After a day in the bus on some extremely dubious roads (and a very exciting dinner at McDonalds) we arrived in Lanquin. Jumped in the back of a pick-up truck and bounced our way to our hostel in the middle of the jungle. This was one of the most surreal places I’ve ever stayed, with an incredible natural view (see photo) as well as a pool, jacuzzi, bar and restaurant in amidst it all.
We had a hilarious time tubing down the river for a few hours, which basically consists of propelling yourself down the current in a rubber ring and hoping you don’t hit anything in the occasional rapids. To add to the excitement, the rubber rings had beer holders, so we had a great time! We stopped to play volleyball on the banks of the river and mess about on a rope swing, and all in all had a great time. Came back for a calm swim in the pool, but the weather had other ideas as a storm pelted rain down and the lightening illuminated the sky.
We had a crazy day at Semuc Champey, which is this beautiful collection of pools in the middle of the jungle. They themselves were very very relaxing, but before we arrived there we did a full day tour which was knackering. We started with the K’an B’a caves which were a huge passage full of water which we swam, clambered and jumped our way through for an hour (wearing some excellent crocs). Our only light was the candle we each held (which easily blew out when it hit the water as you tried to swim) but we somehow managed to make it out alive. Afterwards Beth and I decided to jump off the waterfall while everyone watched (a spur of the moment decision which I would later question). The 10 metres were a lot higher when we were standing on the top, and the idea of having to jump far enough out to avoid the jutting rocks made it all fairly terrifying. But we did it! We then drove across a barley-existent wooden bridge to the national park where we climbed the steps to the viewpoint and got the view of the pools. After all that we could finally go and enjoy the pools while nursing all our bruises! A calming end to a jam-packed day.
holahola2019 