Fort – Maldo Travels

Walmer and Deal – Coastline Castles

Jean Maldonado — Sun, 27 Jan 2019 21:23:00 +0000

It is possible to take a train to these castles but the train times aren’t that frequent, so we rented a car for these visits. From London, it’s about a 2-hour drive here and only 15 minutes from Dover. We first drove to Walmer Castle and there is parking available at the site. Tickets cost 12.60 GBP¹ or free with an English Heritage membership. An audio guide is included with the ticket which gives you access to the castle and the gardens. There are several information panels with numbers that you input into the audio guide. This castle was part of a chain of artillery castles that King Henry VIII had built to fortify the coastline. He feared attacks from a new alliance between France, Spain, and the Pope after he broke away from the Catholic Church to create the Protestant church. Since then, the castle has been converted into a stately-home. You can see how the furnished rooms have been transformed to create a more comfortable residence. Several Lord Wardens have added improvements over time and it was once used by Duke Wellington. There’s a room with some of his history and also the room he died in has been kept the way it was on the day. You can also step outside to explore the gardens. We went in winter so the garden wasn’t as pretty as it must be in summer. It took us about two hours to complete our tour of Walmer Castle and we were done around 1 PM.

To get to Deal Castle, it’s a short 5-minute drive up the coast and there is also parking available next to the site. Tickets cost 7.90 GBP or free with an English Heritage membership. This is another artillery castle by King Henry VII but this one has been transformed into a museum. The entire castle is open for you to explore on a self-guided tour with the audio guide included with the ticket. At this castle you can learn a lot more about the 16th-century defense system. An interesting part of the castle is wandering through underground perimeter passageways below the castle. There are wellies available for you to put on as it can get muddy. You can complete the visit in about an hour so we were done at around 2.30 PM.

Dover Castle – Coastal Defense

Jean Maldonado — Sat, 26 Jan 2019 20:37:00 +0000

This is one of my favorite day trips from London so whenever family or friends visit, I take them to this castle. It’s possible to visit via public transport from London by taking a train to Dover Priory station. From St Pancras International, it takes about 1 hour 15 minutes. You can then walk for 30 minutes or take a bus which leaves you at the bottom of the castle hill. By car, it’s about a 1-hour 45-minute drive and there’s parking available at the site. Tickets then cost 21.30 GBP¹ or it’s free with an English Heritage membership. The ticket includes guided tours of the war tunnels which for me, are the highlights of the visit.

The car park is located inside the site next to the ticket office. From the ticket office, it’s a short walk down to the WW2 war tunnels which you should make your first stop. Tours leave every 15 minutes and last about 50 minutes. There are 2 tours, one is of the underground hospital which is an immersive experience. You follow the story of a rescued shot-down pilot who has been brought in for an operation. The layout of the tunnel, sounds, and even smells have been re-created to how they would have been during the war. This is one of my favorite tours of any museum/site I’ve visited. The other tour is of the war tunnels used for WW2 Operation Dynamo. In this tour, you’re taken through the military evacuation operation of allied soldiers from the beaches of Dunkirk. Projections of real film footage and dramatizations with special effects bring this event to life. This tour ends in the restaurant/gift shop and there is a small museum area with artifacts above. Also, you can step outside to a balcony-like area that has panoramic views of the seaside.

Following this, you can walk along the castle walls towards the Great Tower. On the way, you can take a small detour to the Medieval tunnels which were used to defend the castle. There’s not a tour for these tunnels but there are several information panels to guide you through the route. Once you come back up from the tunnels, you can then walk across to the tower gate to get to the Great Tower. This medieval palace built by King Henry II has several artifacts throughout with information panels. You can ascend all the way to the roof which has great views of the city. In the surrounding buildings, there are also some self-guided tours of the royal courts. Following this, you can then walk down to the ruins of the Roman lighthouse and the working church of Anglo-Saxon origin. For me, this is usually where I end the day and head back. There are however a couple of other sites such as PWRR Museum which has some history of the regiments. There is also the WW1 Fire Command Post with the only working British 3 inch gun which was used to shoot down warplanes. Overall, Dover Castle is well organized and has produced great tours to experience history.

Rio Dulce – Rustic Cabins and Adventure

Jean Maldonado — Fri, 18 May 2018 23:25:15 +0000

Located about 4-hours 30-minutes hours south from Tikal towards the Guatemalan border with Honduras, you can find the secluded and peaceful Rio Dulce. There are numerous rustic cabins that line its shores as well as boats and yachts; many of which belong to ex-pats who have chosen this beautiful area for their retirement. The cabin our group stayed in was Tortugal which is the perfect place to unwind after a long trip and take a break from days filled with long walking tours. You could easily spend the day on the deck by the river reading a book or catching up on some emails. The freshwater river is also great to go for a swim and cool down from the hot Guatemalan weather.

A Riverside Fort

If you’re not one who likes to take a break from activities whilst on vacation like myself, then you could go kayaking in the river. It is possible to kayak to the National Park of Castillo San Felipe which is about 30 minutes away. The current of Rio Dulce is quite strong so it can be a tiring journey depending on whether it works against or in your favor. There’s an area on the shoreline where you can secure your kayaks with some rope. The park’s guard has a clear view of the kayaks so they are perfectly safe here whilst you venture through the park. Entrance for foreign nationals is 20 GTQ² and your admission ticket is an A4 information sheet with the fort’s history albeit it is in Spanish only. The national park is quite large and has many well-maintained facilities which include a pool, barbecue areas, and restrooms. There were several local families having picnics and swimming in the river. If you didn’t bring any food, then there are several stalls which sell snacks and small bites to eat. The fort is located on the peninsula at the narrowest point of the river making it a strategic defensive position. At the entrance, a staff member will punch a hole in your ticket and tell you to follow the signs around the fort.

It’s easy to find your way around and you can finish the site in about an hour. Throughout the 16th and 17th century, there were warehouses in Lake Izabal storing goods that were traded with Spain. Rio Dulce is the only way in and out of Lake Izabal, so this fort was built to defend from pirate attacks who attempted to raid the warehouses. Many of these attacks were successful and the fort was even taken over and burnt down at one point. Due to its strategic position, the fort was rebuilt and fortified many times. It was also used as a prison during a period when there were no attacks. In 1955, the fort was restored and reconstructed based on historical documents and excavations done in the area. The result is a collection of rooms, towers, and dungeon from the different time periods.

A Unique Waterfall Adventure

The locals told us about a nearby waterfall which was near our cabin in Tortugal. It was not walking distance and the only available public transport is a colectivo. These are small minibusses that have been adapted to carry passengers. To get to the colectivo³, we were told to walk 20 minutes down to the highway and simply wait by the road since there are no bus stops. They said the colectivos normally come every 30 minutes and to ask the driver to drop us off at Finca El Paraiso. You can identify a colectivo because there’s a guy hanging out the door shouting out the destinations. When one arrived, there were 2 empty seats for 3 of us so we thought we’d have to wait for the next one. However, in Guatemala, there is no such thing as a full colectivo and they just squeezed me in. The locals take these colectivos and some of them bring massive baskets and bags from the market. Now you’d think this is as full as it gets, but along the way, the colectivo made stops and kept picking people up. The vehicle probably had a capacity for 15 people and I counted 26. It was so overpacked that it couldn’t make it up a slight inclined slope and the assistant had to help push it up.

Our journey to the waterfall took 40 minutes and cost us 15 GTQ. You then pay 20 GTQ for the entrance at the Finca Paraiso and then walk about 20 minutes along the trail which is easy to follow; you can’t get lost. This is a completely natural place with no facilities whatsoever so wear your swimwear underneath your clothes. Do not bring any valuables either as you’ll be leaving everything by the riverside. What makes this waterfall so unique, is that you get a scorching hot waterfall flowing down into a cold river. You can also go under the waterfall into a cave and the heat makes it into somewhat of a natural sauna. We met a local who turned out to be family of the owner and he showed us around the maze-like underwater caves. He even showed us that you could jump off from the waterfall into the river but we didn’t dare to attempt that. It was a magical and relaxing experience that was definitely worth the journey.