Lanquin, Guatemala

Well our good run of transport and bus trips has come to an abrupt end, but I guess this was inevitable! We piled into a minibus for an 8 hour journey from Flores, that became a 10 hour one. Thankfully our van wasn't completely full so we had a bit more space than usual. This turned out to be pretty necessary especially when we had a to make a detour onto a gravel/mud/rock road after the main road was cut off due to a fatal motorcycle accident. The locals flocked to the site and all stood around, while the poor victim and their bike just laid on the road. Whether this was a nosey thing or a cultural thing I don't know, but there would have easily been a hundred local people from nearby villages rushing to the crash site. So bizarre. Our detour took us on some crappy roads probably more suited to a 4x4 but it was cool to go rural for a while!

With sore bums and slightly battered spirits, we were relieved to find we'd scored the jackpot with our hostel in Lanquin, staying at the Zephyr Hostel in the mountains. It was borderline like a resort in some ways, infinity pool, outdoor dump showers and loos all with views of the mountains and valleys covered in lush green. Couldn't have all this without some wee visitors though! A huge spider, cockroach and centipede all made appearances in our dorm rooms. Eeeeep. The first morning here we basically had the place to ourselves to chill out in the pool as most people either headed off to their next destination or on tours early morning. So good to have a nice place just to hang out and relax.

By lunchtime we figured we should probably get out and about so walked about 10 minutes or so into small Lanquin centre in search of a cheaper feed than we could find at the hostel itself. Successful outing in that respect and Scotty even managed to keep down the vomit that he'd felt brewing all morning, leaving behind half a pineapple Fanta though which would normally be unheard of. We ventured further, walking past a primary school that seemed to be doing some sort of prize giving and some local housing where all the little kids yelled "Hola!" as we passed by. Too cute.

Thinking we'd hit a dead end and a slightly aggressive dog, we actually found a path down to the river in the valley below. Jandals weren't entirely appropriate footwear for this slippery and muddy path so it was only a matter of time until one of us had a deplugging incident! *Cough* Mike. At the river we found many local families bathing so we awkwardly had to shuffle past until we found a little inlet of our own to stop at. The river was flowing quite quickly so the lads played around trying to swim against it but just ended up staying in the same spot so basically it became the swimming form of a treadmill. By this point they'd built up an audience of some of the locals, very inquisitive and interested to see the photos I was taking of the others in the water. The river also had some decent rapids that the boys thought they'd try and float down. Of course Scotty was the guinea pig who quickly returned with a grazed knee and shin from sharp rocks beneath, much to the locals entertainment. Mike and Rich managed to stop themselves before they too got battered. The walk home was punctuated with some delightful homemade treats. Frozen banana and frozen strawberries covered in chocolate on skewers for 1 or 2 quetzals a piece (11p-22p/19-38cents NZ). Yummm.

Day two we headed out for a jam packed day on a tour run through our hostel. We were loaded onto the back of pickup trucks, standing up, holding a metal frame for support on what was a 45 minute journey on a hilly rock/dirt road. With some of the bars of the frame at head height for me, I was just trying not to break my teeth or knock myself out on them! The journey itself became part of the adventure though, through lush countryside and wee villages, locals waving and smiling as we passed by. Kam Ba Caves were our first stop, after we managed to get past some hustling kids trying to stuff beer and chocolate down our throats! Stripping down to our togs and sneakers, we were each handed a candle to use as our light whilst in the cave, which to be fair didn't do a massive amount. Bumped and bruised knees and shins to follow. Ankle deep water quickly came up to our heads and before we knew it we were deep in the cave and unable to touch the ground. At one point it almost looked like we'd joined some ridiculous cult when you looked back at everyone with their candles. We spent about half an hour or so walking and swimming through various depths of water, abseiling small waterfalls and after climbing up a semi sketchy cave face, jumping off into a dark pool at the end. We thought the cave was a loop but it turned out we had to then go back the same way we'd come, past other tour groups who'd got stuck behind us waiting for us all to jump. Thankfully we seemed to be the first group at everything all day, so no waiting around for us!

Once out of the cave, we were shuffled to a huge swing out onto the river which involved many painful looking dismounts, so Cat and I sat out on this one. The boys had varying degrees of success. Next up was a bridge jump, about 9-10 metres high depending on whether you jumped from the top of the railings (like a man) or the bottom of the bridge itself (chicken). After those comments, of course the boys had to take the manly option, but us girls were happy enough with the chicken level. The river had a rather strong current as well so you had to swim quite hard to get to the side once you landed, which was no easy feat whilst wearing shoes!

Post lunch stop, we got straight into a steep hike up limestone cliffs to the viewpoint of the main attraction around these ways, Semuc Champey. Sweat levels were through the roof as we were now at the peak of the day and probably sitting around 28-30degrees. The view of the turquoise waterfalls and pools below was pretty spectacular, so we quickly clambered down again to get in some much needed swim time. Semuc Champey is actually a natural limestone bridge with a river passing underneath and a series of pools on the top. We spent a couple of hours of swimming and jumping between pools and even a couple of makeshift slides. What a wicked spot!

Guatemala is quickly becoming a favourite. One of the things I love most about countries like these, is the amount of activities and attractions that are based around natural wonders and the outdoors. Particularly when you have a job like mine where you're inside all day everyday, working in a department with no windows, not having any idea what's happening outside; it definitely makes me that much more appreciative of being outside all day, making the most of what Mother Nature has to offer! The locals are all lovely and friendly too. Always smiling and saying hello, good morning and good afternoon when you pas them in the street. Its crazy how small some of them are, literally sometimes at the height of my elbow and that's definitely saying something! We've been pretty lucky weather wise too, unintentionally timing each arrival and departure to miss all the thunderstorms. Win. Hopefully this continues.

We're going for the minivan again. Gearing up for another 8 hour journey southwest to the old capital of Guatemala, Antigua. Help!Read more