Welcome to Rio Dulce and to learning about a few of the things you may see or do here! I believe it is possible to be here a total lifetime and learn or see something new every day. This website is a testimonial to that fact.

This is an informative web site designed to teach visitors to the Lago Izabal area of Guatemala about the historical culture, the various places to go and the wildlife you may see exploring around here then, how I can help you find and identify them.

After being a guide in Central America for some time now, I have seen and done many incredible things so I guess it is also time for me to include some pages on some of the tours that I know of or conduct. There are many amazing places to visit here and many of them are not yet in tour books. All tours I do, can be catered to your specific desires and needs if you let me know ahead of time. I have done extensive studying into the Mayan history, the local medicinal plants, first aid, animals and insects that can add a whole new dimension to your normal travels.

After living in this rich country, learning to love the wonder and beauty while studying the flora and fauna you can't help but appreciate the culture and history that has made it what it is today. As well as the rainforest that houses these people, much of their heritage is next to extinct too. I believe that forgetting history is an enormous mistake, therefore where the history applies here and I have found the links with the past, you will find the correlating information.

Similar to the Native American Indians, the Mayan people were considered to be caregivers of the Earth as their culture and spirituality was blended with Nature. They were a highly evolved culture whose demise is still in question. There are over 120 unexcavated mayan ruins around the Lago Izabal area alone, so it is only logical to include more information about these people. While browsing this site, you will come across various plants, animals or topics that were in fact mentioned in the mythology of these controversial but amazing people so you can perhaps gain a new understanding and appreciation yourself. For an introduction of discovering just how rich and evolved the Mayan history and culture is, follow the link "The Maya".

To navigate this site each picture will lead you to more information or a better picture. About this page, the pictures above will direct you to the categories of plants, animals, insects and the Mayans that you may see during your visit to the area. Those categories will in turn lead you to more detailed information as you follow those links. There are other hyperlinks of "words" that are not underlined. Words that are another color will lead to other information on that topic.

Education is going to be the best salvation for this habitat and its importance is described on rainforest facts page. If you are interested, you can also go on another type of journey and see why this is so important to me and what I feel the true meaning of how " getting in touch with Nature" can be a scientific and spiritual quest as well.

Keep in mind that there are thousands of varieties of plants, animals, insects and other fascinating marvels in this area, it will take years to encompass all of it because there are 100's and 1,000's of every species, and subspecies for each of those. When studying you realize that there are latin names, common names, families, species, genus, and that goes on and on. As I see something new I will add it and when I can get enough information about it to be educational. Much of the information needed to identify and categorize the things here is hard to get because rural areas of Guatemala do not have the public libraries that other countries do.

This area is growing fast, and without more global awareness it could soon be gone. Outside corporations still come here to feed off of this land of abundance and within this lifetime, we can see it all disappear. Past history can prove this fact if you simply look up the United Fruit Company just as a for instance. Currently, Canada has reopened a nickel mine right above Bocas del Polochic reserve at the top of Lago Isabal, more sugar cane fields are being planted, and a five star hotel with airport is planned which will effect this area as well. You personally can make a difference and see first hand just why so many of us have come here to live and try to do just that.

After you have explored this site and would like to do your part to preserve this necessary wonder of the world, there are a few easy things you can do. One thing I personally do is to try and connect people with children that need an education. Education is not free here, it costs $125.00 US a year to send a child to school. To us that may not seem like much money, but for the children, it is our future. Hopefully for you that is the case and you have the opportunity to help a child learn enough to rise above the poverty and causes for rainforest devastation. The problem for many here is that they just do not know any better and they do what they know to survive. Click here to read about that and other things you can do to make a difference. Keep in mind that education is the key for us all! Think about it, have fun and hope to see or hear from you soon!