Francine and Peter of s/v Rendevous

Francine, 62, and her husband Peter Hinzer had been coming to the Rio Dulce for at least the past three seasons, staying at Mar Marine.

The boating community will miss her sparkling personality and beautiful smile.

Our sincere condolences to Peter and their families for the loss.

Peter hopes to spread her ashes in Belize, Rio Dulce and Canada.
More information will be published as received.

See readers' comments and an email from Peter HERE .

Bamboo furniture made by local craftsmen

Then, beautiful bamboo furniture made right here in Cayo Quemado on the Rio Dulce may be for you.

The wood Santa Maria, which is much like oak has been used extensively here in Guatemala for construction and furniture making. Santa Maria is a very slow growing tree, which makes it a very hard and heavy wood, but also makes it unrealistic to harvest at current rates.

Bamboo furniture group

As a result, Santa Maria is appropriately illegal to harvest without a permit and, sadly, most of the Santa Maria used here on the Rio is illegally harvested. Often it is cut in a remote area and then transported at night to evade detection.

In contrast, bamboo is very fast growing and therefore is easy to harvest at sustainable rates. In many other parts of the world, there is a tradition of using bamboo for construction and furniture making. This tradition is slowly growing here in Guatemala, in response to growing awareness of the needs of the environment.

In order to help encourage the use of bamboo, it was used extensively in the construction of my home. Later, on a road trip through Alta Verapaz, we stayed at Ram Tzul, a beautiful hotel which uses bamboo extensively.

This sparked the idea of incubating a small business to not only encourage the use of bamboo, and build related skills, but also to benefit local Guatemalans.

Sturdy and sustainable

The bamboo used by Cayo Quemado Bambu is harvested locally and sustainably. Bamboo used in construction or furniture making needs to be treated to discourage pests.

There are a variety of treatment methods, but one of the most traditional, least toxic, and the one which we use, is to treat it with a salt-water solution.

In addition to the photos included with this article, you can see examples of this furniture at Bruno's Restaurant and Sun Dog Cafe.

So, if you want some great looking new furniture that you can feel good about, then send me or Theresa an email at the address below.


Or, if you are comfortable doing the transaction in Spanish, then you can call Clemente Garcia Bolon directly at  4632-8583.

All revenue from furniture sales are reinvested into the business with the objective of making this a viable business owned and operated entirely by local Guatemalans.

Irene and Frank Minelli

What many may not realize is that the deep abiding love extends throughout their family.

Their son, Vincent, 41, suffered kidney disease and was on dialysis five times a week, for the past six months. He was way down the list for a kidney donor, and doctors told them that kidneys received from deceased donors only function at an average of ten percent in a new body.

Even though Vincent and his sister, Monique, “fought like cats and dogs as kids,” they have been best friends their entire adult life. Monique, 43, could not stand by without helping her brother. She was tested for organ compatibility and was a perfect match!

Irene and Frank left the Rio and flew to Denver, Colorado to care for Monique’s three young daughters, while preparations were made for the double surgery in Atlanta, Georgia. Monique and Vincent went into the hospital and both operations were successfully performed on January 11.

The donor, Monique, was out of the operating room and in recovery in just over three hours. Two hours later, the staff had her walking down the hall.

Vincent’s surgery took a little longer, as he had more loose ends to connect!

His recuperation time will be less than his sister’s, however, because he has a healthy new kidney that made him feel better almost immediately. His wife told Irene that he also looks ten years younger.

Frank will be returning to Rio Dulce at the end of the month, and Irene will stay as long as is needed to help with their grandchildren.

Rio friends wish the best of luck and good health to the whole family. The Minelli familial love story is truly inspiring to us all

Editor's Note: Jay at Vista Rio celebrated his birthday at Burnt Key Marina (aka Cayo Quemado, La Laguna, Texan Bay) but from these photos you wouldn't know it. Looks like a weekend cruise -- no scantily clad chicas, no wild debauchery, nothing out of the ordinary. This editor doesn't believe it -- but what happens at Burnt Key remains at Burnt Key, I guess. Ho hum. This is a photo of J's birthday bonfire cake. About the most exciting photo he sent. Click Read More for more blah photos of his birthday party. C'mon J .. let's see the rest of the photos !

J wrote: "The only printable pictures from Big J's birthday celebration! If we showed you any more we'd have to kill you.

We took down 8 people, others showed up on their own, and multiple lancha's came out to wish me a happy birthday as we headed down river.

A great time was had by all.

Thanks to Sandy, for hosting it....watch her, she's deadly with the Tequila Shots!

And thanks to Mike for the insider's tour by water of the area ..... a great tour, caves, hot springs, rivers, secret lagoons, and much, much more."

(Another editor's note: J -- I'll find the rest of the photos. May take a while.)

Boaters enjoy blackeyed peas, donate to Bomberos

There were no reports of delayed distress, for which the EMT's are grateful.  They needed their rest after a hectic holiday on wheels.  Did you know their boat is now available for pumping river water on houses,  or pumping out boats?

The fire chief, Rita Rabre had her first jalapeño blackeye peas and cornbread experience, and in a bit of a raspy voice stated, "Fire chief on fire".  

Sorry, chief, forgot not everyone is a southerner. But she was all smiles again as she gratefully accepted the little truck with all the donations.   

Fire Chief Rita Rabre

As you're reading this, hopefully you are smiling too, when you learn how wonderfully generous you all are,  in raising the surprising amount of Q1280 ..... muy cool, no?  All because the dedicated  Albuquerque pea smuggler came through for us one more time!

Work is continuing on the former fire house.  Some of these funds will go toward minor, but much needed equipment to make life easier for the ones on duty. 

New fire house under construction

*As to that promise of good luck,  one diner has reported that shortly after enjoying his portion, he narrowly averted being T-boned on his way home. 

Boats fill the anchorage -- Photo by Peggy of Moko Point

"Twenty-two!," he chortled (well, I think that's what he did -- he made a funny sound in his throat anyway). "That beats the all-time record for boats at a full moon party here. The most we ever had before was 21".

 Needless to say, he was pleased. He rolled those big eyes of his, licked his lips and "chortled" again. Then he pried himself out of the double chairs and wandered around the tables to greet all the boaters, unabashedly encouraging them to drink lots of beer and mixed drinks and eat themselves into a stupor.

s/v Manana cross the finish line

Which is exactly what most of us did .. well, it was a full moon party afterall.

The weather was perfect, the moon was bright and full and the company was excellent.

Denny and his wife Lupe, along with their lovely daughter Ellen, served a delicious barbecued pork buffet which drew many compliments from the boaters.

A traditional bonfire was lit in the beachside fire ring and the music was lively, inspiring many boaters to get up and dance.

Good music, good times - Photo by Lupe of Denny's Beach

Sort of official race results were:
1. s/v Manana
2. s/v Salida
3. s/v Blue Frog
4. s/v Dances With Wind
5. s/v Smart Move

(Sailboats Aguila and Passage arrived at the finish line ahead of Blue Frog but weren't recognized since they had taken sails down and were motoring.)

Denny promised two free drinks for each winning boat but it's unclear if the boaters managed to collect.

Gracias, Denny and Lupe! Another excellent full moon party.

 (Click "Read More" below for more photos).

Steel Magnolia at Brisas del Lago

Don Julio, owner of Brisas del Lago

Brisas del Lago is located adjacent to Finca Paraiso on the western side of the lake. GPS coordinates are N 15 34.194  W 89 11.841.

Caution: There's a large telephone pole located about 1/4 mile off the shoreline. This marks a shallow submerged pile of rocks. Stay 100 yards away and enter to the left of the pole.

Otherwise, there's plenty of water and you can anchor in 8 to 10 ft. in grass and mud. Excellent holding.

Late afternoon on the beach

It's close enough to shore that even an old guy can swim to the restaurant for lunch and a beer.

The Cascades Caliente (Hot Water Falls) are on the same property a short distance away and the town of El Estor is 15 minutes away by car.

More to be published about the entire Finca Paraiso area soon.