Guapa Guatemala, and not so guapo buses!

Guatemala has really set the bar very high for the rest of Central America. Belize was incredible too, just in a different way!

It has been a crazy few days. We have spent far too long on buses but seen some really cool things.

To summarise!

Xela - Antigua: 4 hours
Antigua - Lanquin: 10 hours
Lanquin - Flores: 11 hours
Flores - El Tunco: 13 hours.

After Xela we took two buses to Antigua via Chimaltenango. There, we were literally dumped underneath a motorway undercarriage and when we asked where the buses to Antigua left from, the conductor hastily replied "over there" with a vague wave of his hand before they drove off. Luckily, a chicken bus happened to arrive just at that moment and we squeezed into possibly the busiest bus we've been on so far. The aisle was packed, there were three people to a seat and even then I had to sit on Ciaran's knee! We were some of the biggest people on the bus - we tower over most of the people here.

Back in Antigua we had a night in the scuzzy Hostel El Gato Negro. Paper thin 'mattresses', no locks on the door and bedbugs. What more could you ask for?! You might think that was no surprise but most of the hostels we've stayed in have actually been OK! Anyway, it was only a one night stop over and the next morning we were out of there at 8am on our shuttle to Lanquin for Semuc Champey.

I got on the minibus and I'm thinking, "this is actually an OK bus!" But 6 hours later at Coban, the driver informed us that there was a problem with the tyres and he was going to leave us at a cafe for half an hour while he went to get it fixed. 2 and a half hours and a phone call to the travel agency later and the driver finally came back. Gah!

In total the journey to Lanquin took 10 hours. 10 hours to travel 250km! Nice! But we're getting used to how long it takes to travel anywhere here - basically forever!

But we were finally there, and we got ourselves checked in at our hostel, El Retiro. We then wandered down to the village to book our Semuc Champey tour there, as it was Q40 cheaper than the price the hostel was quoting us. Every penny counts! That should give you some idea of just how cheap Guatemala is - we paid US$95 for the ATM cave in Belize, and our whole incredible day at Semuc Champey cost only Q140/US$18. (If you're wondering why I keep quoting everything in USD it's because that's what they do in Central America!)

Semuc Champey sounds a bit like... A rival for Lambrini? But if it was a wine, it would be a good one! It's actually a natural monument where a natural limestone bridge formed over the River Cahabon. On this bridge natural limestone pools have been created by a flow of water. Our day there was amazing, it is such a beautiful place and my new favourite day of our time in C.A. I will try and describe it though I don't think words or even pictures can really convey how cool it is!

We started off with a walk through the jungle. I wasn't feeling too well and it was super humid, so I skipped the first part, which was an short but intense hike up to El Mirador for a breathtaking view of the Semuc Champey pools below.

Ciaran's photography tekkers

I met everyone when they came back down and then it was time to go swimming! The pools are so clear and the water the perfect respite from the humidity. Lots of jumping, sliding, swimming and floating around ensued. Our guide showed us how to navigate the pools by climbing down or jumping over small waterfalls and natural slides. Then in groups of 2 or 3 he took us under one of the pools and we had to swim under water to get out!

A tour of the Kan'Ba caves followed lunch. Not just any old tour, this tour was by candlelight! We trooped down to the caves in only our swimwear (and the croc rip-offs, an excellent purchase) and were all given a 10-inch candle. These would be the only lights we'd have throughout- once it was gone, it was gone! We spent the next hour being led through the cave, having to climb up ladders and waterfalls, swim through caverns, squeeze through rocks and even drop down through a hole into pure darkness and water, all the while trying to keep the candle lit! It was out of this world, and another one of those no-chance-this-would-get-past-UK-health-and-safety moments.

Before the 10 foot drop into a pool of water

If that wasn't enough, we topped off the day with some river tubing before anyone who wanted to could do a 8 metre jump into the river below.

The climb back up from the bridge jump - through the bridge!

I'm not sure how that all sounds to you, but it can only be described as a totally amazeballs day. I think it helped that there weren't any other people around when we were swimming in the pools, so it felt like we has the whole magical place to ourselves, but either way there is just something really atmospheric about the place, in its setting of lush tropical jungle. Clambering around the caves by candlelight was just an unreal adventure!

Next: More ridiculous bus journeys and our last Mayan ruinas!