Coban, Semuc Champey and some caves

On Saturday I headed out of guatemala city to coban. It´s about a 4 hour bus ride to the north. I arrived in the late afternoon and went roaming around in the city. I like Coban. It´s a bit more modern that what i´ve been used to so far. I even found a great cafe in the center of town that had the most amazing lemon pie and coffee. On sunday, I hooked up with a tour group that I had arranged that was headed off to Semuc Champey and the Grutas of Lanquin (the caves). We started off around 6:30 in the morning and reached Semuc Champey around 10. Semuc Champey.... what can I say.. It´s probably the most beautiful place I have ever been to. A river streaming down rock banks into beautiful turquoise and emerald green pools that are crystal clear eventually making it down in a brilliant waterfall to the ranging river beneath. simply amazing. We got a chance to do some rock climbing into the dip where the pools flow down and become a waterfall at the edge of a cliff. Hanging on a ladder with the waterfall pouring in front of my head, it was unbelievable. We made it down to a cave area about half way down the waterfall and took in a marvelous site.

After our rockclimbing expedition, I decided to go swimming in the turquoise crystal clear pools. The water was cool and was exactly what I needed. A nice workout. From here our group headed to the grutas where we did some spelunkering and climbed the jagged rocks into the dark core of the cave. We saw tons of bats and ancient areas where the Mayans would sacrafice animals to the spirits. It was eery to an extent however, was pretty facinating.

Today the plan is for me to work my way up north to the flores, tikal area where I will see the Mayan temples.