Finca Tatin & Ak'tenamit

Finca Tatin, up the river where we went turned out to be a little piece of paradise. I was reachable only by river and forest trail and for about 150Q a night (roughly twenty bucks) we could stay in a room with a shower and electricity for three hours a night. The place consisted of a main "lodge" area set near the water line and raised above a riparian area teeming with tiny crabs, turtles, and even jymungous banana spiders!

That morning we rented a kayak and paddled up some gorgeous waterfront to Ak'tenamit, an impressive little live-in school nestled into an alcove along a fork off the main river. At the dock we were greeted by a guide who showed us all throughout the place and described it to us in relative detail. I kept hearing and observing some impressive aspects that reflected what I consider very progressive and egalitarian views (students are required to provide support to their community before graduating, students are allowed to work in if unable to pay tuition in money) mixed in with what I have begun to interpret as rather conservative traditional Mayan philosophy (girls housed in separate village from boys, men most often in positions of authority. The tour was as much a cultural experience as it was a lesson in Mayan autonomy.

After a nap back at the finca, we tried in vain to work our way up to a hot springs near the water on the main river. We did however manage to amble our way up a quite hidden stream that leads to a community a few scant yards back from the main water front. Finding it not to be the hot springs, we doubled back and paddle the arduous kayak journey back to the Finca where dinner and jovial conversation awaited us before bed.

To the coast

After another hectic travel vignette involving a familiar microbus and a relatively luxurious four-hour Pullman we found ourselves in dirty, bustling Puerto Barrios. After bearing a barrage of taxi drivers and getting some cash we hauled our stuff to the local dock to wait for a lancha. After enough people had arrived to fill one, we took off across the bay to Livingston.

While we waited in Livingston for a lancha down a river, we met a girl and her mother who was visiting her. It turned out the girl, Melissa, was working on her thesis conducting a study on the effects of fair trade on a nearby co-op that produces women's handicrafts. Her mother was quite well-traveled and had sent both Melissa and her sister on foreign exchange in high school. She was very involved with the Rotary Club and regaled us with interesting information about the organization; a thing I will be certain to check into when I get home.

After a rather shy group dinner, sleep was a welcome repose from buses and boats.