The bus trip to Lanquin is LONG but full of fun people and a naked man running down the road. The pick up truck from Lanquin to Semuc Champey is painful and my hips are still bruised BUT the trip is worth it because the location is too amazing. I stayed at Las Marias on the river. Very basic, no electricity most of the time, no shops or houses, no hot water, lots of bugs and stuff like that. And a monkey on a string. Accommodation is $4 per night. Sweet.
In the morning we did the cave tour which is the cheapest but possibly the best tour I've ever done. First we swung around on a giant rope swing over the river a few times to properly wake us up. Then we got our candles and went walking, wading and then swimming into the crystal clear waters of the dark dark caves. There was lots of swimming, climbing, crawling, sliding, slipping and stuff. And we got to play percussion on some of the funky sounding stalactites.
At one point we climbed a rope UP a waterfall, then we climbed up high and jumped into a pool of water, we slid down natural slippery slides and had to swim underwater through small spaces. And this is all inside caves. At one point we had to go backwards down a small dark hole and drop into darkness. And because there was water gushing down the hole you have to shut your eyes and hold your breath and drop into some mysterious dark hole and eventually land on slippery ground.
At the end of the tour we floated down the teal green river in inflatable tubes for 2.5 kms. And it was sooooo pretty with thick jungle on both sides and all the birds and butterflies and this was all for about $5.
That arvo we hung out on the pier listening to music and drawing and doing stupid flips into the water. Then did yoga with some New York kids on the pier and had a big family dinner with everyone staying at the hostel. And I saw real fireflies!
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