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Published: March 14th 2009
Semuc Champey
The wonderfull pools of Semuc Champey.It was supposed to be easy. We were to catch the 6am bus leaving Rio D to take us to Coban via El Retcho on the bus that was heading towards Guatemala City. Fine! No problems!
We got on board, found our seat and dozed in preparation for the 4+ hour journey to El Retcho. We stopped at numerous points, not uncommon on the Guatemalan bus journey to pick up and drop of random passengers. Its not as if they have set stops or city signs for that matter. Its also important to note that they dont sometimes tell you the place where they are stopping at, or dont announce it all the way down the bus....It was this that was our ultimate downfall. Some 6 hours later we were still on the bus (Yes! We thought it was a bit long, but hey there was traffic & this was Guatemala). We started to wonder when the city streetscape materialised and we found ourselves heading straight into Guatemala City - our last stop. A quick chat with the driver told us that we had stopped there over an hour ago and that we should
have gotten off then...Uuughh Duh!! You think!!??
Anyway - always a happy ending or at the very least an amusing recollection when the annoyance disappears. We were dropped of the bus station and caught a taxi to a bus service that would take us to Coban, the closest large city that was close to Semuc Champey. (Thankfully most of the bus stations are located close to each other, so it is just a matter of asking the taxi driver to take you to the bus that takes you to the destination you want to go to and they know where to drop you off.) We made it just in time to take the 12:30pm bus to Coban, some 4 hours away (This time the last stop on the bus - so we couldn't miss it). As we had already spent 6 hours on a bus - what was another 4 hours, plus another 2 to get to Lanquien (the town we had actually wanted to stay in).
The ride to Coban was like driving on a permanent S-bend. For most of the journey I was swaying from side to side as the bus made it's way. Not a
Semuc Champey
Emerald Green pools very good thing if you get car sick - but thankfully I dont, that I hadn't eaten anything all day!!! - Oops.
We got to Coban a little after 5pm. Not surprisingly, we were exhausted (doing nothing but sit on your arse can be a very stressfull activity!!) and the thought of another bus ride was the last thing on our minds. I think we would have made the extra if we knew that a bus was definately available at that time of the day - but as the bus driver wasnt that hopeful, we decided not to risk a late night of searching and instead went to the Hostel Doña Victoria because it had one of the two tour companies that we knew about in Coban.
What can I say about that Hostel.....other than "Es muy mal". The place was like a religious shrine, filled with all manner of relics to different saints. This in-itself wasn't the problem - It was the fact that the rooms with their tiled floors, concrete walls and little or no ventilation was the equivalent of sleeping inside a mouldy refigerator. Our only source of warmth was the paper thin blaket they
Semuc Champey
Bright turquoise blue pools gave us and the bed cover. Our request for additional blankets was met with blank stares and a response of "No we dont have any". So Jen & I had no alternative but to dress for the occasion. I wore two bottoms & four tops to bed that night. I felt like I was the michelin tyre woman and I was still cold. It was not a pleasant experience for either of us.
We had an early start ahead of the next morning as we were lucky enough to secure a spot on a tour going to the caves of Lanquin and Sempuc Champey (We were so lucky in fact - that we didnt know we would be going until close to 11pm the previous night). I made a point of asking for blankets before we left as I knew we would not have enough time to pack our bags and change hostels by the time we got back from our tour.
Our first stop were the caves of Lanquin. Our guide told us that only a portion of the cave has been explored to date and that there were several kilometers descending further underground that have yet
The final pool
If you can see the two men in the photo - this is where you had to jump from......I dont think so! to be covered. When we got there - the few lights that are usually lit in the first hundred or so meters of the cave were not working. We only had our headlamps to help us look around - but most of it was pitch black, very damp and very humid. We went as far as the location of a section of cave used by the Mayans for the rituals (the last of which was done only a week previous because of the Mayan new year). We wandered around a bit more in search of cave spiders (enjoyed that bit of the tour!!) and of course the ever present bats..(enjoyed that bit of the tour even more!!) Thankfully we didn't shine that much light on the bats to get them too restless, it is a horrible feeling when you can barely see in front of you but you can hear the rustling of thousands of bats around you. I didnt stick around long enough to find out - and was up front and on my way out as quick as a flash (only to stick my hand on something moist on the railing as I went out - uuurrggghhh!!. I
stifled a scream - but it wasnt alive, just a big pile of dirt, or worse!!).
From there we made our way south of Lanquin to Semuc Champey, known for its limestone bridge 300m long, on top of which are a series of stepped pools of cool river water from the Rio Cahabón (Thanks Lonely Planet!). The pools vary in colour to pure turquoise blue to emerald green and were so crystal clear you could see all the way to the bottom. We waded through the series of pools, in some instances sliding some slippery rocks and in other instances jumping down from pool to pool (some significnatly higher that others). The lowest pool is where the challenge begins - from there we were taken down a rope ladder on the side of a cave while water is gushing over our heads above. We crawled our way through a very narrow opening of the cave to sit and watch the water gushing through it. (The cave is also used to hold Mayan rituals - but because it was only a female god - it wasnt all that important, according to our guide!!!). The last challenge was to jump 8+
My hike to El Mirador....
The prize view at the top meters to the bottom of the river to then climb back up to the top through another rope ladder. Of the group that said yes to going, I was the last one. When the guy in front of me changed his mind and turned around - I gladly followed him!! My heart was pumping. I was dying a million and one deaths - I just couldnt bring myself to do it. Did I regret it...Nope!.
Next challenge - was to climb to the top of the hill to get to 'El Mirador' (The Lookout), from here you get breathtaking views of the river pools below and the surrounding forest. My friend Marta who had done this the week before, told me that it was harder than climbing the volcano at Pacaya. Now for those that ddnt read my previous blog about Pacaya - well, that ended badly for me. I couldn't do it and was forced to use a horse.....So I was not looking forward to this challenge....
BUT! OMG! I did it. It took about 1 1/2hours to get to the top and back. It involved a series of steep climbing over rocks and wooden steps but
I did it - and I wasnt the last person this time. I was just so happy knowing that the altitude at Pacaya was the thing that made it difficult for me - and not the fact that I have the fitness ability of a granny!
Tired and exhausted we all got aboard the bus for the 2 hour journey back to Coban. We got there around 7pm. Numb with exhaustion I willed myself to go for a walk with Jen to grab a bite to eat as this was essentially our last night together 😞. We treated ourself to an Italian restaurant in Casa D'Acuña before making our way back to our mouldy refrigerator. I still didn't get my blanket - but this time I wasnt going to take no for an answer - Surprisngly when you get a little bit irritated a blanket suddenly appears in your hands. I went back to the room where I only wore two tops instead of four and passed out in exhaustion - but not before I snuck into the room next door to steal the bed covers of one of the other beds.....Good night!
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