Semuc Champey and Lanquin

I think that I've found my happy place in Guatemala (I haven't seen Tikal yet so it still might get replaced, but as of now...) and that is the areas around Lanquin and Semuc Champey. This is some of the most beautiful land in the whole country. There is green everywhere in a thousand different varieties, Rio Lanquin (the river) runs through the center and creates a lovely way to cool off in the humid heat, there are caves everywhere, and hiking galore. It's really a very magical place to get all clichesque about it.

Christie and I, along with two dorm mates from Casa de la Luna, Rob and Anand, booked passage to this paradise and were picked up by local transport at the lovely time of 5:45 am (I think that the average time for me to get up here is about 5 am, so much for that whole myth about sleeping in when you go on vacation). Approximately two hours later we had traveled far into the green and were dropped out at a small hotel/slash restaurant. There we ran back into Michelle and Bex, who have come up for the day from Antigua. It's funny how you keep running into the same people over and over again when you travel, but also nice.

After some breakfast, our little quartet, along with the other 12 people that came from Antigua, were loaded into the back of a truck that had a metal frame attached through the center and around the edge for people to grip on. In essence, it turned the bed of the truck into a human cattle cart (this is the local form of transport on these unpaved back roads and I later saw one of these trucks with about 40 people crammed in and hanging off the sides where ever they would fit).

The cattle cart took us the last 10 km from Lanquin to Semuc Champey and passed by harvest fields for corn, coffee, chocolate, plantains, bananas, and papaya. These plants all shared the same space and seemed to by in a symbiotic relationship with each other.

Semuc Champey is a national park where the bulk of the Rio Cahabon cuts underground leaving a suspended limestone bridge, the top of which is graced with a series of stair stepping turquoise, azure, and green pools of inviting water. After a grueling hike to the lookout point atop the mountain, where a great view of the pools and raging river can clearly be seen, our tour hiked down to the pools for a much deserved swim. It was very refreshing and quite lovely.

All too soon we had to leave to head back to our hostel, El Portal, which had more of a summer camp feel than that of a hotel, with a central common area and small cabins for rooms spread out across a few acres of land. At the bottom of the hostel/resort was access to the river. Add to all this the hammocks and the splendor of the setting and it's a wonder people ever leave.

We didn't have too much time to explore of surroundings as it was soon time to head out again. This time for water tubing down the river. We drove a short distance and then got in the freezing water in our mini tubes for a lazy trip downstream. It was nice and definitely helped us cool off, but was over in literally five minutes...I think that the poster advertising a half hour trip is slightly overrated. I think that the make up the time by allowing you to jump off a bridge (after 30 ft high) if you're brave enough. I am not too proud to say that the scaredy cat in me said no way, but gleefully watched everyone else jump.

From the bridge jumping it was back to El Portal, lunch, and then away again to the Kan'ba Caves. This was probably the highlight of the day, even better than the pools of Semuc Champey. You are given a single white candle per person as you plunge into the total darkness of an underground cave system. The guide (you must go with one) leads you through the watery depths where there are times where you're swimming or treading water and keeping your sad little candle above water so that it doesn't extinguish. You have to clamber up the side of a small waterfall, across ladders whose rungs don't really exist, and through the murky depths to gain access to the end; a rock from which you can jump into a deep pool of water. The jump is about 10 feet and I forced myself and Christie to make it in order to prove that we aren't complete wusses. Definitely provided an adrenaline rush. The whole experience last about 2 to 2.5 hours and is amazing.

Thus ended a great and very full day.

Sunday morning we left El Portal and road the cattle cart back to Lanquin where we said goodbye to Michelle and Bex for the last time (they're headed to Mexico so we won't see them again on this trip) and the new friends that we'd made the previous trip. Everyone else was headed to destinations elsewhere, whist, Christie and I had decided to stay in Lanquin for a day.

We took up residence at El Retiro, another summer camp-like hostel (but nicer than El Portal), and set out to see the town and track down some breakfast. We found a cute restaurant called Shalom (peace in Hebrew) and ordered pancakes with fruit, which turned out to be fruit crepes. They were fantastic, especially after a week straight of platos tipicos (eggs, beans, cheese, and tortillas). I also tied a milk and pineapple licado and it was muy delish.

A short tour of the town (it was about four blocks long) and it was back to the hostel for some down time of reading, sunbathing, and enjoying the sun.

At 2 pm we headed out with a Dutch couple for more river tubing. This time on the Rio Lanquin. This tour turned out to be definitely worth the price and even a little exciting on my part. We got a good 30 - 45 minutes in the river, but Just (pronounced Yost), the male portion of the Dutch couple, told me some misinformation that lead to a little bit of chaos. There's a rope strung across the river where our hostel is located and the guy said that you had to grab this rope at the end of the trip and then pull yourself out of the water.

So being the first to reach it, that's exactly what I attempted to do; attempt being the operative word. This rope just happens to be at a portion of the river where the current is incredibly strong and all that holding on did was cause me to lose my inner tube and eventually my grip on the rope, my pants almost followed suit too. The entire time the guide is yelling "No, no, let go. This is not the end of the trip." So now I was tubeless and clinging to the side of my guide's tube as we attempted not to capsize us both and to track down my errant tube before it was lost for good. I eventually caught up to it about 5 minutes later, but not before amusing everyone in the party and almost drowning myself a few times.

I also managed to make a fool of myself again at the exit point for the trip by drifting about 20 meters more upstream then where we were supposed to get out, mainly because there was a guide helper waving me over. I jumped off the inner tube and promptly fell underwater. I was expecting it to be shore, but it was actually a really deep drop off about two inches from shore. The guide's helper laughed at me, took the inner tube, and left me to climb aboard terra firma and then through the weeds to the others.

After my (our) great river adventure, we retired back to the hostel, grabbed some books and went back down to the river for some more swimming, a little reading, and the hopes of acquiring some color (other than red).

The last adventure for this region of the country was a 5 pm (turn out to be closer to 6 pm cause there was an influx of new arrivals at 5 and some of them wanted to join) trip through the Grutas de Lanquin (Grottos of Lanquin). These are a series of caves that house bats galore. There is a nice, well lit trail of cut stone stairs and slippery walkways through the place and you can see the bats fly around (this was helped greatly by our guide shouting and scaring them). There's a portion at the end where there are no lights, but those of headlamps and you're hoisting yourself up and through some of the rocks outcrops. The result is some happy, muddy people. At the end of the tour, everyone gathered at the front of the caves and watched the bats fly out. Our guide caught one and held it so that we could all take pictures. They're really cool creatures.

And thus ends a very tiring, yet relaxing and enjoyable weekend.