In the jungle of Guatemala

I started my stay in Guatemala in Antigua Guatemala, a beautiful old town that I reached from the capital Guatemala City. In Antigua Guatemala itself, the best thing to do is simply walk through the streets, visit the main market, and enjoy the local food. Of course, you can also take numerous trips to volcanoes or lakes with various travel agencies, but I didn't take advantage of that. For me, Antigua was more of a place to relax and take relaxed pictures. Several times, I also went to the semi-covered market, which was actually so big that I got lost in it and couldn't find the exit anymore. There, they sold various fresh foods, as well as clothing, souvenirs, CDs, jewelry, mobile phones, stationery, and much more. My second stop in Guatemala was supposed to be the complete opposite: the tiny town of Semuc Champey in the middle of the jungle. To reach this place right next to its eponymous tourist attraction, you first have to take a shuttle bus to Lanquin, an equally remote small town, where the last chance is to withdraw money or go shopping. From Lanquin, you will be personally picked up by your hostel or hotel with a safari truck, which will take you another 12km into the jungle. What I could have thought of, but didn't, is that there was no Wi-Fi network there, so I could only use my phone to take pictures in the next few days. Semuc Champey was a real highlight for me, and luckily it was only a few minutes' walk from my hostel (Pachamaya Eco Lodge). Strictly speaking, it is a limestone bridge made up of different depths of turquoise pools, under which the actual river flows. However, before I went directly to the water, I wanted to take a look at the whole thing from a viewpoint. Therefore, to avoid the heat, I walked up a ridiculously steep and strenuous path in the jungle shortly after the morning opening for tourists. Although there was shade everywhere from the many plants, the unimaginable humidity made the ascent even more difficult. But in the end, it was worth it, and the natural spectacle looked just as beautiful as in the pictures. The view of the surrounding mountains was also incredibly stunning, and I enjoyed it for a while so I didn't have to immediately walk back down. After descending, I cooled off in the water right away, swam a little, or 'lay on the water' and enjoyed the view of distant mountains. From this perspective, the water had the same intense colors as from above. However, how cold or warm the crystal clear water was depended on the depth of each pool. After a little relaxation, I walked along Semuc Champey in both directions to see how the river disappears underneath. However, you had to be incredibly careful not to slip on the limestone floor, which is why sometimes I was afraid that my phone would fall into the water while taking pictures. I spent the rest of my time in the Guatemalan jungle at the hostel, where you could swim in the ice-cold(!) river or get a nice sunburn in the water on an inflatable flamingo. I did both. Additionally, I made friends with the hostel owner, who let me ride in his safari truck and his motorcycle once, and took me to the small town of Lanquin, which is also located in the jungle and doesn't offer many activities. However, I wanted to withdraw some money, and afterwards we had some drinks and played billiards with friends of my hostel owner, so the long journey was worth it. Also worth mentioning for my jungle visit are all the animals that live there and that you sometimes get to see: there were five dogs in my hostel, three of them puppies and husky mixes, which always wanted to be petted by the guests. However, less pleasant encounters occurred in the morning when I found flattened spiders or bugs in my bed, or when a huge spider ran out when I moved my pillow. It was nicer when you saw a hummingbird flying outside, which stopped right outside the window. Besides the horses in front of our house, I didn't really encounter any larger animals, although at night you could sometimes hear jaguars roaring.

The way out of the jungle to the next hostel was easily organized by a shuttle in the early morning. In my case, it first went to Coban in Guatemala, and from there to Copan in Honduras.