The trip to Lanquin was stunning. Set in the mountains, the 250km trip in a minivan took almost 8 hours. The last 10kms was basically all 4wd and took an hour. It was steep – 45 degrees or more in parts.
(Carlie stretching)
(Waiting to get on the barge for our river crossing)
(Passing through small towns)
(The views made the trip worth it)
The hostel was set on a hill with sweeping views of the valley, lots of hammocks and outdoor areas and cheap drinks. Roz, Carlie and I were stoked to be there.
(Looking towards our hostel)
(View from our dorm)
(Roz, Carlie and I)
The town is tiny and merely a jumping off point for other places, but it was a quaint authentic local town up in the mountains. Plus, the carnival was in town! There were markets, rides and food – fun!
(Local church)
(Women in traditional dress and men in cowboy boots, hats and belts)
(Corner store)
(Sideshow alley)
(Fabric for making traditional skirts)
The reason for making the trek was Semuc Champey, a river with pools, caves and bridges for jumping into the river. The tour there was famous amongst backpackers and it was so worth the trip.
We set off at 8.30am, 15 backpackers standing up and jammed in the back of a ute, holding on for dear life. The 9km trip took an hour and involved 4wd and skidding up and down the side of a mountain. Granted the views were spectacular, but my knuckles were white by the end of it.
First up on this day of adventure was splunking, or caving. Clad in a bikini and sneakers (an attractive look – and there are NO photos!) we headed into the cave. We were given a candle and told to follow the rope into the darkness. We spent the next 2 hours exploring the cave, climbing up waterfalls in the cave and jumping off rocks. Clearly workplace health and safety is yet to hit Guatemala.
(The walk to the caves)
(Please note – I stole these photos from the web to give you an idea of what it was like. I didn’t bring a waterproof camera with me.)
After the caves it was jumping of a 10m bridge and then hiking 1.2km up the side of a mountain (all stairs). The view at the top was spectacular but it was incredibly hot.
(Roz preparing for the jump)
(The jump!)
After that we actually got to swim in the terraced pools in the river and climb into more caves under waterfalls.
(Local chocolate at lunch!)
One of the most adventurous things I have ever done and probably unlike anything I will do elsewhere in the world.
