Woke up with a headache at Ranchitos de Quetzal but got up at 8 and started hitting the packing. I really think my best shot to not get soaking wet is to get up early and try to arrive at the next spot around noon. So I got going around 9am and started winding down jungle roads.
The route was pretty nice and easy. Not too much traffic and the roads were in much better shape than the rest of Guatemala. After about 2 hours I turned down the road to Semuc Champay. I stopped immediately at a restaurant to get some food and chugged a coffee to finally aleviate the headache a little bit. It was quite strong and as my body shook I asked the guy working there if I could drive up to Semuc on the motorcycle. He wasn’t really sure but I was pretty sure I could make it.
I started bombing up the hill and loved the ride. The really steep parts had just a little concrete poured and there were parts that were just fine and flat. Overall, I didn’t think it was too bad but I’m more nervous for the way down.
I arrived at el portal hostel, checked in and threw my stuff in the room. I then went on a little walk and walked up to the Semuc Champay Park. It costs 50 quetzales($7) and it was already 2pm and cloudy and rainy so I figured I would go early the next morning.
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I walked down to the river and was approached by a guy for a cave tour. He said the price would be 70 quetzales($9) with tubing and his payment would just be tip. There was another nice couple there so we all went together. His name was Mauricio and it ended up being one of the coolest cave tours I’ve done in my life. They are called “Cuevas de K’anba.”
It took about 2 hours and we were swimming, scrambling, and climbing up ladders the whole way. This one was unique in that they give you a candle to take with you so the whole tour was pretty damn dark. No head lamps. There’s also a lot of swimming involved so it’s quite difficult to keep the candles lit.
Semuc (5 of 9)
Semuc (8 of 9)
After the cave tour we walked upriver to a pretty neat waterfall and the guide Maricio and me jumped in some tubes and went about 1km down the river.
After that tour I felt really refreshed and headed to get some food that Maricio and I had walked by. Clearly they were packing up but they fed me and then clearly were talking about me in their local dialect and laughing a lot. Sometimes I get a little tired of that, but I wiped the crumbs off my shirt, said thank you, and headed for some much needed rest.