We broke up the trip to Semuc Champey in Coban. This hadn’t actually been the plan, but we made such good time on buses that we just kept going. Strangely our local bus (actually, 7 buses) took the same amount of time as the direct shuttle, which costs 4 times the price. This was the first time that our ‘don’t plan in advance’ approach caused us problems. When we arrived in Coban at 5:30pm the streets were packed with people. There was street food, clowns and a general party atmosphere. Instantly liking the feel we walked the 2km to a hostel listed in the Lonely Planet. It was full, however, and when we asked for another recommendation they just shook their heads and said everywhere was full. I left Jason at the hostel, and went out in search of a room. Having checked four hotels I managed to find one very overpriced room. The bathroom smelt, there wasn’t even a fan, and none of the hostel basics like wifi or free water. It should have cost half what we were charged, but it was somewhere to sleep. Meanwhile the hostel where Jason was waiting were making calls to try and find us a room elsewhere, but were unsuccessful. The reason for this room shortage was a marathon the next day. In the morning we explored the packed town and watched the runners, both the leaders (who seemed to be mainly African) and those bringing up the rear.
Then it was onto Semuc Champey. Semuc is famous for being the most beautiful spot in the country, a series of clear limestone pools which are perfect for swimming. It didn’t disappoint. We walked from out lodge to the entrance, by which time we were dripping with sweat and wanted nothing more than to dive into the pools. However, knowing it would be hard to get moving again, we choose to head up the viewpoint. 45 minutes of steps later we had a birds eye view of the river, waterfalls, pools and the valley it is situated in. Stunning! The rest of the day was spent swimming, clambouring up and down the pools, testing out natural waterslides and jumping into the water.
Following our day of relaxation we headed into the nearby caves. We handed over our money for the tour, and in return we were given two candles. Unlike other caves we’ve been in there are no torches and no electric lighting. Exploring the cave by candlelight was surreal. Even more so as this is a wet cave and we were frequently swimming with our precious candle held above our heads. At one point there was a small waterfall (just over 2m) that we had to climb using a knotted rope. It was a delicate balancing act of managing to grip the rope without burning ourselves or the rope, whilst trying to find some purchase on the slippery rock face. The highlight though was at the end of the cave where we reached a small pool. We were given the option of turning back, or climbing to around 3m and jumping into the pool. The climb up was rather precarious, and once we had managed to turn around at the top (the guide stepped on my shoe to stop me falling as I made my turn), we were shown the very small target area. The pool was quite shallow, but there was about a 1m area that was deep enough to be safe, however it wasn’t below you, you had to jump forward - just not too far!
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