Belated Guatemala Travel Report: That was a gooder

General formula at Semuc Champey: Natural wonder + Lovely weather = Gooder

I recently learned a bit of Canadian slang that will definitely be a keeper in the YuhChic lexicon: "gooder." As in, something that is good. If you’ve had a good day or a really good experience (i.e., movie, meal, trip, etc.), you can say, "That was a gooder." This was just one of the excellent little pieces of knowledge that I picked up as I worked my way westward from Honduras to Guatemala – a journey that was full of gooders. By this time, I had resumed to traveling alone (my usual mode of traveling), so was just getting reacquainted with answering the age-old, female-traveling-alone questions of "How old are you?" (apparently, I still look 20-21, everyone! YESSSSS!) and "Are you married?"/"Do you have a boyfriend?" A nice thing about Guatemala, however (as opposed to my travels in Ghana), is that there is a well-established backpacker crowd in the country, so one never finds themselves traveling alone for long – you’ll inevitably meet another lone traveler and pair up to go to your next destination.

So it was with me as I left El Estor (at long friggin’ last) for Semuc Champey. After the challenge of being stuck in a quasi-middle of nowhere, I traveled for about 10 hours straight (stopping only to change buses, from 1:00 AM to 10:00 AM) and finally arrived in Lanquin, a small town just outside Semuc Champey. I stayed at an incredible hostel called El Retiro, which consists of cozy, thatched-roof huts dotted along a hill beside the River Lanquin. It was here that I learned to appreciate the relaxing properties of a hammock. Aaaah.

You might be asking what’s so special about this Semuc Champey place that I was willing to get stuck in a bohunk town and travel for 10 hours on buses? To be truthful, Semuc Champey as a place is very difficult to describe. All I can say is that it has got to be one of the great natural wonders of Guatemala and is truly a beautiful place. I guess it’s a...park? Yeah, a park! Not an amusement park...a national park type thing. And it’s famous because of the natural jade-green pools of crystal clear water that flow from a the source of the River Cahabon and Semuc’s famous natural 300-meter limestone bridge.




I know, I know – you’re thinking, "What? What does that even mean, natural limestone bridge? That sounds boring!" That’s what I thought, too! All that kept me going as that bus plunked along the crap road was that my Guatemalan Spanish teachers told me that Semuc Champey was where they dreamed of going for vacation...you know, when they got time off from teaching gringos English, found someone to watch their four kids and actually saved up enough money to make the long trip. OK, good enough for me! But I was initially confused about what I was getting myself into, too. But trust me, it’s a gooder! I swam in the pools and did a bit of hiking up to the Mirador (lookout point), where I captured the photo above.

I will never harm a tree ever again

Incidentally, from the amusing and really cute "save the environment" signs posted throughout Semuc Champey (did they get someone in from Sanrio to design this tree?), I learned that the park is actually an eco-tourism initiative funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). This makes for at least two USAID project sites that I have visited so far (remember that rainforest canopy bridge I trekked across in Ghana?). Quite honestly, nice job, USAID! My experience from both sites has convinced me a little more that self-sustaining eco-tourism projects are quite beneficial to the local community. I'll have to keep a lookout for more and try to research some downsides as well, analytical pessismist that I am!

While near Semuc Champey, I also managed to go spelunking in a nearby cave called Kan’bal, swimming through it (yup, it was filled with water...up to about 10-15 feet at some points?) with just a candle in hand and squeezing through some claustrophobia-inducing spaces. Really fun! Obviously, no photos on this outing, as I didn’t think my camera would be good to bring along...I was busy trying to keep my candle above water the whole time!


After the whole spelunking thing, I also managed to jump off this bridge. Y’know...just for fun. Luckily, as you can see, there was a river below and not cold, hard concrete. Whew.

As long as we’re talking about fun, nature-y type things I have done in Guatemala, I mentioned a while back that I climbed the Volcán Tajumulco, the tallest point in Central America. Since that was a gooder, too, here are some pictures!


I took the trek up to 4,220 meters (yes, that's high...13,845 feet!) with Quetzaltrekkers, a great group of volunteer guides that donates all profits from their hikes to their nonprofit school for streetkids. The trek itself wasn't too difficult, and we were already pretty high up (at around 3,000 meters) when we started, so obviously I'm just trying to sound cool. It took the group about 7-8 hours (over two days) to hike up to the top of the volcano. I met a lot of really nice people during the trek - including an English couple that is planning to travel around England next year in search of the most delicious sausages (they're going to write a book!). Very amusing.


The volcano is so high that it casts a shadow over the landscape. Nifty.


From the top of Tajumulco on a clear day, you are supposed to be able to see into Mexico, El Salvador and even Nicaragua. It would have been amazing, but, unfortunately, it was very cloudy the day I was there. Still a nice view, though.


I made it!