Healthy Schools Peace Corps Volunteer in Guatemala since February 2013
Tuesday, September 30, 2014
The Beautiful Semuc Champey, Alta Verapaz, Guatemala
The Lonely Planet on Semuc Champey: Semuc Champey is famed for its great natural limestone bridge, 300m long, on top of which is a stepped series of pools with cool, flowing river water good for swimming. Though this bit of paradise is difficult to reach, the beauty of its setting and the turquoise perfection of the pools make it arguably the loveliest spot in the country.
I would agree that Semuc is a little bit of paradise and also increadibly hard to get to. It took about 8 hours to get from Antigua to Lanquin, the town where most people stay while visiting Semuc. I highly recommend going there if you are an adventure-loving person. We went hiking, caving, climbed a rope up a small waterfall, and the more adventurous tourists (no one that I knew) went tubing, jumped off of bridges, and used the largest rope swings into the water that I have seen.
I tried to weed down the number of pictures on this post, but we did so many cool things and it was all so beautiful that I couldn't help it.
We didn't go tubing, but it looked fun
From left to right: Me, Farah, Kendra, Kelley, Lauren
View from the top of the hike
The road to Semuc
Cars and trucks drove across this believe it or not
Welcome to the trail forest lookout.
Distance: 12km, time: 1hr 15mins, difficulty: hard
Accomplished!
They tied my flip flops to my feet to make them awesome water shoes
(please excuse all of the mosquito bites)
Two good napping spots
They rode like this for a while
The under-water/in the water pictures are borrowed from a new friend we made on the trip. If you are going to visit Semuc I would definitely recommend a waterproof camera.
Natural water slide
Caving! They painted our faces with ash from the cave, gave us each a candle, and off we went!
They got the candles to stick in the coolest places
The cave of love. Honestly it's more like what I imagined
Jack and Rose must have felt like when they were in the
hallway that was filling up with water.
Beautiful indeed! I think, however, I would stick with the above ground sights. I could go without the candlelight spelunking. Didn't you use your headlamp as well? By the way, who is the "they" that converted your flip flops into water shoes?
I did indeed use my headlamp in the cave and was glad that I brought it! Also, the "they" that converted my flip flops into water shoes were the Guatemalans who were in charge of the cave adventure. I guess they are used to unprepared tourists.
What breathtaking photos. I have to admit though that I had an anxiety attack looking at the cave photos. You are a much braver woman than I, that's for sure.
Beautiful indeed! I think, however, I would stick with the above ground sights. I could go without the candlelight spelunking. Didn't you use your headlamp as well? By the way, who is the "they" that converted your flip flops into water shoes?
ReplyDeleteI did indeed use my headlamp in the cave and was glad that I brought it! Also, the "they" that converted my flip flops into water shoes were the Guatemalans who were in charge of the cave adventure. I guess they are used to unprepared tourists.
DeleteWhat breathtaking photos. I have to admit though that I had an anxiety attack looking at the cave photos. You are a much braver woman than I, that's for sure.
ReplyDeleteUnbelievable! So, so gorgeous. I love single photo.
ReplyDelete