Caving in Semuc Chempey with nothing but a little flame to guide us We left Lanquin somewhere around 9h00am and got to the little hostal Santa Maria (the only one in Semuc Chempey) around 10h30. We could have just toured the pools till somewhere around two and taken the shuttle back to El Retiro, but we had been told that the Santa Maria offered a caving tour at 3h00pm that was not to be missed. Chris loves caving even more than I do, so we couldn't pass this up. We walked the fifteen minutes to national parc they've put up to [View Full Entry]

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When the big man pointed at my glasses, our guide Fernando quickly snapped a few inches of twine from a rope hanging nearby, neatly removed my glasses from my head, and tied the two ends of the cord to the arms of my glasses. As he handed the modified glasses back to me, I knew we were in for a better than average adventure. Ten minutes later we arrived at the mouth of the cave. A large pool of still, dank looking water lay in front of a large, locked gate. We stood, momentarily stymied while Fernando searched for the key [View Full Entry]

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Semuc Champey some say is the most beautiful area in Guatemala, I think this claim may be true, though it is hard to give the accolade to just one area when there are so many so beautiful. Both guide books (Rough Guide and Lonely Planet) included information on Semuc Champey, including the general advice that it is better to take a tour. Tours all cost $35, way too much for a savvy budget traveller such as I. The Rough Guide goes as far as to mention that some guy called Fernandez in an unnamed green shop near the main plaza will [View Full Entry]

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