After a day of traveling, an hour of it standing on the back of a truck with metal bars for protection and pain (ramming against them at every bump), crammed in with a bunch of other tourists going in the dark over rocky, dirt roads bordering cliffs, we finally made it to Semuc Champey. This is a natural monument with a limestone bridge stretching a few soccer fields with the Cahabón River running beneath it.
The next day, we walked from our hotel and hired a fifteen-year-old guide to lead us through the park. We started with el Mirador (Lookout), a thirty-minute climb through the forest. Our hostel owner had told us flip flops were fine. Boy, was he wrong! With the recent and continuing rains, the ground was muddy and quite slippery, so we walked barefoot instead, squishing our toes in the mud and bruising our feet over the sharp rocks. It was quite adventuresome.
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You've got to admit, my painted toes look pretty classy in the mud.
Some parts of the trail were a relief, and we could actually go at a normal pace. The wooden stairs were my favorite.
At the top, we could see the torquoise pools below and the forest stretching out for miles.
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Right before we came to the bottom of the mountain, the clouds let loose and did their best to drench us. We ran to the only ramada there was and waited out the downpour with the other visitors and guides. Donning our ponchos (we knew another soaking was inevitable), we explored the rest of the park.
Several of the views were magical, and it made me thankful again to have so many opportunities to travel and see such beautiful sights.
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