Words nor pictures can come close to expressing the beauty of this place. It was a little dificult to get to, but more than worth it. Semuc Shampey, which means “Sacred Water” in the Mayan Q’eqchi’ language, is a natural monument in Guatemala. It has a great limestone bridge on top of natural pools that are surrounded by beautiful forest and mountains. I have never seen such turquoise water, green trees, and blue skys… all at once!! We really enjoyed swimming in the pools and hiking up to a view point. Man, God’s creation is magnificant!
One of the greatest adventures of my trip also took place during this time… we went for a tour in Las Cueavas de Maria. As one tourist site puts it, it is:
An awesome adventure at Las Marias Caves. Las Marias Caves (or Cuevas de K’an Ba in the Mayan Q’eqchi’ language) are something special that you can’t find in many places. More than 3 km. of tunnels that you get to explore only the first few hundred meters, but even these few hundred meters still blow your mind out. There is no electricity inside so you get candles when you enter. Parts of the cave you need to swim with one hand while the other hand holds the candle so that it won’t get wet… Don’t be afraid if the candle gets wet during swimming or blown out from the wind of a fabulous waterfall, the guides somehow always find another few spare candles in the caves. Some spots are really narrow that you have to crawl in order to cross, going to another spots involve ladder and rope climbing or jumping across rocks, the best parts are definitely getting to a deeper point where you can jump into and watching the cool natural shapes of stalactites that look like dwarfs or mushrooms…”
We stayed in a great hostel, Las Marias, right by the river… a short hike from Semuc Champey. We stayed in little huts & ate some incredible food. The power was only on from 6-10 pm… which made life even simpler. Originally, we were going to stay for just one day, but it turned into two. It was incredibly relaxing & we met some great people.
Here are my pictures from Semuc Champey & Antigua.
