Nature Pur

Somehow the post got very long...if you don't feel like reading the stuff, just look at the pictures😂

On February 11, 2024, after a delicious burrito and a drink we made ourselves (milk, peanuts, pineapple and powder from a healthy plant (I forgot the name)), we went by boat to the hotel. It was almost 15 minutes up the river and therefore very remote and quiet. It was very nice and the various huts were only accessible via footbridges. You had to rely on your own restaurant for food. Since my stomach was still stressing me out, I couldn't eat that much anyway. There's not much you can do there, other than hanging in a hammock, kayaking (free), eating and sleeping. Yes, I had actually only planned one day, but since I couldn't go canoeing today, I booked another night. The food was super tasty and also reasonably priced.

The first night was very interesting, the sounds that start as soon as it gets dark are very cool. No more birds, just the insects that chirp and make other noises. And how loud, crazy. My bed was right next to a "window" so there was a hole in the wall with a metal grille and a fly screen in front of it, so you were basically outside😅

Sleep is definitely more restful at home but at least no roosters crowed there like everywhere else. At around 7:00 a.m. I was awake (02/12/24) and couldn't sleep anymore. After the standard breakfast here in Guatemala: eggs and beans, I got ready for the kayak tour. First time in something like this, I have no idea how it works properly, but just put it in the water. I was very surprised at how strenuous it is, an hour of cycling is no problem, but an hour of rowing is not without it. I actually wanted to drive to a castle in Rio Dulce (it's supposed to look super cool from the water) but that would have been twice as far as I ended up driving. I didn't quite believe it, my choice of kayak was perhaps not the best...it was very narrow and when a motorboat goes by, you rock quite a bit. But I definitely had fun. The rest of the day was quiet. By the way, the hotel owner is Swiss. 20+ years ago he and a few friends had the crazy idea of buying an area in the jungle and yeah, they just built the Hotel Casa Perico there.

February 13th, 2024 was supposed to be another wonderful travel day. The boat left at 6:00 a.m. and at 6:30 a.m. I took the first Colectivo to El Estor. An hour later I was there and found out that the bus to Coban leaves at 8:00 a.m. Perfect, enough time to get something for breakfast. Everything went well and then we went another 5 hours towards Lanquin. The day before someone who works at the hotel told me how to drive. I previously wanted to drive differently but he said that the road was very bad and would take longer than the other route. And I'm glad I listened to him, if the other road is even worse than the first few kilometers between El Estor and Coban, then I would have at least a few bruises on my body. Boy, just a gravel road that we drove over in a 30-year-old school bus. There were bags full of beans, tables and other things attached to the roof and the bags flew off the shelf in the bus and I was more in the air than in the seat. But credit to the bus for enduring that. After about an hour and a half the road became nicer, at least on the left side, our side was still terrible😂 But that only lasted for half an hour, then we would also have asphalt under our wheels. Taking the bus here is different than in Europe... you don't question it, you're just happy that you only paid €6. When we arrived in Coban, we stood in a huge square with what felt like a hundred buses that were all going somewhere else. My bus took me almost directly to the toilet, only almost directly because there was a market in between. Fruit, vegetables, chicken (live, dead, fresh or breaded), tacos or just anything that people no longer need at home. When I got back to the buses, I was chatted up straight away and he helped me find the bus to Lanquin. On the bus I realized that I was hungry and should have bought something but then I didn't want to go back. Luckily, there are people who take advantage of exactly that. They then have their basket or tablet and come into the stationary bus. Everything is offered for snacking, peeled fruit, chips, drinks or a portion of red and white fries and for 60 cents you don't have to be told twice. And how could it be otherwise, the only other tourist who comes in is a German😂 It was nice to chat with him, but at some point it became so crowded that we didn't even feel like we could see each other anymore, even though there was only one seat between us. It's always exciting to see how many people, animals and bags fit into such vehicles. After another 2 hours we arrived in Lanquin. I had a hostel in the city and Valentin outside, but close to Semuc Champey. We exchanged numbers so we could do something together the next day. I then went to the hostel and it is a really nice hostel, well outside the city but still within 15/20 minutes. In the middle of a mountain and the buildings all have thatched roofs and are built on stilts. But unfortunately there is again no kitchen to cook for yourself, just a restaurant with somewhat expensive prices. However, I found two restaurants in the city where the locals also eat and the prices there are significantly cheaper. That day I only walked around the very small town once, ate two burritos in one restaurant and then went back to the hostel.

On February 14th, 2024 I arranged to meet Valentin at 9:00/9:30 a.m. in front of the entrance to the Semuc Champey National Park. But we both don't have WiFi outside the hostel. I wanted to have breakfast at the Comedor and then take a truck to the park and he has to walk to the park and have breakfast at the hostel.

At the Comedor (local restaurant) I had eggs with beans and tortillas with a coffee for €3. Meanwhile a 16? Year old full but I had the impression that it wasn't quite as bright. I don't know what exactly he wanted. He sat there in the Comedor but didn't eat anything, played around with money but didn't pay anything and was somehow waiting for me. He probably works in transport for people who want to go to the national park, but he was too young to drive. When I finished and went to the street, he came with me. The transport system is very simple: you stand on the street and when a pickup truck comes by you jump up and get driven up. But he talked the whole time and then showed me a pickup truck that ended up driving me up. Maybe he was just being nice and wanted to help me...but you have better things to do, right? Well, I was standing in the back of the pickup and it got bumpy. Almost 30 minutes uphill, downhill and only over gravel. Sometimes the tires spun because it got so steep and sometimes he was racing through curves on this gravel at 50 speeds... When I got to Semic Champey, I waited until 9:40 and when Valentin still wasn't there, I went alone pure. Semuc Champey is unique, it's just huge natural pools with little steps in between. I think the pools are all made of sandstone or something and have formed that way over thousands of years. You can swim everywhere there, some of the pools are up to 5m deep and completely clear everywhere. It's very difficult to describe. Definitely a great experience, the weather was cloudy and it rained every now and then but it was still really beautiful. I was completely alone in two pools for almost an hour because they weren't the "main pools", but I didn't know that. Later I went further and noticed that the people were there too. It was much easier to swim there, but there was more hustle and bustle here compared to the lower ones. If you stood still for a few moments, the fish would come and nibble old skin flakes from your body. After this bathing session, I went to the viewpoint. On the way there I met Valentin, who had taken longer than planned to get here. And I finally saw howler monkeys. Seeing might be an exaggeration since they were so far up in the tree that you could barely see them, but still. Little black monkeys and they are loud... The viewpoint is awesome, from there you can see all the pools and the spectacular surroundings. The trip was definitely worth it!

Around 1:30 p.m. I hopped back in a pickup truck and went to the Comedor in town for a sandwich. It turned out to be 3 slices of toast with rice, beans, pasta with tomato sauce and vegetables. Strange sandwich but for €3 you can't complain about it either.

At 4 p.m. we actually met and went into a cave together. Thousands of bats were supposed to come out around 6 p.m., so we had enough time to explore the cave. In front of the cave they tried to offer us a tour again, but you don't need a guide for the cave. We went into the cave and there was no one there, completely alone in a gigantic cave, really awesome. After 3 minutes we heard footsteps behind us and a little Guatemalan came towards us. He was rambling wild things and smelled unbelievably of alcohol. An uneasy feeling spread but he didn't want to let go of us, he also wanted to give us a tour. But he was such a hoe and sweating excessively that we just wanted to get rid of him. After a little discussion we moved on. He was still hitting rocks or something and then probably went out. So we could continue to enjoy the cave. The path was lit and reasonably passable. The size of the cave was simply impressive, never seen anything like it. A few more tourists actually came later and also guided groups on our way back. So we had chosen the right time. We waited in front of the cave for a few minutes and gradually saw the bats fly out. And more and more of them flew out through the entrance, it was crazy. Afterwards we said goodbye and returned to the hostels.

I didn't feel like driving tomorrow so I asked if I could extend another night. No. Okay, so I still have to look for a place where I want to go...

Today (02/15/24) after breakfast we headed towards Santa Cruz Verapaz. There was the next best hostel on the way to the south of Guatemala. I arrived here after a 3.5 hour drive. It's not a touristy place but it's also interesting. I haven't met any other guests in the hostel so far and otherwise it's very quiet here. But actually a nice hostel. I don't know what I'll do here tomorrow, we'll see.