Lost in Paradise

On Friday, I took the 4am bus to Guate and made it in time with 5 minutes to spare to switch to another bus to Coban. I spent a total of 10 hrs getting there. I thought about taking another bus the 2 more hours to Lanquin but decided against it. I pretty much just chilled and woke up at 4am the next day and joined a few Israelis to take the 5am bus to El Retiro hotel in Lanquin.

The El Retiro hotel is known for it´s super chill and beautiful grounds right next to a river and it fills up by mid day and so it´s essential to get there early. I had the choice of staying in a hammock for $3, a dorm for $5 and my own room for $7 and so I splurged and took my own hut. In the evenings, there are family style dinners where everyone shows up to participate. It all reminded me of the movie The Beach. I met people who showed up for a week and decided to stay for over a year. People get lost in this beautiful paradise. I almost did as well after meeting so many cool people and loving the beauty of the land, but my better sense made sure I left after a couple of days.

Since I had arrived so early, I took the 9am tour to Semuc Champey and the Las Marias Caves. In the caves, we only wore our bathing suits and swam through the cave while holding a candle for light. We walked under waterfalls and climbed throughout the cave. We then took inner tubes and glided down the river.

After the caves, we visited Semuc Champey, the limestone paradise. We swam around and I fell one too many times on the slippery parts. I have many bruises to show for it. Our guide then took us down a rope ladder with a waterfall gushing over us and into a cave right under Semuc where the river gorges out. Semuc Champey is a Mayan word for Under the Rock. This is where the river flows.


The next day, I just chilled and then went at sunset to see the Grutin Caves. In the caves, we saw bats hanging and we waited until dark to watch them all fly out in search of food. Interestingly, my guide caught a great photo of me with a bat flying right in front. Bats have sonar radar so they know where objects are and can avoid them.


The spider in the photo is blind and uses its tentacles to feel out where to go. It´s paralyzed because it doesn´t know where it is. This is the same spider, albeit the completely harmless one, that is mentioned in the Harry Potter books.