I realize that it may seem that I have been in a constant state of travel lately, as that is the only thing that I end up publishing for the world to see. But the truth is that I have been busy and satisfied with my work in the village and haven’t really had all that much crazy or interesting happening, so this installment follows yet another vacation, to Guatemala, again. It was my last real out of country vacation, since it is under 3 months until I leave and leaving the country is discouraged in a PCV’s last 90 days of service.
--Day 1--
Myself and another Toledo volunteer (Michael of Big Falls) headed over to Guate by boat from PG, where we then caught a bus headed to Guatemala City. We enjoyed the Spanish dubbed version of American Gangster for a few hours before getting off at a dusty little junction called El Rancho. From El Rancho we were loaded into a mini-bus (a glorified van) with 24 other passengers and one small cat. Three very crowded hours on some crazy winding, narrow, steep roads and we arrived in Coban, a decent sized city in the Mayan heartland of Guatemala. It was getting late, and we were tempted to stay there, but our final destination of Lanquin, a small highland village, was only about 1.5 hours away (or so we were told), so we pressed on. We arrived in Lanquin about 3 hours after that, only to find our 1st choice hostel full. Because it was now after 9pm, and we were tired and hungry, we settled on the closest cheap hotel we could find. For $4.00 US, we each had a semi-padded pallet, a toilet with no paper or seat, and an ice cold shower, but I actually slept pretty well and didn’t see a single insect. Our goal for the following day would be to get a bed at El Retiro, eat some good food, and see a cave full of bats and their guano.
--Day 2--
The turkeys and roosters outside the window at our luxury Lanquin accommodations woke me early, so we packed up and headed back to the hostel that we were originally planning on stay at, El Retiro. Thankfully there were plenty of people moving on, as is usually the case with backpackers, so we got a private not too far from the showers and bathroom, both at which were clean and functioning. It was a Sunday, which at El Retiro means an all you can eat breakfast buffet of some of the tastiest food you can imagine. For over 2 hours Mike and I sat in the beautiful thatch dining area over looking the river while feasting on eggs cooked to order, fresh fruit, bread, tortillas, yogurt, nutella, granola, and coffee. I can’t remember the last time I was that full yet completely happy. Most of the rest of the day was spent digesting, losing a couple of games of Chess to Mike, and preparing for our evening hike to see the local cave and the furry flying creatures that live there. The cave itself was fine, but unfortunately damaged by excessive tourism and lit by electric lights. Seeing the impact that mass tourism can have on an archaeologically important cave made me realize how important my work has been in Blue Creek with working to protect our own amazingly pristine and valuable resource. Before the bats made their appearance, we jumped in the icy blue waters of the river that emerges from the cave, and then waited. Before long, hundreds, if not thousands, of small fruit bats were darting out of the cave while we sat in the mouth trying to believe that they would not run into us. We got a couple of pretty awesome pictures before returning to El Retiro for another amazing meal, some Red Label Whiskey, and some Guatemalan beer.
-- Day 3 --
After a much needed good nights sleep, we woke up early to prepare for our full day tour to Semuch Champey, a nearby series of caves and natural pools and waterfalls. Riding in the back of a truck from the hostel, we reached the area in about 45 minutes. The scenery was beautiful, though not too dissimilar to the jungle covered hills that I am used to seeing everyday around Blue Creek. Once we reached the river, we headed into a cave with a tour guide with only candles to light our path. I have done caves before, but I have to say going through the cave with only the light from a candle flame was a unique experience, especially swimming with the candle in hand. After the cave we tubed down the river, where some of the more adventurous folks took a jump off a 35 foot bridge. We ate our packed lunch of bread and mangoes (yeah for mango season!) and then started the hike up to the pools and hilltop view (see all the cool pics). The view was definitely worth the hike, and then being able to go jump into the pools after the fairly challenging hike. We relaxed in the pools for a bit, and then our guide tossed a rope ladder down the face of a cliff, where we then climbed down into the unknown. It turned out to be the where the river emerges out from under the pools, and from there the only option was to jump into the river from a 15 foot rock face. I sucked it up and jumped into the raging river, emerging safely on the other side. That was about all the adrenaline I could handle for the day, which was good because we were heading back to the hostel for another amazing family style meal. That night we splurged on lots of good Guatemalan beer while playing some good old fashioned card games with some other travelers.
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