We left our treehouse oasis and jumped on a shuttle for Semuc Champey. It was a six hour ride on a very narrow dirt road, up and down throught the mountains, the entire way! It was a very long trip! Once we got to the middle of nowhere, a truck from our hostel came and picked us up and drove us even further into the middle of nowhere. We were wondering exactly where it was we were going to be staying. I did finally get to fullfill my dream of riding in the back of a Guatemalan truck though!
We finally got to our hostel - El Portal. It truly is in the middle of nowhere, and it is spectacular! Well, the hostel itself isn´t, but the scenery totally makes up for the constant lack of running water (it was off more than it was on) and the four hours of electricity allowed daily. Plus, the people we met at El Portal were so much fun!
We got up early to head out on our tour. We didn´t know quite what we would be doing the whole day, but we had been told by many people that it was worth it! So we signed up and met with our group to head off on our adventure. We lucked out and had a small group of 9 (the day before they had 25).
The first thing we did was go on a hike. It was super green and pretty, though the humidity had us all dripping (litterally, sweat dripping off the end of your nose) within minutes. We hiked for about half an hour and got to El Mirador (the lookout) where we could look down and see Semuc Champey. It was a phenomenal sight!
Semuc Champey is a group of natural pools that are known to some as the 8th wonder of the world. They are warm, and clear, and the most amazing shades of blue and green you have ever seen. Pictures can not do Semuc justice!
Our tour guide took us through Semuc Champey. We swam through all the pools, did some cliff jumping, slid down the natural waterslides made by the slick rocks (so much fun, and worth the bruised bottom!) and dove down and into some hidden caves.
Semuc is not only absolutely beautiful, but it is extremely entertaining! We had a great time, giggling as we went down the slides and floating in the water. To top it off, our guide was hilarious and kept us all laughing!
We really lucked out with our group. We became friends quickly with all of them! The whole day was spent laughing and joking and cheering each other on. Two of us were from Utah, one from Hawaii, one a girl living in Panama, two from Germany, one from Switzerland, one from England and one from Russia.
After we had swam around for a while we went back to the hostel for lunch, and then set off again for what became my favorite part of the whole trip - the bat caves! I have to preface this part by saying that I have NO pictures of this, which kills me! We weren´t allowed to take anything into the cave that coun´t get completely soaked. If I ever make it back, a waterproof camera is a must! These pictures I found on google images of other people who went through the cave, so that you have an idea of just how cool it was!
I love caves and enjoy them anytime I can get in one, but this was different. These caves are filled with water, and have no lights. When you go in you are given a candle, and taught how to hold it so that you can swim with one hand and hold your candle with the other. Without the candles it is pitch black.
Going into a cave with a candle is a cool experience to begin with, but it gets even cooler. Some of the time you have to swim through the water, other times your feet can touch the bottom so you can walk. It is loud through the whole thing because of the rushing water. You form a line and make your way through the tunnels, swimming under, around, and through many rocks and things along the way.
Part way in you come to a waterfall in the middle of the cave with a rope hanging down with several knots in it. The guide grabbed the rope and climbed up top, instructing each of us to do the same. You climb the rope with a fairly strong waterfall pouring over the top of your head. Such a unique experience!
When you finally get to the back of the cave there is a huge pond. We stood around it with our candles and all took turns climbing up to the top of the wall and jumping in. Cliffjumping in a cave. Does it get any cooler?
After that we started to make our way out of the cave, climbing down the rope through the waterfall and coming to an area that Krista dubbed ¨The Birth Canal¨ (very appropriately named!) It is a hole in a rock with water gushing through it. You can´t see through it at all, and there is no place to put your head to breathe. You just put your legs through and let go, letting the guide catch you at the bottom. Kind of scary, and totally cool!
We left the caves two hours later soaking wet, pretty cold, tired, and all with HUGE grins on our face. Such an incredible experience! I would have done it again if we had time!
But our day wasn´t over yet! We grabbed some tubes and tubed down the river by our hostel. Very nice and relaxing!
We thought our day was over as we walked back to the hostel crossing a bridge with our tubes. Our guide threw down his tube and asked who wanted to jump in. We all thought he was kidding (though the picture doesn´t show it, the bridge is actually quite high!) until he turned around and jumped in! So we dropped our tubes and jumped in after him. It was AMAZING!
We went home and showered and then ate dinner with all our new friends from our group as we all taked about what a great day it had been! Then the workers at El Portal turned on the music and started dancing! So we ended the day with Salsa Dancing lessons. I am so not coordinated when it comes to salsa dancing, but it is fun anyway!
Honestly, days don´t get much better than this one. We had been to some truly phenomenal places, and yet this day is the highlight of my entire trip in Guatemala (at least so far!) and that is saying something!
The next day we woke up early to once again ride in the back of a truck to town, bid farewell to our new friends, and catch our shuttle back to Antigua. After that we took the two busses that took us back to Patzicía. It was an 11 hour day of traveling, and we arrived home glad to be there! It was a fantastic backpacking trip where we made memories that will last a lifetime, but it was good to be home!
3 comments:
SO these adventures sound insanely fun but I think I they would have scared me to death!!! I don't know if I could have done it. But seriously. How cool!
SO incredible! I am just reading this and imagining it all. What a sensational sunset on that last post, I seriously stared at that picture over and over. What a fantastic time you are having! I am loving the posts and hearing about your adventures! Keep em' coming Katie!:)
You're right... I'm quite sure for safety reasons you could never do anything like that in the US! Seriously so awesome!!!!! (Though I think I might be too chicken to do it myself... you're the adventurous one!)
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