At 10pm last night the music & lights went off and the gas station fell into darkness. The next morning when chatting to the gas station manager about getting over to see Semuc Champey, he recommended we take a private vehicle and that we could leave the truck here & he would keep an eye on it. Then in perfect timing, Jorge a driver known to him happened to pull in, they chatted, negotiated our price, Q300, not cheap, but worth every penny. Within 15 mins we were on our way, day two of an epic journey to an impossibly inaccessible wee corner of the world. The one hour each way journey was through small villages with streets too narrow for Bruce to pass, along impossibly steep & bumpier roads than yesterday, with no options for turning around in retreat. I was so thankful to have left the truck behind.
In the Mayan dialect of Q’eqchi’, Semuc Champey, translated means “where the river hides under the earth”. The 300 meter long limestone bridge, under which passes the mighty Cahabon River is best viewed from the mirador, or lookout. To reach the lookout we had to climb another set of scarily steep 300m, set of stairs built into the side of the cliff. The view from the top did not disappoint. The small lookout platform gave us the birds eye perspective of the concealed bridge below and the view did not disappoint. The steep descent to the valley floor was just as hairy as the climb, back home we would never find a hiking trail in a National Park like this, it would be a lawsuit waiting to happen.
Often described as one of the most exotic and breathtakingly beautiful place in all of Guatemala and I’d have to agree, it’s the prettiest place we have visited so far. The pools were perfect for swimming & fun for the kids to play in. Cool water & full of those little pedicure giving fish, sitting on the edge we had hundreds of them swimming around our feet happily nibbling away.
The Corona Virus is dominating the news and social media. Now declared a Pandemic and word is that borders are closing all over the world. Speaking to friends & family back home, concerns are mounting of a global lockdown and massive economic recession. Wow, craziness, being on the road we are shielded from the news, a good and bad thing. Hmmm, we could get stuck here for a while. Feeling we should head to the safety of other travellers, tomorrow we’ll head to Coban.
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