After a day of bathing suit shopping in Antigua (successful but frustrating), we traveled 10 hours (though it was only 220 miles) by bus to Lanquin, a jungley spot near Semuc Champey. We arrived on a hot sunny day which was unfortunately followed by three cold and rainy days. However, the El Retiro Lodge was tranquil and provided a lot of Spanish and Oracle study time, ping pong games and relaxation and reading in the hammocks by the beautiful river. The buffet style dinners were a fun way to meet couples from Germany, Canada and the Netherlands.
Lots of rain makes it quite green!
Overlooking the hammock area and the river.
The hammock outside our habitacion y dos perros de la casa.
We did fit in a cave tour to the impressive Cuevas de Lanquin at sunset so we could watch thousands of bats leave the cave in search of dinner (thankfully it didn't include us!).
On Friday, it cleared up just in time to do a sunset hike (though it drizzled a bit on the way up again). Our guide Maka, a French couple, 4 perros de la casa and us hiked up to a great vista spot above town. Maka found us samples of cardemom and chocolate beans which have a very sweet honey coating while pointing out pineapple and plantain trees.
The white honey on the cocoa beans is muy dulce!
The traditional women's attire is different than near Lake Atitlan. The tops were looser, probably because of the humidity!
Even with plentiful tourism, Lanquin is still a very poor town and we hiked down past corrugated metal houses, barefoot families and plenty of trash. 4,000 people live in town and another 20,000 or so in the surrounding mountains. There was a Centro de Salud clinic in town though it was very small to serve this large of a population.
The highlight of Lanquin was the visit to Semuc Champey, a natural wonder tucked away deep in the jungley forest about 10 km away from Lanquin. We extended our stay by a day to go on Saturday when it was sunny and warmer. It was totally worth the wait! Our guide Jose was great and took us swimming and jumping in a cave by candlelight, jumping off a bridge and waterfalls, tubing past kids throwing us beers, up to an amazing mirador and finally swimming through the amazing natural pools. Even the bumpy 10 km ride in the back of a pickup truck to and from the park was fun! Here are some photos of the day and Mark's video!
The amazing viewpoint with our super fun group from Germany, Canada and the US!
Now we are at a hostel near Guatemala City awaiting our 20+ hour trip to southern Chile! Adios Guatemala! Hola South America!
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