Guatemala: Rio Dulce – Castillo de San Felipe de Lara

Just across the border in Guatemala stands another spectacular fortress in the town of Rio Dulce – Castillo de San Felipe de Lara. It’s located where the Rio Dulce river enters a large Lake Izabal, thus connecting inner Guatemala to the Caribbean – a very strategic point. The fortress was built in 1644 and was subsequently looted and stormed by pirates multiple times over the next couple centuries. It’s a small but very beautiful fort with very scenic surrounding. The location at the very tip of the peninsula makes it quite defensible, plus there is a moat separating the fort from the rest of the shore. The inner courtyard has three levels and a lot of guns pointing in all directions.
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