In the Land of Q'eqchi' - Lanquin and Semuc Champey

The road back to Guatemala was again uneventful, with the only real highlight being the overnight stop in San Salvador, El Salvador. I left the bus station for a bit to head out and grab dinner which consisted of papusas (sort of like a pizza pocket) with homemade hot chocolate, and then washed down with some Kolaschanpan (national pop of El Salvador). It was sweet sitting on the street corner with the locals as we all ate from the same stand, and sharing some minimal conversation.
Arriving in Guatemala, I had planned on going to Antigua for the day, in order to set up a shuttle to Coban in the Guatemalan highlands, but a last minute decision let me directly to Coban, saving some time and hassle. A beautiful little town away in the hills was to be my stop for the night until I continued onto Lanquin, about 2 hours away.
The next day I made my way to the bus to Lanquin and settled in for what was to be another tightly packed bus ride, through the highlands. However, this ride was a little more eventful than most. While waiting for the bus to depart, some Guatemalan youth came of the bus. Turns out they were medical students from the city heading to Lanquin for a bit of a vacation. They were great. Full of energy and wanting to have some fun. They really wanted to help me out with my Spanish, and one of them spoke incredible English. Another Guatemalan that I have met that has learned the language from TV and music. Incredible. So we played games and just joked around for the rest of the trip.
When we arrived in Lanquin, I was just planning on heading to the hostel and relaxing for the day, but they invited me to go to the Semuc Champey pools with them. Though hesitant about going because I was rather tired and wanted to rest in this picturesque Mayan town, I decided against it and headed off with them. A great decision and one I don't regret. Semuc Champey is a series of limestone pools with the most incredible water, and landscape. It is located in a river valley with hills towering overhead. We spent the afternoon, relaxing, and going from pool to pool, enjoying the refreshingly cool water. There was also a lookout located up the side of one of the hills, which offered an breath taking view of the area. Though arriving there hot and sweaty we were blow away by the beauty of the area. The day turned out to be so much fun and I am glad I didn't let myself sit it out. They were a lot of fun, friendly, and full of energy. It makes travel a lot more fun when you get to experience it with locals, who are discovering part of their country for the first time.
The next day I made my way back to Semuc Champey which is located 10 kms outside of Lanquin. A girl named Becca, who I had met on the bus to Guatemala, and I headed out to go caving near the pools. So we piled into a pickup truck and made for the hills. We did however make one quick stop. With that stop we picked up 20+ local Mayan men, women and children who were on their way in that direction as well. I don't know if Ive seen or even knew that many people could fit in a truck. We made out way out doing the Guatemalan bump and grind, picking up and dropping off along the way.
The cave tour we did was mind blowing. We were given candles and followed our guide Carlos deeper and deeper into the cave, with the tiny wax candle as our only source of light. Wading our way through the pools inside the cave, I like many other times n the trip did so with a stupid grin on my face, and the occasional burst of laughter as I thought about what I was doing. Climbing a series of ladders, holding our little candles, and then eventually swimming through some of the deeper pools we took a break. Carlos told us to put out our lights. At first a little hesitant and not sure if he was joking I followed along. It became a totally new feeling. Absolutely no light what so ever. It was the same with your eyes open and shut. As simple as it sounds this fascinated me. Eventually we relighted the candles and continued on until we reached the end with a small spot to jump off the wall into the pool about 3m's below. Making our way back to the entrance we had to narrowly fit through a crack in the rock and drop into a pool below. This trip was incredible, and well worth it.
After making my way back to Lanquin I had to leave for Coban again, because with the town being so small they don't have an ATM to withdraw money, and not knowing this before I only had enough to make it back to Coban. So with that I bid farewell to this dreamy little Mayan town, and the Q'eqchi' language and left for the slightly bigger Coban in hopes of catching a shuttle to Antigua in the morning.
The next day I caught a shuttle to Antigua for the Semana Santa festival which I will write more about in the next post. The place is crazy right now, with tonnes of people all over the place and a real festive atmosphere. I will be sure to let you know all about it in the next post.

Thanks for reading

Bye for now

Mike