Lanquin etc.
Apparently Lanquin is "on everyone's list in Guatemala" according to Lonely Planet - although I'm not sure LP are to be entirely trusted... But still, we ventured forth so that we could view the legendary pools of Semuc Champey, stay in the legendary 'El Retiro' hostel and view the not exactly legendary, but at least renowned, bats.
The 6 hour bus ride wound up taking 8 (a common theme in Central America it seems) so when we got there we were tired and hungry - but at least we met some nice people on the bus, including some Peace Corps volunteers from North Carolina, a couple from London and Phil - a retired photography enthusiast from Canada. We were lucky to get a twin room as the El Retiro hostel was pretty full. We did find a cat asleep in a basket at reception - which we took as a good sign. It was also a slice of good fortune that we were in time for dinner which consisted of bean soup and lasagna. We signed up for a tour the next day and promptly collapsed.
The next morning we woke up early so we would have time for brekkie and possibly to change rooms from a twin to a double in time for our 9:30 tour. Luckily, everything worked out and not even a long breakfast queue could hold us up for long. So we set off with about 14 others (including the indomitable Phil the Canadian) to see the marvelous pools for ourselves.
On our way we introduced ourselves to our fellow truck-mates Erin, Bobby, Steven, Colin & (the half-German, half-Iranian) Marian. The previously mentioned Phil made up our octet.
First stop on the tour was the rope swing. Most of us took a turn on the swing, dropping off the end into the frigid river - some with more elan than others. Luckily we both managed to avoid the 'windmill arms followed by belly flop' fate of some of our fellow thrill-seekers. Tracy, being adept at hurling herself off great heights with no thought for her personal safety needed no second invitations. Next stop was the nearby caves. We negotiated these without too much difficulty and although there were a few stalactites and formations, it was nothing even close to Actun Tunichil Muknal and given their lack of conservation advice (we weren't advised not to touch the formations, they handed out candles to us all) I doubt there'll be much to see before too long. After that we leisurely drifted downriver on inner tubes to relax from our cave exertions.
Exciting as these activities were, they were merely the warm-up for the tour's main event - the pools of Semuc Champey. We'd heard that the best idea was to climb up to "el mirador" - the look-out point which is situated on a high cliff overlooking the pools - before descending to the pools themselves for a post climb cooling plunge into the pools themselves. When we finally reached the look-out after a long arduous climb, we realised why these pools are so famous. The view is spectacular! We spent a long time up there taking pictures of the pools, ourselves and each other, but after a while the heat of the climb got the better of us and we made our way down to the pools - stopping on the way to see where the raging river drops beneath the limestone shelf which holds up the pools.
I can't really describe the feeling of swimming in the pools themselves. It seems like a guilty pleasure because I'd bet that if they were somewhere more environmentally conscious then there would be some good ecological reason why it would be banned and the whole place would be fenced off. However, this is Guatemala after all - and local people have been swimming (and washing and god knows what else) in these pools for years and so I guess they think that a few extra tourists won't hurt too much. We saw a few local men (or at least Guatemalans) around the pools - some were swimming, some seemed more interested in watching foreign girls frolicking around in bikinis than anything else... Can't blame them too much I guess.
Anyway, our tour drew to a close with a bridge jump. Following my exploits in New Zealand (see earlier posts for details: August or September I think...) I decided that I'd have a look down and either jump or give it up as a bad job. When the time came, I chickened out and decided that discretion was the better part of valor and stayed planted very firmly on terra firma. The members of our group who did 'take the plunge' reported that it was very enjoyable and some even did it again. I found out later that some people had problems with their ears later on that evening, so maybe I had the last laugh after all. I do kinda wish I'd just jumped though... Bravest (or perhaps maddest) of all was the local guy who demonstrated where we should jump to by climbing up onto the suspension cables of the bridge and walking along them like a circus performer before plunging (from an extra couple of metres of height) into the river below.
As we wound our weary way back home, we asked the driver if he could get us over to the "batcave". Lanquin caves are home to thousands of bats who make a nightly exodus from their cave to find food. Apparently the sight is awesome and something we didn't want to miss but we were running out of time (and money) and so we were determined to make our way south the next day. Luckily we found someone who could take us (and for only 20Q which is a steal!) and although we weren't able to explore the caves at all, we did manage to catch the bat show.
So after a buffet dinner (entertainment provided unwittingly by Ana and Dominga) and a ropey night's sleep - and another sighting of 'Ben Iffleck' - we caught our bus to Antigua the next morning.
The 6 hour bus ride wound up taking 8 (a common theme in Central America it seems) so when we got there we were tired and hungry - but at least we met some nice people on the bus, including some Peace Corps volunteers from North Carolina, a couple from London and Phil - a retired photography enthusiast from Canada. We were lucky to get a twin room as the El Retiro hostel was pretty full. We did find a cat asleep in a basket at reception - which we took as a good sign. It was also a slice of good fortune that we were in time for dinner which consisted of bean soup and lasagna. We signed up for a tour the next day and promptly collapsed.
The next morning we woke up early so we would have time for brekkie and possibly to change rooms from a twin to a double in time for our 9:30 tour. Luckily, everything worked out and not even a long breakfast queue could hold us up for long. So we set off with about 14 others (including the indomitable Phil the Canadian) to see the marvelous pools for ourselves.
On our way we introduced ourselves to our fellow truck-mates Erin, Bobby, Steven, Colin & (the half-German, half-Iranian) Marian. The previously mentioned Phil made up our octet.
First stop on the tour was the rope swing. Most of us took a turn on the swing, dropping off the end into the frigid river - some with more elan than others. Luckily we both managed to avoid the 'windmill arms followed by belly flop' fate of some of our fellow thrill-seekers. Tracy, being adept at hurling herself off great heights with no thought for her personal safety needed no second invitations. Next stop was the nearby caves. We negotiated these without too much difficulty and although there were a few stalactites and formations, it was nothing even close to Actun Tunichil Muknal and given their lack of conservation advice (we weren't advised not to touch the formations, they handed out candles to us all) I doubt there'll be much to see before too long. After that we leisurely drifted downriver on inner tubes to relax from our cave exertions.
Exciting as these activities were, they were merely the warm-up for the tour's main event - the pools of Semuc Champey. We'd heard that the best idea was to climb up to "el mirador" - the look-out point which is situated on a high cliff overlooking the pools - before descending to the pools themselves for a post climb cooling plunge into the pools themselves. When we finally reached the look-out after a long arduous climb, we realised why these pools are so famous. The view is spectacular! We spent a long time up there taking pictures of the pools, ourselves and each other, but after a while the heat of the climb got the better of us and we made our way down to the pools - stopping on the way to see where the raging river drops beneath the limestone shelf which holds up the pools.
I can't really describe the feeling of swimming in the pools themselves. It seems like a guilty pleasure because I'd bet that if they were somewhere more environmentally conscious then there would be some good ecological reason why it would be banned and the whole place would be fenced off. However, this is Guatemala after all - and local people have been swimming (and washing and god knows what else) in these pools for years and so I guess they think that a few extra tourists won't hurt too much. We saw a few local men (or at least Guatemalans) around the pools - some were swimming, some seemed more interested in watching foreign girls frolicking around in bikinis than anything else... Can't blame them too much I guess.
Anyway, our tour drew to a close with a bridge jump. Following my exploits in New Zealand (see earlier posts for details: August or September I think...) I decided that I'd have a look down and either jump or give it up as a bad job. When the time came, I chickened out and decided that discretion was the better part of valor and stayed planted very firmly on terra firma. The members of our group who did 'take the plunge' reported that it was very enjoyable and some even did it again. I found out later that some people had problems with their ears later on that evening, so maybe I had the last laugh after all. I do kinda wish I'd just jumped though... Bravest (or perhaps maddest) of all was the local guy who demonstrated where we should jump to by climbing up onto the suspension cables of the bridge and walking along them like a circus performer before plunging (from an extra couple of metres of height) into the river below.
As we wound our weary way back home, we asked the driver if he could get us over to the "batcave". Lanquin caves are home to thousands of bats who make a nightly exodus from their cave to find food. Apparently the sight is awesome and something we didn't want to miss but we were running out of time (and money) and so we were determined to make our way south the next day. Luckily we found someone who could take us (and for only 20Q which is a steal!) and although we weren't able to explore the caves at all, we did manage to catch the bat show.
So after a buffet dinner (entertainment provided unwittingly by Ana and Dominga) and a ropey night's sleep - and another sighting of 'Ben Iffleck' - we caught our bus to Antigua the next morning.
posted by Iff at
12:21 pm
1 Comments:
I've heard of chicken in a basket but never cat in a basket
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Anonymous, At
4:26 pm
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