Semuc Champey

Our trip to Semuc Champey from La Antigua was one of the longest ones we have made so far. We had found a cheap shuttle that was again cheaper and easier than taking the public transport that left at 2pm. The morning of the trip was spent stocking up on supplies from the local supermarket as we had heard that the nearest town to Semuc Champey,  was an hour away on a 4×4 pickup, and there were not many facilities in the area (such as restaurants and shops). Therefore to save money, we bought food (bread, peanut butter and tinned food) and water that we could consume ourselves, without being at the mercy of the restaurants at the hostels.

Distance from Semuc Champey.

The road between Lanquin and Semuc Champey is a difficult one. A 4×4 is needed to navigate these roads. Helping a stranded car.

We first passed through Guatemala City (also known as ‘Guate’) to pick up some passengers and got stuck in a massive traffic jam. It reminded me of my past-gone days braving the daily  jam in Kuala Lumpur and i silently gave thanks that i did not have to go through that anymore. After Guate, we stopped at Coban, to pick up and drop of more passengers before we arrived at Lanquin, the closest town to Semuc Champey at around 10pm. Upon arrival, we were bombarded by representatives from various hostels, but luckily we had already booked our accommodation for the night (knowing we would arrive late) at Hotel El Zapote.

Our home in Semuc Champey at Hotel El Zapote.

The view from our door at Hotel El Zapote.

Semuc Champey is situated roughly 9 kms south of Lanquin, along a rough, bumpy slow road and is only accessible with 4×4 vehicles due to its state of disrepair. We eventually arrived at our destination tired and weary at 11pm, and settled into our rustic room for a welcome night’s sleep. The next day, we awoke to the sound of birds and insects chirping and could really appreciate the setting that we had chosen to stay in. The Hotel El Zapote is named after the Zapote fruit (something like a ‘ciku’ in Malaysia but much bigger with bright orange flesh) as the hotel had a huge tree in its compound. In addition to the zapote, the hotel had many other plants that the caretakers, Luis and his Honduran wife, Digna had planted. They showed us around their garden which had ginger, red cocoa, frijoles roja (red beans), bananas, cardamom and lots more. It was interesting for us to see some of these plants that we had never seen before, especially cardamom.

These beautiful flowers were also everywhere.

Cacao.

Cardamom. Guatemala is the worlds largest producer.

Another pretty flower we saw everywhere.

One of my favourite plants, the exotic helliconia.

Hotel El Zapote is the hotel furthest away from the Semuc Champey park (about 2.5 kms), and we had chosen this place above the others that were located closer as we had heard that some places were very noisy at night filled with short-term holiday-makers (doing the Tikal-Semuc-Antigua trail). There is a small trail/pathway that leads from the hotel to the park through thick vegetation and small corn plantations dotted with houses inhabited by the local Mayan Q’uiche people who starts from the garden of Hotel El Zapote and only takes 25 minutes to get there. It is not an easy hike, especially coming back (which is mainly uphill), but it is only used by the local people and has beautiful views of the Rio Cahabon as well as the rolling green mountains.

Walking the narrow path down to the Semuc Champey park.

The view as we walk towards the park through corn plantations.

The view from the corn fields.

Considered the most beautiful spot in all of Guatemala, Semuc Champey is famed for its 300km-long natural limestone bridge, on top of which is a series of pools with clear, cool turquoise water that literally springs up from the forest floor. Beneath this natural bridge flows the Rio Cahabon, brown while we were there due to work on a dam further up river.

View from the bridge at Semuc Champey. The river changed colour from blue to brown after construction started on a dam upriver.

The view of the limestone pools from the mirador at Semuc Champey.

The clear pools of Semuc Champey.

The clear waters of the pools fed by small waterfalls.

The clear water that feeds the pools springs up from the forest floor.

The part where the water from the pools above falls into the Cahabon river.

Entrance to the park was free at the time we visited as there was a protest, as none of the money trickled down to the local community. As such, we did not have to pay the 50Q entrance fee to the park and meant that we could visit as each day we were there. There are also a series of caves nearby that we decided to by-pass visiting as i didn’t think that i could stand the cold cave water (you need to swim through part of the cave system) and we needed a guide to enter.

All in all we stayed 4 nights in El Zapote. The owners, Luis and Digna were a pleasure to sit and chat the afternoons away with. We showed them some photos of fruit from Malaysia and found out from Digna (who is from Honduras), that there are durians (any Malaysian’s favourite fruit) in Honduras. We also shared pictures of Malaysia and they were surprised to see how similar the landscapes looked.

Saying goodbye to our lovely hosts at El Zapote. Luis, Digna and Anita.

The day we left for Rio Dulce it was kind of on, then off then on then off again. It was not too clear whether we would be able to make it out of the Area as there was an organised protest on that day as there was a protest against the  building of the dam by the Guatemalan government upriver by blockading two major roads around Lanquin. Work on the dam had affected the villagers lives, as since the work started, the river changed colour from its natural blueish-green hue to a murky brown. The difference was noticeable and the villagers living in the area (many of whom lack running water in their houses) are dependent on the river for washing, cleaning and other daily uses. It was pretty sad for me to see as i live right in front of a river in Sarawak, which used to be clean enough for us to swim in. Now, no one dares as it is so polluted. And who else remembers the 50km logjam 9in the same river a couple of years ago due to landslides (which in turn were due to large-scale logging)? We have all seen how rivers can ‘die’ so my full support is behind these Guatemalan villagers who want to preserve their natural environment.

La Antigua

Our 3 weeks in San Pedro went by so fast that by the end of our time there we literally had to tear ourselves away from our mornings filled with beautiful sunrises above the lake, and finally get moving again. It was difficult as we were getting used to our cheap room (they say that San Pedro is the cheapest place in Guatemala for travelers, and we were only paying 40Q per day for our room, with attached bathroom), hanging out with the other long-term residents of Hotel Peneleu, and visiting our favourite stalls in the market. The catalyst to move came after getting in touch with Jesus and Begonia, our friends who have been traveling in Central America for a year now, and arranging to meet in Utila, Honduras.

Since we had found out that the price to take public transport cost the same or more as taking the shuttle to the historical city of La Antigua, we decided to take the shuttle, which would take us directly there. Our English friend, James decided to come with us for a short getaway from Atitlan too. The trip from San Pedro to Antigua was a relatively-short 3 hours and when we arrived we checked out a few hostels, and finally settled on the cheapest room we found in a small, unassuming place close to the huge market, called Posada Vero.

The beautiful view of La Antigua with Volcan Agua in the distance. Taken from Cerro de la Cruz.

La Antigua Guatemala or as it is commonly known as just Antigua is one of the most, if not THE most historically important city in Central America. During its colonial heyday, Antigua used to be the Spanish centre of governance for the whole of the colonial Mesoamerica, administrating the area from Chiapas in Mexico all the way down to Costa Rica. However in the 1600’s a massive earthquake all but destroyed this city and subsequently, the capital was moved to the current Guatemala City. Some of Antigua’s inhabitants refused to leave and slowly, the area became repopulated and built up again. The city is nestled in a basin surrounded by mountains and 3 volcanoes, one of which is highly active, and you can take a tour up to see its lava. This makes for a beautiful albeit precarious setting.

The Parque Central.

Palacio del Ayuntamiento or City Hall, which dates from 1743.

Palacio de Los Capitanes, which used to house the old governmental center of all Central America.

The Catedral de Santiago, which was begun in 1542 and repeatedly demolished, destroyed and rebuilt again over the years.

Our days in Antigua were spent walking along its cobbled streets, visiting the many churches in various states of repair (some were still completely in ruins from the earthquake), and enjoying delicious, cheap local food in the market. The main plaza was well-manicured and surrounding it were a series of impressive colonial buildings, still in use today. Unlike the other colonial cities that we had visited in Mexico, the cobbled roads in Antigua were wide and the old city was dotted with various little green areas, which made for nice walks. We also visited the Cerro de la Cruz, a short walk away, situated on a hill overlooking the city, with beautiful views of both the basin, in which the city is located, as well as one of the volcanoes towering over it.

The colourful cobbled streets of La Antigua.

An old archway still standing.

Ornately decorated church.

San Francisco Church, which houses the tomb of Santo Hermano Pedro, Guatemala’s most venerated Christian figure, sainted in 2002.

Pretty old building.

The old Lavadero, or communal washing area in Antigua. Still in use today.

One of the many market stalls.

Interesting grille decoration.

However, after a couple of days, we were again, yearning to get out of the city and into a more rural setting. After researching a couple of places, we eventually decided that our next stop would be the natural wonder of Semuc Champey, a series of natural pools in the eastern Guatemalan highlands district of Alta Verapaz, difficult to reach, but well worth the trouble, according to both the guides as well as people who had already made the trip.

Saying goodbye to James. He headed back to Lake Atitlan, while we moved on to Semuc Champey.

San Pedro La Laguna, Lake Atitlan.

After few days in the concrete-junglish city of Xela, Rick and i both decided it was time to move to somewhere smaller, with more natural surroundings so we took a bus directly to San Pedro La Laguna on the bank of Lake Atitlan. The journey was the worst so far mostly due to the steep, winding ascents and descents as the chicken bus navigates landslide-prone roads. Our first view of the lake was from far above and we started to get excited as it looked absolutely stunning, even shrouded in thin fog.

Almost reaching San Pedro after a hair-raising ride.

The beautiful Lake Atitlan on a clear day.

The bus stopped us just down the road from what was to be our home in San Pedro, Hotel Peneleu.We got a room which was our cheapest so far, and settled into life at the lake. Again, it took us a few days for us to get into the San Pedro rhythm but when we did, we really got to enjoy our daily walks by the water’s edge, soaking in the vibe of the place. The town is culturally divided into two. At the lakeside is the tourist area. Bars, hotels, tourist shops and restaurants line the narrow streets between the two jetties (to catch boats to other towns). Further away from the water, and up the hill is the market and the bustling local part of the town (which is mainly indigenous). We stayed up the hill, and the views from our hotel across the lake, especially in the mornings, were pure magic.

The wobbly jetty.

Scenes from the lake side.

Submerged basketball court.

Some said that the water level of Lake Atitlan had risen over 7 meters in a few years.

Street art in San Pedro.

The local Baptist church.

Chicken bus parking lot.

Local coffee. You can see coffee trees everywhere.

Our basic kitchen, allowed for some degree of cooking and we found a few stalls around selling delicious local food. We made friends and all went out together to the infamous bbq at the ‘Deep End’ and enjoyed a hot mocha together in the mornings.

Saying ‘goodbye’ to our friend from San Cristobal de Las Casas, Jean Luc, who was traveling by bicycle.

Making coffee in our basic kitchen.

Friends in San Pedro.

All in all we were lucky that we took the time to give this unassuming town a chance, and redeem itself it did. Every morning the sky just takes on a life of its own, spreading colours across the clouds, while the moon sets behind the mountains. Our quiet hotel has its core group of interesting long-term visitors, who have been captivated and mesmerised by this beautiful volcanic crater. There are stunning little lakeside spots just a short walk away from the busy part of town where you can enjoy some quiet time alone among the rocks, and when you are on the lake itself, the volcanoes take on a different dimension. San Pedro is one of those special places that lures you into its rhythm, making it very hard to leave.

Path leading away from town.

Tiny paths guide you to serene spots.

Boat man.

Water’s edge.

The quieter side of San Pedro.

Enjoying the water.

A different perspective of the volcanoes.

Sunrise over Lake Atitlan.

Colours light up the sky in the mornings.

The sun setting behind the clouds.