Advertisement
Published: January 31st 2008
Edit Blog Post
I decided after my volcano adventure to head up to Coban, which meant changing buses in Guatemala City. The bus ride to Guate was pretty uneventful besides observing the bus helper load bags on top of the bus through the back emergency exit door ladder (which functions just as another door to load people and stuff onto the bus in Central America) while the bus was going at about 40 mph. I made it to Coban at about 8 PM and stayed at a bed and breakfast that served banana pancakes (it is amazing the things you crave being on the road for about two months now- pancakes, pizza and peanut butter were all at the top of my list). The guy was really trying to sell his bed and breakfast advertising its hot water, cleanliness and quiet atmosphere- all of which had no bearing on my decision until he mentioned the magic word "pancake" did he have me sold).
That night I ate like a king in Coban- I had the best Churrasco of my life from the street vendors in the city's central square and found an Argentine guy selling empanadas on my walk back from the Churrasco
stand (if you ever go to Coban DO NOT miss the street churrasco- maybe the best bang for my buck I've experienced yet- huge helpings of meat, rice, beans and fried eggs, endless chile and a cup of coffee all for just 15 quetzals or $2 USD).
The next morning I caught a bus to Lanquin and made it up to Semuc Champey around noon and saw some of the most beautiful scenery yet (see pics). Upon arrive to Semuc Champey I quickly realized I had not budgeted enough cash for my stay as everything there was much more expensive than expected- so I had to exercise my creativity. As I walked around the roadway paths looking for some cheap food I couldnt help but notice all the atole (corn) plants at the base of the mountains. As I was admiring the atoles thinking they would make some good dinner food I encountered some 10 year old kids working in the fields with machetes. So I approached them and we struck a deal- I would work for two hours in the field with them so they could take turns resting in return for 6 atoles that would become my
dinner. As I cleared the fields with them chopping away at weeds and other exotic plants the kids were constantly looking over my shoulder making sure I did not miss any spots and threatening to only give me 4 atoles if I did not do a good enough job. I told them that they had better teach me the way they wanted things done since I have never worked in the corn fields with a machete before in suburban Michigan. They mentioned that they would work in the fields from 8A-6P seven days a week to help their family earn some extra money- amazing!!
By the time my time was up and I collected my half dozen atoles it was time to go check out the famous caves of Semuc Champey. My guide and I entered the cave with just a swimsuit and a candle in each of our hands as you had to swim in the darkness with your three limbs while holding the candle for light!! At one point we had to climb through a waterfall up a 15 foot high rocky cliff via a rope and pull yourself up as the water crashed down on us
in the darkness. As we climbed through the waterfall I was so glad I made it without loosing my contacts- as I wouldve been as blind as the bats hanging from the ceiling. We also came to a point in the cave with another 15 foot high rocky cliff where you could jump into a pool of water no bigger than about 40-50 square feet with rocks along the edges of the water. The guide would shine his flashlight as I climbed up the cliff to jump in showing me exactly where to aim myself so as not to land amongst the rocks. As I made my way up the cliff I was thinking that only in Latin America could one do these types of adventure activities- with the absence of lawsuits etc that everyone is so fearful of in the states- not even a signature needed or waiver form- just a few quetzals and you are on your way to an adventure of a lifetime. So we crawled and swam through some narrow areas for another hour or so and it was definitely not the safest thing tour I had been on but by far one of the funnest
experiences in Guatemala.
Upon exiting the caves some of the locals were jumping off this bridge that crosses a nearby river- so I decided to take a 40 foot plunge about five times until it started to rain pretty hard (see pics). By this time I had worked up an appetite so I went to grab my corn and approached some night shift security guards to see if they would let me use their grill. As I cooked up my corn the security worker mentioned that he makes about 3 quetzals per hour (less than $.50 USD) or about 24 quetzals per day ($3.50 USD). The cost of living in Guatemala is very cheap no doubt- $2.50 for a hearty meal, $1.50 for an hour of bus transport, $2-$5 per night for a hostel but I am continually amazed at how these people can live off of what they make and their great attitude about the situation they are in. As the security guard was about to go to sleep I offered him some of my atoles, but he mentioned he was full so I gave him a gift of 5 quetzals for generously letting me use his grill
which he accepted with much appreciation.
The next morning I awoke at 5:30A to check out the Semuc Champey pools- a series of small waterfalls that empty into turqoise pools before my ride back to Coban left at 7:30A and was amazed by what the natural state of the world has to offer (see pics- they do no justice to this great site). As we boarded the van- a white molester type vehicle with a guard rail on top for people and luggage, several of the locals were riding on top. So I decided to climb on top as well, originally the van driver did not want me riding up there but I was able to talk him into it pretty easily. The Guatemaltecos were pretty humored upon seeing a 6 foot tall half white guy riding on top like they do. As I took the hour long ride back to Lanquin it was a perfectly clear morning as I once again soaked in all of the natural beauty that the great country of Guatemala had to offer as I was off to El Salvador for more great experiences.
Advertisement
Tot: 0.063s; Tpl: 0.011s; cc: 13; qc: 27; dbt: 0.0279s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.1mb