Semuc Champay, Guatemala

After spending three days relaxing and recovering from Mirador, we were moving on. This was the last time we'd see our friends Bjornar and Hege, which sucked. We had traveled with them off and on for our entire trip, and now we were on our own. We knew it wouldn't be the last time we would see them... we're thinking Norway 2012!
So... we were heading to Semuc Champay, touted as the most beautiful place in Guatemala. Semuc was about a  7-hour drive so we splurged on a private shuttle.  The ride was very long and there was a mom, daughter and son who talked (complained) the entire ride. My headached. I wondered what was worse: this or being in a jam-packed school bus?

As usual, we hadn't booked a room. Neither had most of the people on the shuttle. Everyone was chattering about where to stay.. How much did places cost? Were they safe? It was stressing me out! We asked our driver to drop us off at a hostel/lodge where we thought might have rooms. He told us that there was no way they would have availability. Whatever. We asked him to drop us off... along came the annoying family and two other people.

Of course the place had tons of space. It was huge. Bigger than anywhere we'd stayed during the rest of our trip. It was a series of 50 cabins (some were dorm rooms) located on a river.  There was a massive dining hall where guests ate cafeteria style. We weren't feeling it here. What really turned me off was the burning hillsides in the area. The sky was thick with smoke because of the clear cutting burning being done. It was depressing and ugly.

The draw of Semuc Champay is a series of small pools located under a limestone bridge. Pretty spectacular and pretty popular.

We scheduled a tour for the morning after we arrived. Originally there were only four people signed up, but by the time we left there were 18. In addition to visiting the pools the tour included a trip to a cave system where we would swim, wade, jump off cliffs and climb. Sounded cool to me.

But here's the problem:  Exploring a cave system with a group of four people is an adventure. Exploring these caves with not only your group of 18 but two additional groups with 30 more people is claustrophobic and frustrating.

Minus the hords of people, the caves were incredible. They looked fake. We took turns jumping off small cliffs and lighting candles to guide our way. After an hour in the caves we headed to the pools.

The water was insanely clear. Even pictures can do the pools justice. But again, so many people. Just so many people.

So that was it for Sumuc. Beautiful pools. Crowded cabins. Burning mountainsides. Time to move on.

Next stop: Antigua