and see for ourselves.  In Guatemala, we had a great time on our inland adventures.   One favorite experience was the colorful market in Chichicastenango.     

January 1992.  Another favorite thing to see at the market was the indigenous people coming to market in their traditional clothes.   This wasn't done for tourists because there weren't that many.  This was a typical market day, and they came in their best clothes.  

January 1992.  After weeks of good fun, we left the Bay Islands of Honduras and headed West.  Destination--Guatemala and the Rio Dulce.  With several resorts and marinas lining the river, we had our choice of places to be, but we spent most of our time between Suzanna's and Mario's.  Our stay lasted about five weeks on the river which included several days of inland travel.   Antigua, ChiChicastenango, Panajachel, and Lake Atitlan were highlights.

Lots of boat work and lots of socializing made the time fly.  This area is very good to people who live on their boats, so many crews get "stuck" here.  Potlucks, movie nights, popcorn and ice cream nights, swap meets, meat/fruit and veggie vendors who stop by so we can buy.  It all makes cruising here not only fun, but easy.  No ocean swells to cause rolly nights, but there were storms that blew through and powerboats that threw wakes that bounced us around.  Suzanna's was the best protection against the wakes, but Mario's had the swap meets and the movie nights with popcorn and ice cream.  You can see our dilemma.  Fortunately, it was a short trip between the two and we did it several times.  

 January 1992.  Our time in the islands continued.  We were enjoying it.  While in French Harbor, we ventured over to Coco View Resort not far from where Bijou was anchored.  They had a reputation for wonderful diving, and we wanted to experience that.  We chartered dives from their boats, plus dove from shore right in front of the resort.  They had created an easy entry point to a sunken ship and a sunken plane.  Plus, there was a reasonable coral wall right out front.  This was all connected underwater by a chain, so it was simple to navigate around.  Since this resort was close to where we were anchored, we spent quite a bit of time here and loved it.