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Last weekend we went to Paradise, otherwise known as Semuc Champey. It is a series of limestone pools set atop a cave where the river flows through. The water is crystal blue/green, with tiny fish swimming in it. It is an oasis in the jungle. It's not very easy to get to either, as the roads are still partially unpaved. But the bumpy ride is worth it. It is a beautiful place. We spent all of Saturday swimming in the pools. Our accommodations for the evening were quite interesting. We did the whole weekend as a package deal, so we had not input on where we stayed. It was basically a 2.5 story wooden shack with huge gaps in between the boards that made up the wall. We had some exciting encounters with huge bugs and the whole thing shook when anyone walked around! It was an interesting night... On Sunday, we continued our adventure and went to the cave of Marias. It is a cave connected to the River that flows through Semuc. The staff at the hotel told us just to wear flips flops, so we did, but the staff at the cave had other ideas. One of the
employees fashioned us some cave climbing shoes by tying some twine around them. They were surprising comfortable and they worked! We entered the cave into the chilly water which soon reached up to our waist. We each received a candle, which was to be our only light in the cave. At times, we had to swim with only one arm, while holding the candle in the other. And climbing down the ladders was a scary experience! First of all I'm afraid of heights, secondly I was wearing slippery flip flops, thirdly I was still holding a burning candle in one hand, and lastly the ladder was pretty flesh with the wall of the cave so each rung was pretty shallow, which not much room for my big feet. Luckily, we had an awesome guide who helped us down the ladder, guiding our feet to each rung. When we got to the center of the cave, I climbed up one of the rocks and jumped into the deep pool in the middle. I was the chicken of the group, so for me this was a big accomplishment. Actually the whole cave experience was a big accomplishment! It was a way to
help me conquer my fears, at least a little bit. Inside the cave was amazing. By just the candle light, I could make out all of the stalagmites hanging from the tall cave ceiling. I'm not going to lie, I was feeling pretty Indiana Jones-esque. Unfortunately, for obvious reasons, we were not able to bring in cameras, so if you want to see it you'll have to go yourself! It was a great experience!
Tuesday, we continued our water adventure by going to the beach! It was Cross-Cultural Solutions Guatemala's 5th anniversary, so all of the staff and us loaded into the van and drove to Puerta Quetzal. It is actually a Guatemalan military base, but you can pay to access the beach. It was such a fun day! The water was wonderfully warm and it was a black sand beach. We had wonderful food as always. We played games and had great bonding time with the staff. We even played bi-lingual charades, which was quite difficult as you can imagine! Overall, it was an awesome day and I feel quite fortunate to have been here to experience it and celebrate with the staff!
More to come soon.
The school side of the week has been interesting, but that's for the next blog.
Hasta luego!
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