Semuc Champey and Coban
Trip Start
May 23, 2007
1
17
22
Trip End
Oct 03, 2007
Coban,
Guatemala
Thursday, July 26, 2007
Let me see what do I need to update you on...
I am crossing my fingers right now as I write this, but my bed bugs seem to have died or disappeared since my bed was fumigated on Monday. No new bites the last few days! They even sprayed my suitcase for me and I took piece of clothing to the lavanderia to be washed. On Sunday I researched their habits, where they live and how to get rid of them. Before I knew they were there but could tolerate the coexistence. After seeing what they look like and knowing how and when they feed on my blood I was really creeped out. It was challenging to fall asleep Sunday night. And Monday night I knew I was sleeping with dead bugs. Yuck!!!! I have fully appreciated my clean sheets and bug free bed the last couple nights.
Working mornings in the daycare center has been going well. I grow to love each child everyday even Pamela who constantly throws a tantrum when you say no even if it isn{t directed towards her! But I can safely say I never want to ever have 6 children, especially not 3 or 4 the same age. Wow! All I can say is the terrible twos.
My English classes are going okay. More kids have stopped showing up. Apparently this is normal behavior here. I did see a few girls in the street walking to and from class Monday and asked them to come back to class. It worked for this week. It is easier to teach with a smaller group, but one class only has a few students show up and I think a few more would help with the activities. I have 8 weeks left of classes. I am not going to go to a new city for my last month, but stick it out here in Xela. Time is going both fast and slow.
I have been really anxious to be back home the last week. My homesickness is manageable and I get through each day just fine. But I do miss the people and other things from my normal life. I guess I have been trying to figure out what I want my next job to be when I get back and I still can{t figure that one out. But I do know all the other things I want in my life when I return so I guess that is why I am anxious. When I was in Mexico for one summer in college I was really homesick and miserable for a couple weeks. Thank goodness I am enjoying my time enough here that I am not miserable. But I have grown up since then and I know how to not be miserable. This past year has taught me so much about myself and that your weaknesses follow you everywhere you go. There is no escape from yourself so you either have to learn to accept and love yourself or I guess be miserable until you die. That won{t be me!
Now I need to update you on my last trip from almost 2 weeks ago to Semuc Champey and Coban. Yes I was dumb enough to get in a van for a trip to travel 10 hours each way after only having returned 4 days earlier from a similar trip. The good news is we left at 1pm and not 5am in the morning. We brought food with us to eat lunch en route. We had to again travel east 4 hours to Guatemala City. There are not a lot of highways here so because the jungles and mountains in the north are difficult so you always have to travel east to go just about anywhere. We hit the Capital and then went north. We were to arrive at our hotel in Coban around 9pm and then we would have dinner.
Well with all trips I have been on it takes longer to get there than planned. Traffic was horrible in the Capital since it was rush hour. We zoomed past the Presidents house and the Capitol building, but we could not get out for photos since we were in the most dangerous part of the city.
About one to two hours from our destination our van broke down. Some of us heard the noise in the engine and others were oblivious. I heard it and before we even pulled off to the side of the road I was praying that it could be fixed and we would not be suck here sleeping in this hot van all night. After a donation of some centavos the engine was fixed. Yes they used coins to jimmy rig the engine. We were off again. But sometime in the next hour we broke down again. Oh no, two times is really bad. This one may not be fixable. But more coins were fitted in the engine and we were up and running once again.
Finally at 11:30pm we arrived at our hotel in Coban. They could not wait for us so we had so dinner ready, but none of us felt like eating. We were ready for bed. A girl Sarah and I decided to share a room and grabbed our key. I opened the door cautiously keeping my eyes peeled for any spiders or other unwanted visitors in our room. Yes, our room was solid cement block and no spiders. We quickly passed out for the night.
After breakfast the next morning we were off again. I had not clearly read the itinerary before signing up for the trip. We still had 2 hours to go to get to Semuc Champey. And knowing our tour guide it was likely to be longer. After 90 minutes of winding roads we arrived at a gravel road. Our guide Josue said it was 40 minutes on this road until our hotel. All we went is down and around for about an hour. But we made it to our hostel and got checked in.
We were off to see Semuc Champey. We walked about 15 minutes to get to the park. We saw beautiful aqua lagoons in pools separated by limestone. We walked across one pool to see the head of the pools where the river rushes down through a limestone carved cavern. It was really beautiful, but maybe not the most beautiful place I have seen in my life. I guess I have seen more places in the world and United States than the people who made this statement.
But it was definately worth seeing and I was happy to be there. But before swimming in the pools our guide said there was a hike to a mirador, look out, above. I wanted to stay, but no one else did. Of course most of us worth flip flops for the swimming and the hike was extremely dangerous without the proper footwear. The trail was up or down, made of mud and rocks and very few handrails. Of course I was at the very back of the pack. Our bus driver caught up to us and he helped me on all the slippery parts. I finally made it to the mirador. Josue clapped when I showed up and I was a bit insulted. I can do anything I want to I am just slower than most other people especially without tennis shoes.
The view was worth it but the rest was short before we had to go back down. Again our bus driver helped me and I thanked him profusely for his help. His Spanish was hard to understand so our conversations were very limited. We all then made it back down to the pools to swim in clear blue water with little fish nipping at our feet.
As we were leaving the sky opened up buckets of water on us. It was raining so hard I could not even see because water was running into my eyes. Of course it stopped by the time we reached our hotel, but the force of the storm hatched the eggs of hundreds of ant like creatures with wings. Back in clean clothes and relaxing at our hostel we were attacked by swarms of these bugs flying up our noses, down our shirts and up our pants. They do not bite but things flying at you and into your clothes and drinks was very annoying. We did not even want to open our mouths to talk. Luckily when our dinner arrived they had pretty much all died. According to the hostel owner they live about 6 hours.
Later that night back in my shared room with one of my two roommates we were getting ready for bed. My roommate was in the bathroom for a minute when the door came flying open and she came out screaming. We had a spider by the toilet. I was feeling brave so I opened the door and had a look. This one was a baby compared to the spiders I had seen the last 2 trips. She wanted it dead so I took my sandal and killed it. I felt very proud of myself, but I was nervous that the mom or dad of this one was lurking nearby.
We had a peaceful nights sleep in the jungle without anymore mishaps. The next morning was supposed to be going through a cave. What we were not told in advance was that the cave has water running through it and you have to swim part way and even climb a rope ladder where there is a waterfall. I kept trying to decide if I would go. I did not want to miss the fun and be a chicken but at the same time I am not an adrenaline adventure junkie. I do not call risking your safety and possibly your life fun and thrilling. I am claustrophobic and am afraid of water. The night before I decided I should face my fears and I would go. But the next morning I woke up and I just did not want to be scared and struggling physically for 2 hours. Josue asked me and only me at breakfast if I was going. I said no. He seemed satisfied with my answer. My roommate said she wasn{t going and he tried to talk her into it. She isn{t a strong swimmer and just wanted to relax with me for a couple hours. One other girl also did not go because she did not trust the judgement of our guide. It had rained all night and the river was running much faster than the previous day. We knew the cave could be very full of fast moving water and dangerous. She had fallen 3 times the day before and did not want to get injured again. We asked our guide if the cave was dangerous and in Spanish he said more or less. Whatever that is supposed to mean.
I do not feel bad about my decision. I should not have to prove I can do everything. I know if I want to I can do it. But if I do not want to do something I should not cave into peer pressure. We had a nice conversation enjoying the tropical weather and I did not miss the adrenaline from fear from previous experiences on my trips.
After the others were cleaned up from the cave experience, which they said was difficult, scary and intense, we were back in the van to go back to Coban. We arrived at a lovely hotel where we could all shower and feel clean. Then we went to find a good meal after missing lunch that day and the day before. After I had some pasta I wondered around the square with some of the other girls. There was a long line of tables with handicrafts on it and I was able to purchase some gifts for people back home. I love how cheap this great stuff is!
That night it was raining, but we were not ready to sleep just yet. We went out dancing. I actually figured out how to dance salsa without any formal lessons. It amazes me how the guys here are never afraid to ask a girl to dance, unlike back home. Although there are cons to that because when you say no they think that by pestering you for 5 to 10 minutes you will change your mind. It was fun because we had live music and we were the only foreigners in this small, cozy town. Much different than Xela.
After a good nights sleep and a huge breakfast we were off for Xela. Another long 10 hour drive to look forward to. I was feeling a bit carsick so I sat in the front with the driver and another girl. What a difference that made. I was not sick when we arrived in Xela. The trip was definately worth it just with the friendships I made. I am glad I went and I have some amazing pictures. But no more big trips for awhile. I am happy to have some time relaxing at my apartment on the weekends.
Take care and hope to hear from you soon!
dianaj25.
Semuc Champey
