Country:
Guatemala
Region:
Mouth of Río Dulce
San Felipe remembrance
of the Caribbean Fortresses
By Lena García Feijoo
Cannons on the high part of the Castillo de San Felipe, pointing to Río Dulce.
Inner yard confined to thick walls that end in a tower.
The castle of San Felipe (National Guatemalan Monument since 1955) roosts in all its cannon-entreched splendor at the mouth of the Río Dulce at the end of Lake Izabal (Northeast) . The fortress was built during the XVI and XVII centuries to stave off English and French plundering pirates from the Atlantic coast of the Guatemalan Kingdom.

In order to control the merchandise that was taken in and out of the kingdom, in 1595 the Engineer Pedro de Bustmante was in charge to build a tower in Amatique, but one year later it was destroyed by the pirates, for that reason the fortress was moved to its present place.

In 1643 was named San Felipe in honor of the reigning prince: Felipe II of Spain. However it was burnt in 1666 by the pirate Yañez, , it was restored 7 months later by the Engineer Andres de Urbina, in spite of everything , the fortress continued being a victim of the attacks until it was abandoned.
Panoramic view of the fortress , from Río Dulce. The Castillo de San Felipe, National Monument Guatemalan since 1955 roosts in all its cannon-entreched splendor at the mouth of the Río Dulce at the end of Lake Izabal (Northeast) . It was built during the XVI and XVII centuries.
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