Here is Kyle getting off our shuttle with our tour. We went with Rene from Maya´ch Expeditions and would highly recommend him. He made our weekend truly unforgettable!
A view of the hills that we saw all along the drive through a very remote part of Guatemala.
Checking out the view.
The swedish couple that we were hiking with along the trail through the jungle.
Our first view of the falls. (If you look over at the dark area just to the right of the falls, you will see where we jumped from... 10 meters down into the water. I nearly had a heartache, but I was NOT going to be the chicken that had to climb back up the dodgy rope ladder by myself!! Not a chance. (I just crossed my fingers and hoped not to be leaving collared on a hard board.... Not that it was possible as there are no hospitals and not even a first aid kit with us! Haha.)
Taking the few of Semuc Champey´s cascading, natural pools from above.
Our group and soon to be very good friends.... Roger and Jeanette on the left, and a swedish couple in the middle (I can´t remember there names... oops!) Roger nearly had to push me off the cliff to get me to jump, and Jeanette held my hand several times so that we didn´t fall into the guano in the caves... Lots of good stories there!
Looking down at some others enjoying the water.
The rapids just above the pools where the water becomes very placid and still.
The first pool that we swam in where Kyle managed to find a little cliff to jump off of. Very nice!
Looking into the second pool, and over the embankment is the third, etc.
The 3rd or 4th pool.
The 4th or 5th pool. I´m sure that you get the point, but I just couldn´t stop taking pictures. It was so pretty!
After all the swimming and jumping off crazy cliffs (that easily could have been a trauma call), our guide Rene took us to our next destination: Las Groutas de Lanquin (the Lanquin Caves).
The view of the river outside looking back out from the entrance.
Our guide Rene telling us about what crazy stuff he´s going to make us do next. Sure, going down an extra 400 meters into pitch black into the bat caves sounds like a really good idea....
The early views in the cave.... where it was lit (and not so scary).
And the scary part, where it wasn´t lit. This must have been the look on my face for the entire 90 minutes that we walked, and sometimes nearly crawled, through tight little crevaces with hundreds, and I mean hundreds of bats whipping by, often just a bit too close to your face. Oh shit!!!! How did I get into this!!!
(No picture)
This is the picture that I should have taken of the section of the tunnel that we walked through that was 4 inches thick with guano (bat shit). Ah, the great part is that it not only covered our shoes but our hands as well. (It was so slippery and a bit steep so you had to hold on to keep yourself from falling completely into it....)
It subsequently led to a discussion with Roger & Jeanette (during happy hour, of course) about the time that a bat got into my bedroom, and I used my cell phone from under the covers to call mom (in the next room) to come and save me!!
The monstrous and scary looking spider-like thing that we found in the depths of the cave. I can´t remember what Rene said it was.... kind of a cross between a scorpion and a spider. Ew!
