Blogs from Verapaz Region, Guatemala, Central America Caribbean - page 5

David here... The bus journey to Coban was surprisingly comfortable with not too many people on board, with a stop on the way where we had a very nice chicken sandwich. We arrived in Coban early in the afternoon and checked out a few hotels before staying at the Posada de Don Pedro which had clean enough rooms, shared bathrooms but a nice garden area to sit in. It was here that I noticed that the bag I use daily had been slit while we were traveling either from Guatemala City or the previous day when the buses we were on were particularly busy. Fortunately as the bag had our pac-safe in it, the slit they had made was too small for anything to be pulled out, so we lost nothing. After a quick patch up ... read more

After two weeks on and around Lake Atitlan I was keen to continue my travels, I headed north into the Alta Verapaz region of Guatemala which offers some of the finest examples of natural limestone features in the world, I have spent the past week either wallowing in tropical lagoons or exploring huge underground cave systems. Lanquìn and around A days travelling took me north to the small town of Lanquìn and were it not for the picture perfect Zephyr Lodge the place would hardly be worth a mention, perched atop a narrow ridge above a meandering river, the lodge is an idyllic backpacker retreat and affords amazing valley views from practically any hammock you chose to plonk yourself in. It was also an ideal jumping off spot for a day at Semuc Champey. I opted ... read more

In the middle of the night last night was our first semi-scary experience. We had our ear plugs in because 80's fest lasted really late. I woke up because I thought I heard something. As I woke up I heard what sounded like the end of a knock on our door. I just sat there, scared! Then I saw a guy walk by our window (thank goodness there was a porch light on) & I'm not sure if he went into the loft above our room or away entirely. At this point, I wake Geoff up & we have a whisper fest. He sits there for a minute, doesn't hear anything, & falls back asleep. I, on the other hand, was completely paranoid & remembering every terrible story I've ever heard about things that go bad ... read more

Slept in a bit today. Finished up the pics. Ate a couple of tacos in flour tortillas, which was different & goodbye Flores, with lighter backpacks after our expensive & heavy package was sent (primarily due to the conch shell Geoff found in Mexico on the beach). Tuk tuk'd to Santa Ilena & got to the bus station. Again, herded by 3-5 guys surrounding out tuk tuk. Geoff said, "guys let us at least get out, give us a minute." They backed up about 1/2 inch so that was nice. We were herded into the oficina where we were told it would cost us 300 Quetzal to get to the city of Coban & that bus didn't leave for 2 hours & wouldn't get us to Lanquin which is where we'd like to end up tonight ... read more

Hallo zusammen Sodeli, noch ein kurzer Bericht. Von Antigua sind wir mit einem Kleinbus (Minivan) nach Coban, resp. Lanquin gefahren. Die Fahrt dauerte ca. 7h und wir waren froh, als wir endlich angekommen sind, da wir ganz schoen zusammengedrueckt waren! Im Lanquin hat es ein schoenes Hostel El Retiro. Leider waren die Bungalows schon ausgebucht und darum mussten wir in einem Dorm uebernachten, aber fuer 2 Naechte war das ganz o.k. Die Dorms waren noch grosszuegig, obwohl es ca. 12 (oder mehr...) Better darin hatte..... :-) Wir buchten gleich am Abend fuer den naechsten Tag die Tour nach Semuc Champey. Am morgen frueh gings los. Nach einer ca. 30min Fahrt auf dem Pick-up kamen wir an. Wir zogen uns um (natuerlich hatten wir die Badekleider bereits an) und los ging die Entdeckungstour in der Hoehle. Die ... read more