Heading south to Ross´ Paradise
Trip Start
Dec 11, 2008
1
15
27
Trip End
Mar 30, 2009
Coban, Western Highlands, Guatemala
Wednesday, January 7, 2009
When we got to Coban, we decided to stay in the same hotel as Carol and Chris were staying in. I think that it had been a place where Peace Corps volunteers had stayed in at one time. We slept in bunkbeds and shared a bathroom with others, including the kitchen staff but everything was clean and we had plenty of warm, clean bedding. The hotel, Casa D'Acuna had a lovely restaurant and the management knew how to take care of travellers' needs. Carol and Chris went to visit an orchid farm while Chris and I made plans for a daytrip to Lanquin and explored the town a bit.
It was in Coban that we realized that we had a bank problem. It was the first time that we tried to use our bank card in Guatemala and it didnīt work!!! In Guatemala, the banks only accept debit cards with a 4 digit pin and ours had 5. Yikes!!! We did bring some money from home but it was not going to last for a month!!! We called Amy up to check things out for us at the bank but then decided to withdraw money using our VISA card. That worked well and rather than paying $5 for each transaction, it only cost $2. Well there you go. You live and learn. We transferred money into our VISA account and are withdrawing from that now. When we go back into Mexico, we'll check out the situation again.
I called this blog entry 'Ross' Paradise' because our nephew, Ross, highly recommended Lanquin. When I asked him about his favourite place in Guatemala he mentioned Semuc Champey and Lanquin and El Retiro hotel. We found out that we could go on a guided daytrip with breakfast and lunch provided to Semuc Champey and a Bat Cave from Coban so we made arrangements to see what Ross was talking about. We left early in the morning after a filling breakfast and travelled along a painfully rough road for several hours. But it was worth it! Semuc Champey is a beautiful place with a gorgeous river that goes underground as well as above ground. The above ground river has several waterfalls which fall into clear pools that are a delight to swim in. When we first entered the park, we climbed up a set of stairs to a very high cliff with a mirador that was about 345 meters above the river. The view was incredible and it was a miracle that I made it up. A lot of puffing as I was not yet used to the altitude. Our Keen sandals certainly proved themselves!!!
We then descended to the river below and followed our guide as he lead us to the edge of the first waterfall. We were able to jump happily into the pool below and swim a bit before heading to the 2nd waterfall and sliding down the rocks to the 3rd pool. We continued down the river through 6 pools. At the 6th pool, we headed to the waterfall and realized that this one was a LOT bigger than the others. At this point only 5 of our group wanted to continue on. Chris and I being the oldest had to lead by example.
The guide dropped a rope ladder, fastened to a big rock, over the side of a waterfall and proceeded to climb down with his last words being, "Follow me, Chris". Well, Chris carefully went over the edge and climbed down. A polite young man said to me, "Lady's first. After you." So I went over, water splahing in my face, Keen's sandals trying to find the rung below and trying not to look down. Finally, I made it down, only to realize that we were on a ledge and we still had to go down at least 10 meters to get to the pool. We asked the guide how we were going to get down and he said to jump!!! At this point, I bowed out as I realized that besides the jump, the climb back up to the top of the waterfall to meet the chickens at the top was pretty steep. Chris was male pressured into jumping after the guide and another young man jumped. It was the hardest 33 feet that Chris had ever jumped. Chris has trouble with heights... Well, the three of us who didnīt jump all cheered but them realized that we had to head up that ladder again. Climbing up a rope ladder is much harder than climbing down and with no safety rope and water splashing in your face, you can imagine how proud and relieved I felt when I climbed up over the top. Chris and I both congratulated each other at the top.
The trip was not over though. We got back in the shuttle bus and continued on to the Bat Cave in Lanquin. Our Keens once again proved themselves as we walked into a dimly lit cave still used by Mayan priests in rituals and sacrifices. The floor was covered in bat dung and it was pretty slippery. The hand rails were wet and slimy but very useful, even if only for imagined security. We went into the cave about 300 meters and then headed back to the opening. The guide told us to sit on rocks at the entrance to the cave as he turned off the generator for the lights. It was already dark outside so once the lights went out we realize that there was a lot of movement around us. Also a lot of squeaks. The cave was full of bats and once the lights went out, they were headed out to eat!!! And we were sitting in their doorway. What a feeling!!! Especially when we couldnīt see anything. We decided to take photos and were stunned by the photos. Hundreds of bats all around us, everywhere. Anyone with a bat phobia would have been in serious trouble!!!
The whole trip lasted about 12 hours and was really exciting. Thanks Ross! I know that there were lots of other caves to explore by candlelight and river tubing experiences but we had a great time and would highly recommend visiting Lanquin.
It is too bad that we didnīt have a waterproof camera to take photos of the river, the pools and the waterfalls. It was amazing.
