Playing with the children at the Casa Guatemala orphanage (which can only be reached by boat!) the day before Christmas. Something to think about: Those kids are among the happiest children I have ever seen. Also, living at Casa Guatemala, they are certainly better off than many Guatemalan children who do have a family and live at home...





When the kids get hungry between mealtimes, they catch a fish from Rio Dulce and ask the cook to fry it up for them. With the river teeming with life, all they need is a hook tied to a string and a little patience.

Rio Dulce river is the only passway to the towns of Rio Dulce and Livingston, and its waters are used for swimming in and washing clothes. If you stay a night around Rio Dulce, you will probably also brush your teeth and shower with its water.




Two girls at a small indigenous village at Rio Dulce, consisting of about twelve jungle huts, a little store, and a village school. They live a way of life which has not changed much in the past decades. Many remote villages don't have electricity - but they don't lack it either. They grow crops and breed animals, and are ready and proud to share their rich culture with outsiders.