Semuc Champey and Lanquín

It took literally an entire day to get from San Pedro to Lanquín.  The first shuttle to Antigua wasn't too bad, there was room to move around, but the shuttle from Antigua to Lanquín, a long 8.5 hours, was painful....literally.  The shuttles are big euro vans that supposedly seat 4 rows of three and 2 more up with the driver.  The third person in three of the rows has to sit on a royally uncomfortable fold out seat.  Guess where I was.  Luckily I had a fluffy fleece jacket to pad my back against the sharp turns and potholes.  And I sat next to a nice Israeli guy who played battleship and hangman with me to pass the time.

We arrived in Cobán at about 9pm.  This is the big city where people will stay and do excursions from, but I decided to stay closer to Semuc Champey in Lanquín, about 2 hours away.  We all got out the van and went into an office where they said we should make reservations because it was getting so late.  Then the Israeli cacophony began (all the rest of the other 12 passengers, with the exception of another American girl, were Israeli).  They were all talking at once in accusing tones, convinced that the guide was trying to swindle them.  None of them wanted to make reservations because they wanted to see what was available, even though it would be 11pm when we got to Lanquín.  If I were the guide I wouldn't want to take everyone around to different hotels late at night until all 13 of us were happy either.  So I made a reservation at a hotel near Semuc Champey (which is 2km further from Lanquín) and sat back and watched the entertainment.

After all that, the next day I went to Semuc Champey, which is a series of fresh spring pools made of limestone that run over the river Cahabón.  It's really amazing.  I almost left it out of my trip but was convinced at the last minute to go, and I'm glad I did.  There are waterfalls leading from one pool to the next and you can dive in each one.  I kind of got a deal, because I get free transport to the park from my hotel, which also runs guided tours.  I was able to piggy back on one of the tours and even got a free lunch out of it.  Although I think I ended up paying for it with the price of my room.....

The pools at Semuc Champey from the lookout

 The next day were the Grutas de Lanquín, a huge, sprawling cave with stalactites and stalagmites - to all you nerds out there, what's the difference? ;-).  Supposedly it goes more than 18km into the earth (parallel to the surface) and no one has been able to find the end yet.  I went to something very similar in Mexico a few years ago.  This time, however, it was right around twilight when we came out of the cave, which is when the bats leave to do their night feeding.  It was creepy and exhilirating at the same time to have bats flying around you, seeming to almost bump into you, on their way out of the cave.  I tried getting photos, but they're fast little buggers.

My best shot of the bats

Next stop:  Flores/ Tikal