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Published: June 17th 2006
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View from the bus...
This is the view across a river on the bus from Flores to Coban, the bus crossed the river on a barge ferry... Hola mi amigos, que tal? I´m doing good as usual. It´s been a great few days since my last update. We went to Tikal of course, which was pretty amazing to see. The ruins were beautiful and it´s was crazy to think of what it might have looked like thousands of years ago when it was at its peak. The last night we were in Flores there was some great lightening over the mountains across the lake, and we were serenaded by a very innebriated man singing in the distance. After Tikal it was down to Coban, which is a nice little city. We spent the afternoon in Coban, checked out a little Mayan museum and a church up on a hill with great views of the city. Guatemala is a real mixture of tradition and modernity. Many women all wear the traditional clothes, but then they have cell phones, it´s kinda funny.
We went to Semuc Champey the next day to see the pools and the caves. Semuc Champey was really beautiful, one of the nicest places I have been so far and we were the only ones there. We stayed near Semuc Champey at Las Marias, a great little
Dental care and more...
Passing through another town on the bus from Flores to Coban, sometimes you get the best photos while you are sitting in your hot, cramped little seat... hostel run by some really friendly, funny guys and they had great food too. The bus out to Lanquin was long and bumpy and up and down, but it was really nice and went through some beautiful areas. It was all mountainous and full of tiny little villages. There were many people walking along the side of the road, men with machetes, and women with full head loads. There were people working out in their fields, which are all on really steep hills, it doesn´t look like the easiest work ever.
The caves near Semuc Champey were the one of the coolest things I have ever done. It cost 30Q to go on a tour, which included a candle and a tour of the caves and a tube ride back down the river to the hostel. We headed out from the hostel in just our bathing suits and sandals, and tubes of course and walked down the road to the caves. Our guide was great, he was super friendly and smiley and seemed really happy to be taking us through the caves. It is just a little local tour operation and the owner of Las Marias actually owns the caves.
Hanging out in the Parque Central...
Here are some men in the park in Coban, just hanging out and watching people go by... The caves were so amazing, we had a candle each and you had to swim with it and hold it above the water. There were a lot of little bats when we first started going in to the caves, they were so cute, like little mice with wings. We went further and further inside the mountain for about an hour, through tunnels and caverns, and swimming and climbing shady ladders, ropes, and rocks. There were a few waterfalls inside the caves too, which was really cool and we had to walk up through water rushing in the opposite direction. The water was quite cold inside the caves, and we were wet the whole time. The rock formations were amazing, it was so surreal. The caves were so dark, and at one point we blew out our candles and sat in the darkness. It was so peaceful. At one point we had to crawl through this small hole that had water rushing through it, you couldn´t see where it was going to but it just came out into a pool on the other side. I could see how some people really wouldn´t like it in there, seeing as how it was
The power of water....
This is a photo of the river at Semuc Champey, the river forms a tunnel that goes underneath the beautiful, peacefull pools above it, it was so crazy to be close to that much power, kinda scary... pitch black, cold, wet and full of bats, but I loved it. I never thought I would like caving so much. We finally got back out into the sunshine and climbed up the mountain a little to a great view point from where you could see Semuc Champey and the surrounding moutains and the river. Then we climbed back down to the river and went out on the river with our tubes. It was a fun little ride back down to the hostel and we stopped half way and jumped off the bridge, but it was only about 9m high, no worries. We came back to Coban last night, and I can´t figure out what to do today. Maybe the pacific ocean, maybe Lago de Atilan, maybe Mexico...who knows. My time is running out way to fast and July 5th is way too close but I think I am coming home then because I can´t afford to change my flight. It´s okay though, I want to see everyone and make some more money so I can come back soon. It was scary when I hit the 20 days left mark, ahhh!! And I am still in Guatemala, so I don´t
Oh yeah...
Here is one of the hundreds of photos we took at Semuc Champey, it must be one the most beautiful places ever... think I am going to see much of Mexico, besides from the bus. There will always be more time for that though, espcially since my newest plan is to bike from Canada to Panama in March. So I´m sure I´ll be seeing plenty of Mexico then! That was a really, really...really, condensed version of the last little while, I´m too lazy to write more. But I think these pictures say a lot, so enjoy those and I´ll be seeing you all soon!
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matt
non-member comment
the voice was best
Everything looks so idealyic. I wish people dressed here with all that colour. There are many that would not be comfortable,,with being in water ,wet, cold , dark( pitch dark) and BATS. Sounds like some sort of odd therapy to me!! Your voice was the best this morning. The sound of your voice matched your smiles I see. Be good, keep smiling, it's the best ice breaker on earth. See you so soon >>matt