November 6, 2009. Weather Update: Hurricane Ida is now over Honduras and expected to return to the Caribbean Sea as a tropical storm early tomorrow morning and is now projected to track towards the northern Yucatan coast, possibly gaining Category 1 force by that time. Heavy rains are projected all along the Belizean coast and, by extension, here, in the meantime.
It was difficult to get these guys organized for a photograph.
Strangely, today in Livingston was sunny and warm with bands of cloud around the edges of the sky. I spent the day exploring the beaches and the carefully paved roads of this tiny outpost in Guatemala's Caribbean corner. A coffee here, a licuado there; shade breaks were necessary and often.
A small cove with a smaller beach, just north from my hotel.
With its flowering bushes fronting the painted buildings and superb cliffside sea views, Livingston is visually captivating. The main road climbs steeply up from the dock in a gentle curve then makes a long descent to the main beach. Turning at the last road going right brings you to another isolated cove (pictured above), with concrete steps taking you down to a small, empty beach. Along your way you'll pass a number of inviting little restaurants with good home-style food at low prices.
Livingston is nominally a Garifuna community, descendants of black Caribbean settlers exiled by the British to Honduras in the late 18th century, but the Maya and Ladino are here in force. The gracious Afro-Caribbean ease of life contrasts sharply with the impatient, noisy Central American approach brought here from Guatemala proper. Rugged terrain has kept roads from reaching the rest of the world, so there are few cars here. Elaborate horn-honking and taxi-dodging are restricted to the two main roads.
So where is everybody? For a certain kind of traveller, Livingston, should be an ideal location to kick back for a while, but no one seemed to stay. After three days I felt like a veteran. It's a curious situation where the local tourist "industry" far outnumbers the tourists. All the hotels I entered were near empty. On the dock, a dozen boat pilots wait aggressively for passengers (I lost my amigo status once it was clear I didn't want a tour). Up the hill, callow young tour guides, well-practiced in obfuscation and misdirection, operate sad little booths in the corners of restaurants. And Garifuna men on bicycles try to steer you to hotels and cafes in hopes of a tip. A futile cause once the visitor has checked in and knows his way around.
I'm guessing the vicious cycle of desperation and despondency puts people off. What would it take to get Livingston's tourist industry out of the hands of the shark-eyed amateurs both here and in Rio Dulce? Could travellers' needs be better met here without ruining the sleepy appeal of this unique location?
Next: Puerto Barrios to Guatemala City
