We'd reached the halfway point of our trip. Behind us were all the places I'd been before. Behind us was a surprisingly good week. The second week would be a new experience for me. New places and new experiences. I couldn't wait.
We were picked up at our hotel in Guatemala City. We had a new guide. He was quite different from our previous guide. For one, his English was very sketchy (at best). Based on the confused look on his face, he was having difficulty understanding me as well. Over the next five days we would become unsure if our 'guide' was a guide or just a handler. He took us out to our bus ... yes, an actual short, forty-ish passenger bus ... for a driver, a guide, and two guests. It was very comfortable but way too big for the places we would be going. The driver spoke no English.
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The only bird we saw at the bird sanctuary ... not a Quetzal. |
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Waterfalls ... without Quetzals. |
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A tiny little orchid dwarfed by its leaf. |
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Another orchid, similar to the White Nun ... but not the White Nun. |
We ate dinner at the hotel and went to bed hoping the next day would be better.
Tuesday - 02/18 - Semuc Champey.
Usually your guide would let you know where we were going and what we would need for the day. Our guide, for some reason, did not want to talk to us about anything. We knew we were going to the natural pools of Semuc Champey. I had an image of a resort/spa where we would rent towels, change in nice changing rooms, and swim in the pools. What we actually got was not as nice as I'd imagined.
Spring water fed pools. |
The Cahabón river flows under the pools to the lower left. |
We changed into our bathing suits in a rickety changing room with muddy floors. Our guide kept our stuff as we entered the sun warmed pools. Every surface near and in the pools was smooth, slimy, and very slippery. This would never pass muster in the US. The liability alone would shut it down. I explored the pools and looked at where the river went under the pools. It was pretty cool. The Wife had water shoes and I did not. I just wore my hiking shoes. I was able to keep my feet under me until I entered a pool to join the Wife and totally lost my footing.
With 20-20 hindsight I should have taken the scenic trail we'd passed on the way to the pools that went up a strenuous half kilometer trail to a viewpoint overlooking the pools. I think getting a picture from up there would have been more enjoyable for me than slipping and sliding around the pools.
We returned to Cobán for showers and dinner at the hotel. I can't say I had the best time at Semuc Champey. The whole place felt like a let down but I don't know if the issue was Semuc Champey or my attitude at the time. If my expectations have been calibrated properly and I'd done my own research, I think I would have enjoyed it more. The place is going to change in the next few years. A new, nicely paved road now leads to the entrance to the park and it is just a matter of time before it becomes more resort/spa like. Good? Bad? Time will tell.
Wednesday - 02/19 - On the way to Copán Rio Dulce.
We got up early because we had a long driving day ahead of us. We would be crossing the border into Honduras and spending the night near the Mayan complex of Copán. We left with bag breakfasts and a warning from our guide that there were rumors of protests along the way.
Not long after leaving Cobán we slowed to a stop in some small town where, sure enough, they were protesting the state of the roads. As part of their protest they blocked the road. Going around the obstruction would have required a four wheel drive vehicle or nine hours of driving. It took our driver and guide three to four hours to figure out what we would do. Once again, our guide did not have any plan Bs.
Finally, after sitting on the bus for hours (except when we went to the convenience store for a snack), we turned around and headed to Rio Dulce. Copán was officially off our itinerary. Rio Dulce would have been our stop at the end of Thursday. Instead we would stay there for two days.
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The setting sun with a bungalow similar to ours silhouetted. |
This whole day was a bust. We spent most of it stuck inside our too-big bus watching the countryside go by. In the end we ended up in a very nice hotel watching the sun go down and the lights of Rio Dulce turning on for the evening.
Pictures can be found in my 2025-02 Guatemala Google Photos album.
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