Monthly Archives: March 2018

Copan and D&D Brewery

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We knew that Semana Santa (week long Easter celebration) in Latin America would be a crazy, crowded week, full of parties late into the evening, closed businesses and intense traffic, some of it impaired by too many Easter cervezas. Everyone we consulted advised that we would be smart to find somewhere quiet to hang out for the week and to stay off of the roads. But we thought the week began on Good Friday. We found out at the last hostel that the week actually begins the weekend prior to Good Friday, leaving us only one week to make plans as to where to stay before Semana Santa celebrations started.

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Semuc Champey

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Lanquin is the town that many backpackers base themselves out of to visit caves, do hikes and see attractions in the area, Semuc Champey being the highlight.  We had been warned that the road to Semuc Champey was rough, had a few precarious bridges that might not support our 5 tonne plus rig, and after the drive the day before, it wasn’t really appealing to us. We opted for a return trip on the hostel’s shuttle to Semuc Champey and back at a cost of about 10 CAD each.

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Rio Dulce

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Many travellers have heard of Lago Atitlan in Guatemala, but the largest lake in Guatemala is the less visited Lago de Isabel, at the outlet of which lies the small harbour town of Rio Dulce.  The Rio Dulce river then flows about 40 kilometres out to the town of Livingston and the Caribbean Sea.

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Las Pozas

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We wanted to head towards Rio Dulce, so to break up the trip we spent a night at Las Pozas. The family owns a large piece of land along a river, where the water gathers into pools for swimming. We arrived in the afternoon on the weekend and there were many local families in the park enjoying the water, the rope swings, the picnic shelters and the soccer field. The owner told us to wait until a little later in the day when the crowds thinned and then we could move our truck to the river and set up for the night.

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Placencia

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After our ATM cave tour, we decided to head to Placencia for a little more beach time. It was late in the day, so we decided to stop for the night in the town of Hopkins where we were able to camp for the night outside of the Jambel Jerk Cafe.  We were serenaded by a local band with Bob Marley songs.  Across from the restaurant was a laundromat. Clean clothes!

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Actun Tunichil Muknal Caves (ATM Caves), Belize

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I had read about the ATM caves tour in our guide book, but wasn’t sure whether we should do it or not. First, it said that you had to be relatively fit to do the tour…Derek and I are fairly fit for our age, but we have been fitter….hours of sitting in a truck, you know…and younger…years of living, you know. Second, it was pretty expensive compared to other tours where you might, say, float on an inner tube through a cave. Then we talked with a fellow tourist at another campsite, and he had said that if you are going to pay for one tour in Belize, that it should be the ATM cave, so we signed up. We later were told that National Geographic listed the Top Ten Sacred Caves in the World, and the ATM caves was named number one. Sold.

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