"One More Night Please" and Puddle Jumping

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Here's what we got ourselves into so far out in the middle of nowhere...The beautiful, quiet, friendly Utopia eco-hostel set on a cacao farm only 3km from caves we could go exploring and the greenish blue pools of cool water at Semuc Champey that we could swim in. Our first thought upon arrival was that we could stay here a very long time. In fact, we were only booked in for 3 nights originally but we booked in for a 4th straight away. We thought we'd stay in the dorm but the opportunity to sleep in hammocks presented itself and we couldn't pass it up.

Being set on a cacao farm was the perfect excuse to go on a chocolate tour which started out on the farm with a look and taste of the raw cacao pods and beans. The beans have a very unexpected taste; the white bit around the bean is sour and the bean itself doesn't have much flavour. Then we moved onto roasting the already fermented beans which just involved frying them in a pan on the stovetop. All the while Esteban, a French transplant, was telling us all about our favourite treat. After roasting, we shelled the beans and put them in a food processor for blending. The result of the blending was pure not so creamy chocolate which you only need a little bit of to be satisfied. After about half an hour in the blender, it was onto the chocolate molds where we paired the chocolate with other ingredients like ginger, peanut butter and cinnamon. The result was a tasty treat great for sharing after dinner.

Since we were in no hurry to leave Utopia, we weren't in a rush to visit Semuc Champey so the next day we went tubing down the Rio Cahabon. We walked the 3km up to Semuc Champey, which took about 45 minutes, to start our tubing adventure. The first bit of the ride was relaxing and then we hit the rapids which were non-stop until we got back to the hostel. We learned a couple things on this ride: the scarier looking the rapid, the easier it is to navigate (and you're less likely to hit your bum on the rocks below); and, if the locals fishing on the river tell you to go a certain direction, follow their lead. They know what they're talking about. Luckily for us, it was Easter Sunday and there were plenty of locals out on the river fishing and all too generous with their advice, even yelling to us in the distance if we were headed the wrong way. We found that when there were no locals, and the way wasn't blatantly clear, staying to the right of the river tended to work best.

We intended to go to Semuc Champey and the caves the next day but when we woke up, the weather was grey and misty. Not ideal so we decided to relax at the hostel and extended our stay for a 5th night.

Semuc Champey is definitely worth visiting if going to Guatemala. It seems a bit out of the way, and it is, but it's a must see. Most people stay in Lanquin which is the closest town, about 10km away (read: 30 minute truck ride on the least roadish road known to man; although our definition of a 'road' is beginning to become somewhat more loose) and take a tour to Semuc and the nearby caves. A tour from the hostel was also an option for us but since we were staying merely 3km away, we decided to save a few quetzales and go by ourselves. We walked to the site while chatting with a young boy named Rolando and his mother most of the way. Rolando was very chatty and it was a good way for us to practice our Spanish.

We decided to go to the caves first thinking it might be nice to get them done as Ashley was a bit apprehensive about feeling claustrophobic. A lot of things about Guatemala in general are not up to the safety standard of North America and Semuc Champey is no exception. The first thing being how we go through the caves: with a candle in one hand, clamoring over rocks, climbing ladders and swimming in the deep water. Not to mention the small hole that we had to gently lower ourselves through at the end. Alas, Ashley fell gracelessly down and splash...disappearing into the water with a thud causing Dan concern when she took a few seconds to surface. All in all, it was a fun experience if not a wee bit terrifying in some places. After the caves, we took the short walk up to the mirador (lookout) to get the full view of the Semuc Champey pools from above and then walked down to the pools. Once in the pools, we just got to jump from pool to pool down the small waterfalls. As usual in these touristy sites, there were some locals enjoying the water and some fearless young boys putting us to shame, running and jumping from places we wouldn't have considered had we not seen them do it first. It was the perfect way to spend the afternoon and cool off in the sun.

We could have stayed many more than five nights at Utopia Hostel had we not had a deadline for a house sitting gig coming up. The hostel, while in the middle of almost nowhere, provided (dare we say?) well with a reasonably priced vegetarian menu. The fact that the nearest ATM was in Lanquin (another 25GTQ and 30min ride either way) was mitigated by the fact that we could run a tab until the night before our departure and pay by credit card.

More photos from the Semuc Champey and Utopia Hostel here.

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Photos

Death Defying Jump
Local kids were running down the waterfall and jumping off it half way down. (Most of) The foreigners were taking the easy way down and sliding halfway down on their bums and jumping off from there.