Semuc Champey

So, we left Wednesday for Semuc Champey and stayed there 3 day, leaving Sunday...from Xela to Semuc it's 10 hours...in bus. To say the least I'm sick to all hell of traveling by bus, but it was worth it. Semuc Champey is the coolest place I think I've ever been. On the way there we took an Alamo bus to Guatemala City, then switched to a different company to Coban. Stayed Wednesday night in Coban, at a really cute little hostel, then took a shuttle to our hostel in Semuc, Las Marias. I was so excited to see that our hostel in Semuc was right on the river, complete with a rope swing and dock to jump off of. YES! So we got to the hostel on Thursday and just hung out, swam in the river, went off the rope swing until I got blisters, literally. It's cool how some hostels work, you just order what you want and they keep a tab, so you never have to deal with money. The dinners there sucked, but the lunch and breakfasts were great. My partners in crime were Amy, Ruchi, and Greg, Jill had to go back to the states cause her grandma passed away...shitty. Our room had 5 beds, a French guy stayed in one of them and was high every second he was there. Anyway, that night we came up with a new drinking game, speak Spanish or drink! It worked great, so everytime we uttered English, you had to take a drink. We spoke for a few hours. Got up the next day to go to the pools of Semuc Champey. It was a 15 minute walk from our hostel; we walked by national geographic type houses with naked kids and chickens running around. Crossed a bridge which we later jumped. These pools are really beyond description. There is a series of cascading, blue as blue gets, clear pools, which end up feeding into a giant waterfall and white water rapids. Though, I expected to see this, I didn't expect that underneath these pools was a torrent river that took 3 lives. When you walk to the first pool, you can walk a little further to see the river funneling into a giant black hole in the earth. Looking at it gave me the chills, so much energy, so much power, you're so fucked if you end up in there. That water ends up where the waterfall is and creates the raging river below. It's crazy. I don't really understand how it could have been formed. So we hung out there until 1something because we had to get back to go on a cave tour...yipee caves right? This cave tour would never and will never be legal in the states. First we went off this great big rope swing into the current in the river, fun, anyway...walk up some stairs to the other hole in the earth with a waterfall coming out of it. They give each of us a candle. We go in, shin deep in water and it immediately smells of bat shit...the guide pointed out some bats with his headlamp...cool. I don't know how to tell you about this experience. We swam through the cave holding our candle in one hand many times for many meters, stalactites and formations everywhere, hearing rushing water ahead. Climbed a slippery metal ladder to bring us up to a cliff, where we'd end up later after climbing through a tiny space and down another ladder. Got to a point where the guide was like, wait here, after he took all of our candles and left one burning...for 15 minutes...until Amy and I were about to be in tears. I was thinking the whole time, what happened to our guide, he should be back by now, is this a joke, there is one candle and it's about to go out, what do I do, do I go back without light as soon as possible, or do I wait longer for the guide risking forgetting the path I just traveled. Fuck. Just when I was on the verge of panic, his headlamp came into view, and I shed some tears of relief. He had went ahead to light the path with our candles. Phew. After this he lead us to the reason for the sound of raging water...a waterfall. A waterfall I scaled with a rope and my weight against the rocks and water rushing into my face (you could climb the ladder too if you wanted). I was the first to climb it and fuck it was amazing. At the top of it there was the water rushing with candles lit all over the place for 30ft or so and ropes to help you fight the water waiting to fall. I waited at the top to watch the others get up, it was great, Greg scaled it too, Ruchi tried, Amy did the ladder. Who scales a waterfall inside a cave in Guatemala? Yea. So soon after this we got to another set of pools...the guide climbed up the wall of the cave...and jumped, 10 ft, into the pool. NEXT! I went first. Climbed up stalagmites to where he went, and jumped to the place his headlamp was pointing me to! Crazy! I felt like I needed to crouch when I jumped cause we were in a cave and I thought maybe I would hit my head...but in reality it wasn't anywhere near. I cliff jumped in a cave, wtf?! So awesome, didn't touch the bottom either, who knows how deep that thing is. We continued on, swimming and walking to what was the end of the cave tour for us...but then we had to go back. So I was thinking we'd go back the same way, but no, not exactly. We went down the waterfall on the ladder with candle in mouth, then our guide disappeared into this tiny whole in the wall, where we were all supposed to fit. At a few times in this cave I felt slightly claustrophobic. This was one of those times. 5 of us in a space that should only fit 3 maybe. So the waters coming through too and goes rushing down this slit...really a slit...like not a hole. The guide's like, turn around this way, feet dangle into slit, put one hand here, one hand here (underneath where we can't see), and poof, he's gone! Fell down the slit into the earth...what the hell. You can't see where it's going, it's black. Greg goes first, disappears into the earth, then it's my turn, guide takes my candle, so apparently there's ground down there somewhere, and I do as I'm told. Start sliding down the slit...no earth, no place for my feet and I just fall. I kept holding onto the right hand grip, until the guide grabbed me and swung me out of the slit. It was the weirdest feeling ever. The slit was really, really thin, if I were to ever get swallowed, this was it. I felt like I was swallowed. The wall of the slit was slippery enough to slide down easily but it kinda curved so I felt like I was a piece of food slowly (fast as hell) being pushed by throat muscles. I don't know, it was weird. I was swallowed. But then we were at the place where we first climbed the ladder. Weird. So, that day was amazing to say the least. After the caves we tubed from there to our hostel...like 15 minutes, almost dark, freezing, but it was still great. The next day we just hung out and went back to Semuc for a little bit but the sun wasn't out so we didn't stay too long cause brrrrr. There was a group at the hostel from Xela who had their own shuttle...so we lucked out and got a private shuttle back to Xela on Sunday...stopped whenever we needed to, a luxury. Still though it was a painful 10 hours. We got back Sunday evening, and leave again, at 4am on Wednesday for El Salvador. boooo. I know, poor me right. I think I would go back to Guatemala soley to go to Semuc. The beds at that hostel were hell though, I didn't sleep much in those 3 nights...got back and slept like hell last night too cause I got up 3 times to poop my brains out. I swallowed my fair share of river water there from the swing. Though I don't feel sick really, my body really hurts (from the beds or sickness?), and my poop looks like pee and explodes out of me. Great! Thought you'd like that extra detail. Anyway, that was Semuc, and I need a back massage bad.