A bumpy road to Semuc Champey

On the morning of Friday, September 11, 2009, we woke up early and had breakfast at Pollo Campero, the kids’ new favorite fast food restaurant. I was happy with my eggs, beans and tortillas, what they call “Desayuno Chapin.” The only drawback is the coffee, which is not that great. And the tortillas, which are not nearly as good as the ubiquitous homemade tortillas. My kids wanted chicken burgers for breakfast, and Ian’s kids had chicken nuggets. Loaded with ketchup, this didn’t look too appetizing to me. To each his own, I guess.


After breakfast, we had to figure out how to get to Semuc Champey, our destination for the day. A few people warned us that our mini-van would not make it there, because of the bad condition of the road. Others said we could make it. I asked the owner of our hotel. She told me that we could make it to Pajal with no problem, as the road there is paved. From Pajal, it is 12 kilometers on a stone road to Lanquin. From Lanquin, it is another 9 kilometers on a dirt road. She thought we should be able to make it to Lanquin, but not all the way to Semuc Champuey.

There are other options to get to Semuc Champuey. For example, you can pay Q280 (US$35) per person for an all-day tour. This includes transportation, a guide, and meals. That seemed a bit much, multiplied by eight. You also could opt for just the transportation, which worked out to $10 a person. But, you had to leave at 7:30am with the group and come back with them as well. So, we opted out of that one as well. The cheapest option is to take the public transport, which is about $2 each way. The only issues with that are that you have to wait for the bus, and the fact that it can get pretty crowded. We decided to go for the most convenient and comfortable option – driving as far as we could and then hiring a car for the last part.

We set out for Pajal, and, as they said, the road was paved. At Pajal, the road turned to stones. It was actually a pretty good stone road, but we had to drive along at about 10mph. When we arrived at Lanquin, a young man stopped us and offered to take us up the mountain for Q350. That seemed to be too much to us, as that’s what we would have paid from Coban. We told him it was too much, and he came down to Q250. We said it was still too much, and that we were going to have lunch, and then we’d talk to him. They were pretty insistent, and followed our car. They offered to take us for Q150. We told them we’d think about it. First, we had to eat.

We found Comedor Shalom in Lanquin. The food was very good. The fresh, homemade hot tortillas were delicious. We also had skewers, beans, and chicken stew. After lunch, we decided to contract the guy for Q150 to take us up to Semuc Champey. It was a pretty rough ride up there, but the kids got a kick out of riding on the back of the pick up truck. I opted to go up front with the driver.

Thirty bumpy minutes later, we arrived at the entrance to Semuc Champey. Two armed guards awaited us at the entry. We got out of the pickup truck and walked over to the booth where the guards were posted. We had to pay Q50 to get in, plus Q10 for each kid. It’s a fifteen minute walk from the entrance to Semuc Champey, a natural wonder.

When you look at Semuc Champey, you see several large turquoise pools, surrounded by lush rainforest. Semuc Champey is a natural limestone bridge over the River Cahabon. Fresh springs from the mountains run off onto the limestone bridge and fill the pools with clean, transparent water. The limestone makes the water a bit green. The sight of the transparent water made me want to jump right in. We all changed into our swimwear and jumped right in.

If you walk to the edge of the limestone bridge, you can see where the Cahabon River goes underground. It narrows and gushes in very quickly. One of the workers told us that four people have died there, when they got too close to the edge and fell in. I stayed at a safe distance and took pictures.

Once I got a good look at the tunnel where the river gushes in, it began to rain. We had been at Semuc Champey for a couple of hours at that point, so we decided to head back. The ride back in the pick up truck was less exciting for the kids, now that it was pouring rain. We had parked our car on a hill that sat above the road. The person who took us in the pick up truck told us to park there while we went up the mountain.

Back at the parking space, the driver told us that we might not make it back to Coban, because of the heavy rain. He also suggested that we stay in their hotel. Suspecting that he might be self-interested, we told him we would go ahead and try to make it back.

Ian reversed the minivan out of the parking space, and it got stuck in the ditch formed by the rain since we had left. The minivan wasn’t going forward or backward, it was completely stuck.

The guy who took us to Semuc Champey was gone. It was pouring rain. Nando got out of the car and tried to push. The wheels just spun and spun. Ian got out as well, and I got behind the wheel. They put boards under the wheels, but the car just got deeper into the mud. It began to rain harder. They put stones under the wheels. The wheels just spun.

The kids were screaming and jumping in the car. It was downpouring with no end, and the car would not budge. Each time I tried to move it forward or backward, I feared it would spin out of control. The guy never came back.

I began to wonder why in the world he told us to park there. It rains in Alta Verapaz every day. Any car that can’t make it up to Semuc Champey also couldn’t get out of that parking space in the rain. Maybe it was a convoluted plan to get us to stay in their hotel. There was no way I was staying in their hotel after they had us park there. So, we kept trying to get out.

A young man showed up and began to help Ian and Nando. They put more boards and stones in the mud. The guy got a wooden board to put over the ditch. They put stones under it. Nando told me to reverse straight back onto the boards. I did. The wheels turned into the mud, but I moved, just a bit. We were making progress! They moved some things, and we tried again. Finally, we made it out of the ditch! We thanked the guy who helped us and gave him Q20.

We decided to go ahead and try and get back to Coban. We wanted to get out of that town. So, we set out on the stone road and hoped we would be able to make it. We went slowly, to make sure we didn’t hit any stones or get stuck again.

When we made it to the asphalt, I had never been so happy to see a paved road! What a nerve-wracking experience. From there, it was smooth sailing back to Coban. At 9:30pm when we got back into town, Pollo Campero was the only restaurant open, so that’s where we had dinner. The fried chicken tasted so good! I hadn’t even realized how hungry I was. I had been too worried to be hungry up until that point.

Back at the hotel, we all went to sleep to have energy for our adventures the next day.

Getting lost and finding Candelaria Caves - another day, another maravilla

We are using The Rough Guide to Guatemala to get around. These are usually pretty reliable. Ours, however, was published in 2002, and the research for it was done a few years ago. Some of the facts are out of date. That may or may not be the reason for what happened to us as we left Sayaxche for Aguateca.



Aguateca is the site of ancient Mayan ruins on Lake Petexbatun in Peten, Guatemala. We were driving along the highway and saw a sign for the lake, and turned off onto a dirt road. The road was pretty rough, so we had to go about 5mph. At that speed, it took about 45 minutes to get to the lake. When we got there, there were a few broken down rowboats parked there, but nothing else. No boatmen or boatwomen for that matter. We waited around a bit while the kids got muddy in the riverbank. Nothing. We decided to head back to the village we passed on the way.


We asked at the first house we came to about the ruins. A woman outside with her children told us the ruins are on the other side of the river. She wasn’t sure how to get there, as she had never been. The riverbank was about 500 meters from her house, and she had never crossed the river. We asked at the next house. They told us that the only way to get to the ruins was in those boats, and if no one was there, there was no way to cross.


We decided to head back to the main road. Back on the main road, about twenty minutes later we passed another sign that pointed to the ruins at the end of another dirt road. We kept on driving.


About an hour later, the kids were hungry, so we stopped to eat at a roadside restaurant. They were serving chicken soup and grilled beef. We ordered a few plates of each. That also might have been a mistake, as our stomachs were all hurting a couple of hours later.


Finally, we had a change of luck. We passed a sign for Candelaria caves. The guide book recommended these limestone caves, so we decided to give it a try. We parked our car in a man’s house across the street from the entrance, and walked across the road. There, a guide was waiting. He told us that we had to pay Q30 each adult to enter the caves, and that price included a guide. That sounded reasonable, so we headed to the caves.


We walked about ten minutes through the jungle before we arrived at the caves. The entrance was dark, and the rocks were slippery. I asked the guide if anyone had ever broken an arm or leg. He assured me that people had fallen, but that no one had experienced any serious injuries.


Undaunted, the kids ran ahead. Then, they shouted, “snake”! I told them not to touch it. They ignored me and poked it with a snake. When we got there, it turned out to be a copperhead that appeared to be sleeping. The guide killed it with a couple of rocks. Thank goodness nothing happened to anyone.

We kept going on the slippery rocks. The cave was quite impressive. It was a huge limestone cave, with an underground river running through it. I forgot the camera, but was able to borrow a picture from the internet.


After we left the cave, we were able to swim in the river that runs into the cave. Hot and tired, this was the perfect way to end our day. The caves were magnificent, and this swim in the river was divine. There was a huge cave with a series of small waterfalls that came out of it. The waterfalls created small pools that led to a larger pool of refreshing water.


The kids had a blast swimming up to the waterfall, and then letting the current bring them back. All of us enjoyed cooling off. It was spectacular, and it is a shame I forgot the camera. I tried to find a picture of the river online, but don’t see any.


After an invigorating day in the river, we headed to Coban. Two hours later we arrived, hungry and tired. Ian and his kids went to Dominos. We went to a Chinese restaurant that was not very good. Filled up, we set out to find a hotel in the rain. It took us a while to find a hotel, but we settled on the Terraza Hotel, the cheapest, but not noticeably different from the more expensive ones.

Tikal with five kids

On Tuesday, September 8, 2009, we went to Tikal. We spent the night in Flores, a small town that sits on an island in a lake. The island is almost connected to the mainland, and a bridge covers the remaining few meters.

At 9am, my husband, Nando, my brother, Ian, and our five kids, ranging in age from 5 to 8, piled into the mini-van to head to Tikal. The drive through the rainforest and hills was gorgeous, and we entered the park at about 11:00am. The drive from Flores is only 62 km, but there are portions where you have to drive slowly. Plus, we had to pay the entrance fee and get ourselves situated once we got out of the car.


Once inside the park, we walked about 30 minutes to get to the Gran Plaza. The Gran Plaza has two gigantic pyramids, in addition to other, smaller structures. It was a clear day, and it was amazing to see these architectural wonders set against a blue sky and the bright green grass.


After exploring around Gran Plaza for a while, we headed off to see other parts of the ruins. The ruins are massive, so we had to decide which ones we would see. We chose two of the closest ones – Siete Templos and el Mundo Perdido. Those were smaller than the Gran Plaza, but also quite interesting.


Going to Tikal with three eight-year olds and two six-year olds, we weren’t sure how the kids would do. However, the kids were pretty interested in the ruins, especially in running up the stairs to see from the top. They also found fascinating the idea that people lived here over 2,000 years ago. However, their favorite part was the animals.

We were lucky to see two toucans, near the Mundo Perdido. We were able to watch them for a bit before they took off. We also saw quite a few monkeys and a viscote. A viscote is a small animal that looks like an anteater. Tatiana told me her favorite part was seeing the viscote, probably because we saw it quite close up, while the monkeys and the toucans were high up in the trees.

Overall, Tikal involved quite a bit of walking, but everyone held up pretty well. We let the kids rest when they wanted to, and were not very ambitious in terms of seeing all of the ruins. We left the park around 3:30pm, and made our way out of Tikal.

We had gone to Tikal via Rio Dulce, yet decided to go back via Sayaxche and Coban. The kids were pretty exhausted after Tikal, so we were able to drive pretty much directly to Sayaxche. Still, we didn’t make it to Sayaxche until sundown, which is around 6:30pm in Guatemala this time of the year.

Sayaxche is one a river, and you have to cross it to get to the town. As the kids were impatient, we took the small boat over, while Ian and Dante waited for the ferry. Once across the river, we checked out a couple of hotels, and chose el Guayacan, a hotel right on the river. We were tired enough that the quality of the hotel was practically irrelevant.

Before we were able to rest our heads, however, we ventured out to get something to eat. We found a place that served Mexican tacos, and were able to fill up. There was a fiesta going on in the town, but I was too tired to check it out. Nando and Ian went, but it was over pretty quickly after they left.

The next morning, we had one adventure after the next. From Sayaxche, we were off to Coban.

Two Fincas in One Day - En Route to Tikal

We left Guatemala City on Monday morning, heading east towards Rio Dulce, still in our rented Madza 5. This time, we had no trouble getting out of the city, and made it to the Carretera Centroamericana without a hitch.

After a couple of hours, the kids got to complaining, and we decided to stop in Rio Hondo - a place where people from the capital come to enjoy the warm weather and mountainous scenery. We found a hotel, called Hotel California, that turned out to have three lovely swimming pools, set in lush gardens. The owners accepted Q100 for the five kids to enjoy a dip in the pool. The kids had a ball in the pool, while we adults enjoyed some relaxation.

After swimming, we grabbed a quick bite to eat at a roadside restaurant, and kept on our way to Rio Dulce. There, we stayed at the Backpackers´ Hotel. It isn´t much to speak of, but at least it is a non-profit that donates its earnings to an orphanage.

The next morning, we headed west, around Lake Izabal, to Finca El Paraiso. This place was amazing. We went to a hot springs waterfall. I have never seen anything like it before. You drive up to a riverbank, walk about ten minutes through green woods, and arrive at a beautiful waterfall. Once in the cool water, you swim over to the waterfall, and it is scalding hot! I was able to stand underneath it, and it felt like a hot shower. That place was incredible! We all enjoyed it immensely, and I got back in the car feeling renewed and refreshed. We planned to have lunch afterwards. But, the kids fell asleep, and there was no way we were waking them up!

We continued on, and made it to Finca Ixabelo. This place is owned by an American couple. The husband, however, was killed by the Guatemalan military for unknown reasons in 1991. Today, it carries on as a farm, hotel, and organic restaurant. We had tasty chicken sandwiches, and the kids enjoyed playing with the macaws they had in a large cage.

Filled up, we got back into the rented mini van and set out for Flores, our last stop for the day. We drove over the causeway onto Flores, which is a small island in a big lake in the middle of the Guatemalan jungle. We found an inexpensive hotel - Hotel Santa Rita - and set ourselves up for the night.

Tomorrow, we head out to Tikal, the ancient Mayan ruins.

A rainy day on Volcan Pacaya

My brother, Ian, and my niece and nephew, Assata and Dante, are visiting us here in Guatemala. That brings us up to five kids in the house. On Sunday, we decided to rent a mini-van and pile all 8 of us into it to go see Volcan Pacaya. The kids were excited about seeing the lava, although less excited about the drive.

If you don't get lost, Volcan Pacaya is about 40 minutes from Guatemala City. Unfortunately, we got lost several times, and it took us about two hours to get there. Our main difficulty was getting out of the city. There is a turnoff from the Pereferico that takes you to the road out to Pacaya. It is unmarked, so we drove past it twice. Each time we drove past it, we had to make a huge detour to get back.

By the time we got on the highway, the kids had been asking to stop for food and the bathroom for a while, so we stopped at Santa Clara shopping center, and got a huge parillada for everyone to share.

We made it to the road that goes up to the volcano around 3pm. At the entrance, there were several guides who offered us their services, and who told us we had to pay an entrance fee - Q20 for residents and Q40 for foreigners. I don't usually like to use guides, but had heard that it is better to get one to go to the volcano, because the route is unmarked, and certain parts of it can be dangerous. So, we bargained one of the guides down to Q50. He got in the car with us, and up the road we went.

At the top of the road, there is a place to leave your car, and several people offering horses for rent. We decided to get two horses for the kids to share. We packed our water bottles, and set up the volcano. Walking up the volcano is pretty strenuous. You have to walk in black volcanic sand, and it is quite steep.

About ten minutes after we set out, it began to rain, hard. There were a few people following us up the volcano, offering to rent us more horses. One women pointed out to me that if I rented her horse, she'd let me use her rain poncho. Tired and getting wet, I agreed, and we added another horse to our collection. The horses only make it to a certain point on the volcano, and after that, you have to walk. Lucky for us, when we got to that point, the rain subsided. Still, we were cold and wet.

From where we left the horses, it is about a ten minute walk up a sort of gravely road made of volcanic rocks, some of which were hot! That was a bit scary for me, as I was worried one of us would fall on the hot rocks. When we made it to the top, I was pleased to see that it was warm, and that our clothes were getting dried with the warmth from the lava rocks. Nando and Ian took off their shirts and dried them on the rocks. They left them a bit too long, though, and now each have burnt shirts.

From the top, we could see the red hot lava rocks falling. It was pretty cool. I was wearing tennis shoes, and I could feel them melting, so I had to keep moving to find a cool place to stand on.

Once we warmed up and saw the rocks, we decided to head back. After we had arrived at the top, two large groups of people arrived, and there wasn't much room left at the top. There must have been about a hundred people at the top.

We just used two horses to go back down. It was no longer raining, and it was easier to walk down. Tatiana and Soraya preferred to lead the horse than to walk it, so that worked out nicely as well.

Back at the bottom of the volcano, it was about 6:30pm, and we headed to our friend's house who lives nearby. He and his wife awaited us with lots of steaks, tortillas, refried beans, pasta, and avocadoes. The food was delicious, and it was a great way to end the evening.

We got home, tired, and ready to go to sleep.