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Published: March 7th 2007
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Semuc Champay
The view down to the pools at Semuc Champay, near Coban in Guatemala. We later swam in the warm clear water. I was not all that excited about the Volcano Pacaya trip. I had looked at the photos from the tour agency and yes they looked impressive but they also looked years old, so I was not really expecting too much. In my mind it was a nice cheap day trip, but my expectations were not very high. Again I think this is a very good thing when traveling, it is better to have surprise than disappointment!!
We were just finishing scoffing McDonalds (classy) when I decided to check to ensure I had the tickets for the volcano tour, and thankfully I did. I then read the tickets and it stated that we had to hike for about 2 hours up and about 1.5 hours on return, I looked at my empty Mcdonalds wrappers and felt even more ill then maccas had already made me. Why on earth had I just eaten an unnutritious lunch.... how would that get me up the volcano!!
The drive there was just like any other drive in Guatemala, it took longer than the time they stated, we dodged a number of chicken buses and we broke the road rules atleast a dozen times, nothing
Semuc Champay
On the walk along the river and near the pools at Semuc Champay in Guatemala. out of the ordinary there, except that the bus was not overloaded as it was a tour which ensured our safety (??).
The hike up was just under two hours and it was not too difficult most of the way. Before we started the hike we were given the option to take natural taxis (horses) but the thought of riding a horse up the track made me feel much more quesy than McDonalds ever would. So I politely declined and worked off the McDonalds instead.
However two of the people in our group took the natural taxi option and I think this made our trip even more special. The three Guatemalan children in charge of the horses had us amused the whole way up. The three of them, 2 boys of about 6 and a girl about 9 shared one horse, whilst the two from our group rode their other two horses. Now these children could ride and they also knew how to work their audience. They had us captivated and in hysterics the whole way. One good thing about children is you really do not need to know their language for them to keep you amused. They
Sunrise at Tikal
Sunrise tour at the famous Mayan ruins at Tikal in the North of Guatemala. would be showing off all their cowboy and cowgirl skills and just being silly but it was so funny. It cant be explained on here, but just seeing them get so much pleasure from accompanying us on the hike was great. You really see how simply the Guatemalan children live, and as difficult as it must be for them, they do not know any better and so it is beautiful to see.
Now I just want to get to the good bit, the actual volcano. It was incredible. It was not a hill covewred in trees like I had expected, but a fully active Volcano. With RED HOT LAVA!! I was really really surprised. It was such an amazing experience.
About 300 metres from the highest point we could climb (not too far from the base infact) you could feel the heat of the lava underneath your feet. There was "live" lava underneath us, it was so cool.
We could also see a really bright lava river streaming down the side of the volcano and then as we got closer to the highest point we could climb we could see more and more fire red lava directly
below us. You looked through the cracks and there was just bright orange and the heat coming up was so intense, we all needed to take our sweaters off. It was very surreal. We got close enough to the lava that we should have bought marshmallows and toasted them. No joke.
I was so glad we decided to go and so glad that we did the evening tour where the lava was burning so bright. It has been one of those amazing trips, mostly due to the fact that it was so unexpected. Gotta love that.
Our next stop from Antigua was Lake Atitlan, it is said to be one of the most beatiful lakes in Central America. I was looking forward to going and chilling out by the water and relaxing.
The day of arrival to Panajachel, one of the towns on the lake it was really cloudy and the lake looked quite mysteriuous with the vlocanos in the background. It looked very cool and I couldnt wait to see it more in the clear of day.
We spent a few nights in Panajachel, a very touristy town again, but it was nice to relax
there. We did a boat trip on the lake to a couple of the other towns and that was quite interesting, you got to really see more of the Guatemalan life style with their traditional markets etc.
As much as I liked the Lake and going there, I think stupidly I had some sort of higher expectations. *reminder to self I should always follow my own advice and not expect anything regardless of what the guide books say!! I was a little disappointed in the Lake and Panajachel but perhaps we should have stayed somewhere else on the lake less touristy as since I have heard better stories of San Marcos etc. Oh well live and learn. It was definitely worth going to see but maybe next time Ill stay in another town!!
Until next log, hasta luego.
Mel
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