Livingston, Guatemala

Livingston, one of my new favorite places in Guatemala, is beautiful. It’s located close to Rio Dulce on the eastern side of Guatemala. They have a mix of many languages, but the three main languages include Spanish, English and Garifuna. Livingston has a population of about 27,000 people and is only accessible by boat.

We stayed at Hotel Casa Rosada, which was, again, right on the water.

Tanja and I had the best experience in Livingston. We started out with a walking tour from a man named Pichi (“Peachy”). We walked from 9:00 a.m- 4:30 p.m. through the streets, cemeteries, beaches and jungles of Livingston.

We also visited Los Siete Altares, or seven waterfalls/pools. It was a hike to the 7th waterfall over the slippery rocks but it was worth it. We were able to swim in pools of fresh mountain water.

The next day we were invited to a Black Garifuna/Guatemalan funeral, which was quite the experience. After a beautiful mass we were invited back to the family's home to celebrate. At 9:00 in the morning we all started out with a shot of vodka followed by a glass of red wine. You could say it was more of a party than a funeral because after lunch there was live music and dancing.

We also took a Garifuna cooking class where we learned how to make a traditional meal. Our cooking instructor was named "Mega G," no joke, and he showed us how to make many traditional plates including coconut rice.

After a lively time in Livingston, we were on our way to a hotel closer to Rio Dulce.