The lodge is set on a small barrierisland between the small
Chiquimuliacanal and the Pacific Ocean near PuertoIztapa,
historically, the first port city ofSpain in Central America. The
staff oftwenty is incredibly friendly and at easewith all the
guests.
Overseeing the entire operation isScott Ruprect a Cincinnati
native anddedicated sailfish geek. His vigilance todetail and
customer service is apparentthroughout the resort.
He’s a good guy.Two, two-story bungalows each have
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four rooms—two on the top floor andtwo on the bottom floor. The
spaciousrooms are designed with a contempo-rary theme and feature
private bath andshower. The bungalows will hold about16 to 20
fishermen on a five-day visit.After flying into Guatemala City,
it’s atwo-hour shuttle ride the next day and aten-minute boat ride
across the canal toget to the island. Easy stuff.
After a couple days, we had sailfisharms that were way beyond
tired, and wewanted to have a look around at some-thing blissfully
unrelated to fish.Thefolks at Sailfish Bay set us up with toursof
the ancient Mayan city of Tikal and
the Spanish Colonial City of Antigua,which are both within easy
reach of thelodge. This combination of history, cul-ture and fly
fishing comes together beau-tifully in Guatamala, the center of
flyfishing for sailfish. The journey doesn’tget much better than
this.
For more information on Guatemala,please read Michael Shapiro’s
personalview on Tikal, Antigua and the beautifulLake Atitlan in
Around The Bend.
C O N T A C T I N F O R M A T I O N :Sailfish Bay
Lodgewww.SailfishBay.com1-800-638-7405
Te n A n d Tw o M a g a z i n e . c o m 91
(Left) View from Sailfish Bay Lodge across the canal to
Guatemalan volcanoes in thedistance. (Above) The grounds at the
lodge take advantage of the Guatemalan junglelandscape.
John Freeman’s toast to the assembled group includeda graceful
thank you to all the staff and closed with thewords, “life is to be
lived.” And so we did.
EEVENINGS AT SAILFISH BAY found our crewwatching sunsets over
the ocean and hanging out at the bardrinking the national
favorite—Ron Zacapa rum and smokingCuban cigars. On the first night
in camp our hosts grilleddorado fillets and colossal local shrimp
for dinner. On the thirdnight, dinner included my favorite, a whole
fried snapper withan incredible garlic sauce. The food just kept
coming and coming.
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