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.
We climbed into the metal rack enclosed box of a small pickup truck for the 45 minute ride to Semuc Champey. The views on the way in were amazing, but even at low speeds we needed to hang on tight to the railings of the truck as it bounced up and down steep grades and around tight corners, so we didn’t get any photos.
Once at Semuc Champey we first climbed to the viewpoint….
The view of Semuc Campey from the viewpoint.
And a zoomed in view of the pools. You can see a few people in one of the upper pools.
And then back down to the pools of the river. With temperatures probably about 34 Celsius a swim in the cool waters was definitely in order. The Cahabón River at Semuc Champey acutally goes underground here below a natural limestone bridge….
River going underground.
The pools are filled by springs that come out of the hillside around the river. The water was crystal clear and very efficient at bringing our body temperature down after the climb to and from the viewpoint earlier in the day. We made our way down stream, taking the boardwalk from one pool to the next. At the bottom of the pools is a waterfall, where water from the pools overflows and beneath which the river reemerges from its underground route.
Water entering the pools area from the valley side.
Derek getting a minnow pedicure.
The waterfall from the pools joining the river as the river reemerges from underground.
Downstream from the pools.
Back at the hostel, we enjoyed the all you can eat italian buffet and visited with other travellers from all over the world. We slept well that night, belly full of pasta and pizza.
The riverside restaurant at El Retiro.
Piper looking for a stick.
We left the next day to continue towards the border of Honduras. Other travellers had told us the road to the town of Coban (not to be confused with Copan in Honduras), was a bad road. But after the first 20 km we turned onto a paved road. There were periodic potholes, sometimes as wide as our wheel base, but compared to what we had been through a few days ago, this was only a minor inconvenience. We rounded a corner, and there were some young men holding a rope across the road, which they had just reinstalled after letting the locals pass without payment. Without having agreed to this earlier as a strategy, Derek and I simultaneously started shaking our heads “No”, Derek slowed but did not stop and the rope was dropped. There was one other road block on the way, and the same tactic worked. So, that is our new strategy, assuming there are no spike belts, boulders or weapons involved.