¡Que linda!

I haven´t been anywhere near a computer for days and days. I´ve been deep in the jungle in northern Guatemala and then hanging out near caves and waterfalls in central Guatemala and on dirt roads in the mountains in western Guatemala....

After leaving Caye Caulker, Belize (I´ll leave out the seasick diving story for now, but remind me to share that one with you), I headed west to Tikal, the most significant city in the ancient Mayan world. I arrived in the afternoon and rented a hammock near the entrance to the ruins. Sleeping in a hammock in the jungle with the howler monkeys screaming nearby and all the sounds of the jungle surrounding me was an experience in itself. At 4 am, our guide came to wake us up so we could hike to the top of one of the temples to watch the sunrise and listen to the jungle come alive as the sun brightened the sky. It was eerie and absolutely surreal. From the top of the temple the shapes of the temples and the magnitude of Tikal became apparent. It was most impressive with the occasional toucan stopping for a break on one of the massive trees dripping with moss and the spider monkeys hanging from the branches nearby. Hiking around the ruins and climbing to the tops of the pyramids for panaramic views of the jungle all around, I felt as if I had entered another world and can only imagine what it must have been like for the Mayans 2600 years ago.

After exploring the ruins in the morning and before it got too hot, I left Tikal and headed south towards Cobán and Semuc Champay. I was feeling weary from travel, but had found a group of people traveling the same way, so we kept going. After a long day in a van, we finally all ended up at a lodge on the river near the entrance to Semuc Champay.

I spent the afternoon jumping from the rope swing and swimming in the river, and the next morning woke up to share the sunrise with some friends on a hike towards the waterfalls at the bottom of the pools. I swam underneath the waterfalls to a cave where I let the water and the mist cover my face. Amazing!!

Afterwards, I took a trip into a cave. At the entrance, our guide gave us a candle, and into the depths of the earth we went. It quickly became pitch black except for the light of our candles, then as we hiked further in, there were points in the cave where we were forced to jump in the water and swim across holding our candles above water so we could still see where we were going. After an hour or so, we turned around.... apparently these caves were recently discovered and have not yet been completely explored. We weren´t inside for long, but our guide claims to have gone into the cave for 8 hours before turning back. Crazy!
When we finally reached the entry to the cave, coming out into the daylight was a spiritual experience in itself. Hallelujah!

Later that same afternoon, I went into the park at Semuc Champay. I think Semuc Champay is one of the most scenic beautifully incredible settings I´ve ever seen. Caves and waterfalls and pools of crystal clear water surrounded by the jungle with bright blue butterflies and.... it´s just to good to be true. I can´t describe it.... and I won´t even be able to share pictures of it because my camera ran out of memory before I had a chance to try to photograph it. Not that a photo could ever capture the beauty of this place. I swam in one pool and then another and then another. Totally unbelievable really. I very highly recommend this spot to anyone traveling in Guatemala.

I left Semuc Champay yesterday morning, in an adventure to explore Guatemala a bit off the beaten path. I headed west into the mountains with a group I had met in Tikal. We ended up on local buses on dirt roads through small mountain villages... one bus was so full that it couldn´t make it up the hills, so a dozen or so people would hop off and run to the top of the hill so we could keep going.
A trip which should have probably only taken maybe 8 hours or so, ended up being an all day event on dirt roads in a most amazing countryside of lush mountains and tiny villages (from 5am until 8pm). We finally made it most of the way but stopped to rest in Huehuetenango before the final leg of the trip to Quetzaltenango (also known as Xela), where I´m heading this afternoon.

Looking forward to landing in one place and sticking around for awhile. I wonder what adventures Xela has in store for me....

Thanks for reading! Lots of love!