Caving, water pools and tubing in Semuc Champey

Today we woke up and had a light breakfast of fruit and coffee (they were serving some traditional Guatemalan egg soup which we opted out of). We headed out to Semuc Champey which was only 2km from our hostel since we were already in the middle of the jungle. I wasn't quite sure what to expect as we prepared for our first activity which was walking through a cave while treading through the water of the river that runs through it holding a candle.

As we entered he cave, the candles became our only light source and the river got deep and at times you couldn't touch the bottom and would have to swim. We climbed ropes up underground waterfalls and jumped off cliffs into deep pools of water within the cave.

At one point, you squeezed your body into a very small crevice with your right hand on one rock hold and then were told to let go. I was the first person to do this part and could not hear our guides minimal instructions over the sound of the water rushing through the hole. I finally understood that he wanted me to let go and drop through the hole, which I did but when I hit the water I sank about 15 feet down into the dark water. Since I had not been expecting that drop I was startled to have to feverishly swim for the surface against the current of the waterfall. Luckily after a minute I felt the two guides hands around me and they pulled me to the surface. Apparently that is what is supposed to happen! They didn't give us any preliminary instructions or explanation of what this cave tour entailed but I'm sure that the girl who did not know how to swim was terrified when she did this part! Unfortunately when I plummeted so far under the water, the water proof case which isn't made to go very deep leaked and Alyssa's camera got wet and didn't work once we exited the cave. Besides the camera, it was one of the funniest things I've ever done and certainly my favorite cave experience. Once we exited the cave, we all got to swing on a giant swing that throws you into the river.

We got out of the river, collected our belongings and began our walk to the mountain we were going to hike. Our guide stopped on top of a bridge and said we were going to jump off of it. We didn't believe him at first but then all of the guides climbed up and leapt off the top. This was a test for my fear of heights but finally Alyssa and I jumped off together.

We left the bridge and headed up the hill to begin the hike to Mirador; the overlook to the pools of Semuc Champey. It was a 35 minutes climbing stairs which was a great leg workout and definitely not my favorite thing to do. When we reached the top we were glad it was over but were rewarded with an amazing view!

We hiked down the backside of the mountain towards the pools. We swam in each of the pools and I was amazed by how crystal clear the water was and thankful that is was so cool. The pools had these little fish in them that would eat the dead skin off of your feet which just made me laugh hysterically because it tickled so much.

Once we reached the last pool the river became extremely fast and diverted over a cliff creating a large waterfall. The guides told us to follow them to the rope ladder that was hanging off the edge of a cliff in the middle of the waterfall. We climbed down the ladder which was no easy task with the rushing water hitting you and the ladder swinging around.

We made it into the cavern that was behind the waterfall where you could see the water swirling about like a washing machine below. We thought there would be a different way out but to our astonishment we had to climb back up the ladder! Going up was even more difficult than coming down and I was glad that everyone made it safely to the top.

We spent a little more time swimming in the pools and then headed back down the mountain to where the river was a little calmer.
As we walked, our guide explained to us that the local people in that area were actually an indigenous tribe and not only did they hate foreigners, they also hated other Guatemalans who were not a part of their tribe. The guide owned a hostel in town and said that it had taken him months to get permits for it because he had originally called it a bar which in Guatemala city means bar but within the tribal community meant brothel. He said that if the local people got together and didn't like something, they would just burn it down, no questions asked. He had spent months trying to befriend the locals and earn their trust so that he could build his business.
Once we got to the bottom, we each selected our intertubes and began tubing down the river which would take us all the way back to our hostel. The river seemed calm and lazy until we hit the rapids every 3 minutes or so. At one of the rapids, Alyssa was thrown off her tube and left swirling under water, caught in the undertow. Luckily, her feet hit the bottom and one point and she propelled herself out of the water and then was able to pull out another girl who had also flipped off her tube and also gone under.

We made it back to the hostel safe and exhausted. The two girls we had met the day before (Alyssa and Melissa) had done the tour with us that day and we had all become great friends. We had dinner together and then a few drinks afterwards. One of the tour guides had taken a liking to Melissa, so the guides all stayed at the hostel to party with us. They made a bonfire down by the river and we roasted marshmallows, drank Cuba libres and talked with visitors from all of the world. All in all, it was our best day so far!!

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