Vacation With 'Rents: Lanquin & Semuc Champey

Vacation With the 'Rents: 3 of 4 Posts

After a great few days in Peten, it was time to head off to a small town called Lanquin in a new part of Guatemala for more adventures. I was feeling beat after a long shuttle ride when we arrived late in the afternoon, but the spectacular sunset over the mountains in the jungle made me feel that the trek was going to be worth it!

sweet, sweet sunset

The next morning brought daylight, energy, and a little time to explore. While waiting for breakfast, I got to take a nice little walk down to the Lanquin River that our hostel was located on. It was a pretty, peaceful river- a wonderful way to start the day.

the Lanquin River

Although I really liked the Lanquin River, that's not why we had traveled all the way to Lanquin. The real reason people come to Lanquin is to explore the nearby Semuc Champey National Park! This was a place I had heard about from a friend in language school during my first week in Guatemala, and I had been dying to see it for the last nine months since then. So, through our hostel, we signed up for a tour of Kan'Ba Caves and Semuc Champey and it was 100% ADVENTURE TIME for the rest of the day. (I HIGHLY recommend this- one of the best tours I've ever purchased in all my traveling!)

We started the day off by exploring Kan'Ba Caves, but it was unlike any cave tour I've ever done before. The cave system was pretty much untouched by man, which was awesome. Wearing only bathing suits and carrying candles, the group entered and before we knew it we were SWIMMING through some pretty chilly water.... and, when I say swimming, I mean swimming- in many parts, I couldn't touch the bottom! During the experience, I had to scramble down rickety ladders, clamber up a waterfall using a rope, and do a "trust slide" through this teeny tiny hole into another part of the cave (don't forget this was all only by candlelight). At the end of the cave system before we turned around, we jumped off the cavern wall into a giant pool. After two hours of adrenaline, stressing over my parents' health, and cold water, I was EXHAUSTED, but it was a such a BLAST. Seriously, just incredible. It's a shame that I don't have pictures, but trust me, it was awesome. I have to say, I am POSITIVE that this kind of tour would never be allowed in America because of all of our safety regulations (and yeah, I'll admit, this wasn't exactly the safest activity ever). Thus, I am extra grateful that we got to experience such a rare opportunity. Definitely, definitely an adventure. After we exited the caves, we got to take a turn on a rope swing to jump off into the river and then jump off a bridge... The swing was plenty for me! A very welcome lunch break finally came and provided a pause before we picked up again in the afternoon...

After lunch, we got to the part of the tour that I had been most anticipating- THE Semuc Champey! Inside the park, we took a hike up to a lookout point that provided a breathtaking view of the pools of Semuc Champey. Check it out and know that it's even better in real life!

THE Semuc Champey

Once everyone had snapped a billion and one pictures, we headed down to explore the pools. I knew we would get to go swimming in them, but I had no idea it would be in such an exciting way! We dived, jumped, and slid our way from one to the other thanks to our superb guide and his endless amounts of energy. The water was truly the perfect temperature, which made it a completely cool and refreshing swim. Also, the was was so clear I could see all the little fish swimming around me! Once again, I reflected on how a place like this would be so protected in America that you couldn't get within 20 feet of it, let alone go swimming and exploring the way we did. GRATEFUL GRATEFUL GRATEFUL.

I swam in these bad boys!

pretty fishes! :)

Overall, the Kan'Ba Caves and Semuc Champey probably made this day my favorite one out of the entire vacation. I knew it was going to be special, and then it turned out to be even better than I imagined. Topping off such a great day was the fact that my parents TOTALLY ROCKED and impressed all the young travelers by keeping up with the group and doing everything. I cannot express to you how much you just HAVE TO DO THIS if you find yourself in Guatemala. I think it's one of the better kept secrets of this country, because it's generally not on the top of tourist itineraries and you have to be pretty adventurous to enjoy it. But, I have to say, it was well worth the visit, I'm so glad we went, and I loved it. I think Semuc is one of the most beautiful places I've ever been to, and I've been to a lot of nice places.

And so, totally wiped but also completely satisfied and happy with EVERYTHING, we ended our only real day in Lanquin with enthusiasm for what was still to come...