Semuc Champey

I decided to take a shuttle to my next destination because it was somewhere in the nowhere that is the center of Guatemala and even the shuttle took eight hours to get there not to speak of public buses with transfers and heaps of crazy people packed around me. Max helped me to find a 'cheap' company and it turned out to be a real advantage to speak Spanish, not only because you understand what everyone is talking about but also because it is a lot faster.
Of course the bus was late but that gave me enough time to wake up and prepare mentally for the tour. I was the first one to get on the bus and we picked up six other people, four of who were German, before we finally left Antigua. The ride was terribly long and the seats were very uncomfortable and didn't have any headrests which made it even worse but I enjoyed the company of my fellow travellers a lot and we tried to make the best out of it.
Everything in my body was hurting when we finally arrived in Lanquin, after over an hour on an offroad track without suspensions, at my hostel, the Zephyr Lodge. It was a beautiful place on top of a hill with a 360° view on the surrounding fields and mountains, an open air bar and common area and a very friendly vibe. I checked in together with Thalida and Elisa, two German girls from the bus with whom I got along well. The dorms were packed and there was hardly any space to put my bag but I didn't spend a lot of time in there anyways.
I was still not feeling very well and really exhausted from the long trip so I went to bed early and tried to sleep while the party outside was just getting started.
I had put my name down for the legendary "candle-cave" and Semuc Champey tour, however when I woke up the next day I was told that there were not enough people and that they wouldn't do it. I was very disappointed because that was why I had come here in the first place but Thalida and Elisa were doing a tour as well but with a travel agent from town and so I joined them because I didn't have enough time to wait one day. I didn't end up going with the two girls but I still had a great group and we had a lot of fun together.
We were picked up by a pick-up truck and driven down to Semuc Champey all cramped on the back. The drive was almost an hour long and I was happy to be there when we arrived at the entrance to the caves. Everyone changed into their swimmers and we followed our guide Carlos (he liked to call himself Santana) to a big swing over the river. I was the first to go because I was keen to do it, I had worked my way to the front with pushing and shoving, but I think that most people appreciated that someone was willing to test how safe the thing actually was.
It was safe. And great fun! The trick was to let go at the very last moment to get almost 5 meters into the air and then pray for a good landing. My second time I tried a back flip-sort-of-thing which went wrong and I only turned halfway and landed on my face but I wasn't the worst. People were hitting the surface in every thinkable way and some of them looked very painful.
After everyone was happy we went back to the "camp" where we got a small candle in our hand each and walked to the cave. We got a short introduction and were sent into the cave with lit candles and our guide at our tail. It was almost spooky at first but the deeper we entered the cave and the more we waded, climbed and swam, the better it got. Sometimes you had to put the candle between your teeth and climb up a narrow ladder underneath a small waterfall with the water pounding on your back or even the tallest of us lost the ground underneath their feet and had to swim, one armed, through the darkness. At the end we got to a place where we could jump off a narrow and slippery ledge into a whole that wasn't very wide at all before we turned around and went back the way we came from.
It was an incredible feeling to be in that cave without any other light than that of our candles and swim through pitch black water. I loved the tour and was very happy that I had decided to spend the money on it. And it wasn't quite over yet.
We tubed down the river for a while which was relaxing but not very exiting and got a little bit cold after a while before we crossed the river and had lunch. After the lunch break we entered the national park of Semuc Champey and hiked up to the view point "El Mirador" from where we could see the amazing limestone pools from high above. It was an incredible sensation to step out on to the platform and look down to see this natural wonder and I don't think that I can describe what I saw so I'll just leave that part to the pictures.

The pools from above

This is the river flowing in underneath the pools

I departed from the group a little and followed the path down to the pools where I saw, that the majority of the rivers water actually went through underneath the pools. It was a powerful rapid that would kill anyone who jumped or fell into it and stood in such a contrast to the tranquil pools that were lying there in quietness and a light peaceful turquoise. I walked further down to the top most pool where I undressed and dived into the beautiful clear water. The water cascaded down from pool to pool and you could jump and slide down little waterfalls into the next basin. We spent over an hour swimming, jumping and sliding and until the end I found it hard to believe this perfect beauty that was pure nature.
It wasn't warm at all though and we packed our stuff together and left when the first fingers and lips turned purple. On the way back I bought a piece of locally made chocolate which had a very interesting taste, not particularly good or bad, and huddled together with everyone else on the back of the pick-up truck that took us home.
I got off at another hostel where some people from my group were staying who had invited me to join them in their sauna. It was a tiny little room with a fire place outside that heated up quite well and it was right at the river which was nice to cool down in. I stayed there until I felt warm enough and walked back to my hostel to get some food where I met up with Elisa and Thalida again who had just come back from their trip as well. We had a lot of fun that night and met a lot of great people, I learned a new game, and had three lovely wood oven pizzas. To round of this almost perfect day one of the hostel staff, who had been a chef somewhere, came out of the kitchen with a tray of the best brownies I have ever tasted. It was like biting into pure soft and airy chocolate with big chunks of more chocolate in it. Amazing!
It had been a good day with a lot of fun with new and old friends, a lot of adventure and great food at the end of it. What could you possibly want more...