Kayaking the Rio Dulce, Guatemala

The port in Guatemala made for a fantastic sail in; in a u-shaped bay, Santo Tomas de Castilla is entirely surrounded by mountainous rainforests. The port itself was an industrial one again, meaning we were also greeted by a sea of shipping containers, although watching how these are moved around the port by huge cranes on rails is endlessly fascinating.

From the port side, we picked up a little speedboat and headed out of the bay and west along the coastline. The lush rainforest was evident wherever we were today and the height and density of it was striking. It also meant the entire day was spent in the company of swathes of birds - hundreds of pelicans, cormorants, herons and many more in all shapes and sizes. The number and size of the pelicans was especially notable as the flew low over the water.

Heading inland, we sailed down the Rio (river) Dulce between its impressive 300ft canyon walls and alongside numerous houses and shops accessible only by boats such as ours. At a small island, we disembarked one boat for another, and kayaked across a lagoon of the Rio Dulce. Only a short journey in itself - about 30 minutes - it was good fun as we went in amongst water lilies and mangroves on our way to the lunch spot.Read more