Blogs from Semuc Champey, Verapaz Region, Guatemala, Central America Caribbean - page 8

With Nicole on the computer by my side, I write to you from cool, rainy Coban, Guatemala. I currently have my shirt pulled over my nose because the fumes from some stupid diesel car parked outside are making me light headed. After a VERY long ride from Flores, we finally turned off the paved road and spent the next hour on a twisting, rocky, pothole ridden goat trail. We both felt pretty beat up at the end of the journey. Our final destination was the Hotel Portal, a 5 minute walk from Semuc Champey. The first night in this place wasnt the greatest...the place was full, so we slept in a half finished room which I think really belonged to the hotel employees. The sheets were dirty, there was no glass in the windows, the families ... read more

Where to begin...the last two days have felt like an entire week because of the amount of adventure that´s taken place in such a short time. When we last posted we were getting ready to leave the tiny, very hot island of Flores to head to Coban and Semuc-Champey to see what has been called the most beautiful place in Guatemala. When we left Flores with our acquired travel buddies (Shyra and Natalie) we thought we´d have a quick 5 hour shuttle ride to Coban to stay the night and then a day down at Semuc. The shuttle ride started out normal enough and we were joined by a british couple, an irish girl and a german guy all heading to the same place. The trek proved quite scary for myself because the driver was a ... read more

Hello, I have been a bad blogger, frankly it has been too long since I last posted, so here comes a huge juicy entry for those of you still taking an interest! Ok, so Jahn and Theresa left. Very sad. But then I met Casey, a medical student from wait for it.. Las Vegas baby(!), and a new Norwegian hot-pocket by the name of Elle-Mari. He has a rather wicked sense of humor which really helped to lift the mood on occasion back at the orphanage. Playing a sort of tongue in cheek Mr. America figure, an athletic loud mouthed genius of slap stick, Casey was a regular Jim Carey. She, on the other hand, has this chip on her shoulder about men, a real one woman worrier. Now couple this with the most adorable ... read more

So the journey to get to Semuc Champey will forever be burned into my memory. Step 1- take a shitty chicken bus that should hold 12 people but packs 22 on a windy highway for a few hours, step 2, on the turn off for Lanquin (a town right by semuc champey) it says the town is only 11km away yet it takes over an hour to get there because the van is driving on nothing that remotely resembles a road. At one point we had to stop because there was a semi on the road clearing large rocks from the road so it was driveable. Step 3- arrived in Lanquin and allow a local man to convince you to go to this beautiful hotel by semuc champey. Step 4- he takes you to his mode ... read more

FRANÇAIS Oh mon dieu! Si Semuc Champey n'exitait pas, il aurait fallu l'inventer... Une vraie merveille de la nature. Jettez un oeil aux photos (On en a pris que deux! Panne de batterie!). Nous avons passé la journée du 31 décembre 2006 à plonger d'un bassin à l'autre, sous le soleil... Remonter à pied le long de la rivière et recommencer... Nous vous souhaitons à tous une excellente année 2007! ENGLISH Oh my god! If Carlsberg did marvels of nature they'd do Semuc Champey! Just see the pictures (all two of them). We spent the afternoon of NYE diving from one pool to another in the sunshine. Climbing up and doing it again. Hope you are all well and that 2007 brings all the health, wealth, strength and happiness you could wish for. Love to all!! ... read more