Our adventure started at about 7am on Saturday morning when Thomas’s friend from med school, Tyler, picked us up at our hotel.
He is also doing his research project here in Guatemala, and he rented a car for us to drive through Guatemala city to Lanquin where we would be staying the night before taking a shuttle to Semuc Champey.
The ride was definitely long and winding, but I definitely loved getting to drive through Guatemala City.
The capital looked very similar to an American city.
In fact there was an American company on every block downtown.
There were the expected companies like McDonald’s and Burger King, but there were also some unexpected ones like Payless Shoes and Chuck-E-Cheeses.
The drive from Guatemala City to Lanquin took about 5 hours, an hour of which consisted of crawling down a rocky road that was all down hill.
It took us an hour to travel 10 km!!
Although the ride was long, the last hour took us through jungle-like vegetation with the humidity to match. We didn’t see a single building until we arrived at our hotel.
The hotel consisted of several quaint rustic buildings whose wooden beams and cabin feel added to the whole experience of being in the middle of a forest.
Just down the road from our hotel were caves called Grutas de Lanquin.
After settling into our room, we walked down the road to check out the caves.
Thomas was like a kid in a candy store.
I have no idea how he moved so quickly through the slippery stone path in the cave.
I was at the back of our group slowly, cautiously walking along, feeling as though I would fall at every step.
The nice part was we were one of the only people in the caves; it was just us and a couple of local Guatemalans. Although I wasn’t quite as adventurous as Thomas, the caves were pretty incredible and I’m glad we got to see all the rock formations at the end of the day.
The next morning we woke up early and had a quick breakfast at the hotel before taking a shuttle a half hour on another rocky road to Semuc Champey.
I wasn’t exactly sure what to expect at Semuc Champey.
Thomas wanted to surprise me so all I knew were there were some sort of pools to go swimming in.
When we arrived at the park, it seemed like we were the first people to go exploring there.
We climbed up about a half hour on a very rough path described as “difficult” to get to a look at the pools from above.
Although the climb was quite difficult, it was definitely worth it.
The view from above was spectacular!
It helped us appreciate the pools even more when we were on the ground.
On the climb down the mountain towards the pools one of the local workers took us on a path that allowed us to see where the river runs through the opening of a cave.
You could feel the spray of the water as it rushed into the opening of the cave where it would travel underground for about 300m and come out the other end in the form of several waterfalls.
The water that trickles alongside the river created a series of several clear blue pools that are perfect for swimming in.
The three of us spent the next couple of hours swimming in the pools before we had to hike out to the entrance to get out shuttle back to our hotel.
One of the coolest parts of Semuc Champey was the lack of tourists in the park.
For such a spectacular natural attraction, there were barely any people there.
It made us feel as though we were exploring a place never seen before.
Semuc Champey is definitely one of the hidden wonders of Guatemala.
I’m curious to see how it will change as more tourists come in future years.
Our adventure started at about 7am on Saturday morning when Thomas’s friend from med school, Tyler, picked us up at our hotel. He is also doing his research project here in Guatemala, and he rented a car for us to drive through Guatemala city to Lanquin where we would be staying the night before taking a shuttle to Semuc Champey. The ride was definitely long and winding, but I definitely loved getting to drive through Guatemala City. The capital looked very similar to an American city. In fact there was an American company on every block downtown. There were the expected companies like McDonald’s and Burger King, but there were also some unexpected ones like Payless Shoes and Chuck-E-Cheeses. The drive from Guatemala City to Lanquin took about 5 hours, an hour of which consisted of crawling down a rocky road that was all down hill. It took us an hour to travel 10 km!! Although the ride was long, the last hour took us through jungle-like vegetation with the humidity to match. We didn’t see a single building until we arrived at our hotel. The hotel consisted of several quaint rustic buildings whose wooden beams and cabin feel added to the whole experience of being in the middle of a forest. Just down the road from our hotel were caves called Grutas de Lanquin. After settling into our room, we walked down the road to check out the caves. Thomas was like a kid in a candy store. I have no idea how he moved so quickly through the slippery stone path in the cave. I was at the back of our group slowly, cautiously walking along, feeling as though I would fall at every step. The nice part was we were one of the only people in the caves; it was just us and a couple of local Guatemalans. Although I wasn’t quite as adventurous as Thomas, the caves were pretty incredible and I’m glad we got to see all the rock formations at the end of the day. 
The next morning we woke up early and had a quick breakfast at the hotel before taking a shuttle a half hour on another rocky road to Semuc Champey. I wasn’t exactly sure what to expect at Semuc Champey. Thomas wanted to surprise me so all I knew were there were some sort of pools to go swimming in. When we arrived at the park, it seemed like we were the first people to go exploring there. We climbed up about a half hour on a very rough path described as “difficult” to get to a look at the pools from above. Although the climb was quite difficult, it was definitely worth it. The view from above was spectacular! It helped us appreciate the pools even more when we were on the ground. On the climb down the mountain towards the pools one of the local workers took us on a path that allowed us to see where the river runs through the opening of a cave. You could feel the spray of the water as it rushed into the opening of the cave where it would travel underground for about 300m and come out the other end in the form of several waterfalls. The water that trickles alongside the river created a series of several clear blue pools that are perfect for swimming in. The three of us spent the next couple of hours swimming in the pools before we had to hike out to the entrance to get out shuttle back to our hotel. One of the coolest parts of Semuc Champey was the lack of tourists in the park. For such a spectacular natural attraction, there were barely any people there. It made us feel as though we were exploring a place never seen before. Semuc Champey is definitely one of the hidden wonders of Guatemala. I’m curious to see how it will change as more tourists come in future years. 
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