11/23, day 6, Thanksgiving Day. Overcast. 8am shuttle Antigua to Languin. It didn't arrive until 9:23. I got worried, and went to the corner store twice to call the agency (Q1.5). Maybe it's better to take scheduled public bus, like the hourly Monja Blanca bus (4am-6pm from Centra Norte bus terminal in Guatemala City to Coban Q70), which I could probably stop at Biotopo de Quetzal (Q55) for a walk. Our shuttle stopped at a McDonald's in Guatemala City to pick up 3 passengers. They waited there since 8am. Then we waited for another bus from Panajachel (which left Pana also at 8!). By the time we drove off again, it was 11:20. The McDonald's here is quite modern: spacious, clean, AC in full force, touch panels on posts to order food, gaming tablets on tables. Our van is now full. About 20 passengers. All gringos. 3/4 women. I met a girl from Oregon, because her boyfriend was wearing a T-shirt from Pelican Brewery. We hit the same construction delay as yesterday. Around 4:40pm, we pulled into a big hotel in Coban, given 40 minutes to use toilet and eat. But everyone wanted to get going. So by 5, we were off again, with a different driver. The advertised 7 hour ride turned to 11.5 hours. Terrible.
In Lanquin, the shuttle stopped north of town. Every hotel sends its truck to pick up clients. Me and Viheke from Munich went to El Retiro, where I'd stay for 2 nights (Q200, Viheke stayed in dorm Q60). It was already 7:30pm! At the reception, I bought Semuc Champey tour for tomorrow (Q185).
El Retiro serves a buffet dinner every night (Q50 veggie / Q60 Schnitzel chicken). I dumped my bags in my room, and headed straight to the restaurant. I was starving. I took veggie, breaded chicken is not my thing. Nothing fancy, but I'm happy with the food, and finished 2 servings, before Maria Teresa (Venezuela) who was sitting across the table finished her one plate. 
My room is fairly large, 1 twin bed and 1 queen, nothing else, not even waste basket. My previous guest moved a table from the porch inside, so I have somewhere flat to put things. There're 2 switches by the door, but only 1 bulb. Stuffy inside. Outside it's very pleasant. There're 2 chairs and a hammock hanging in front of my door. My building has 3 rooms, the other were occupied by French youngsters, friends sharing a room. No mosquitoes, odd. Cool weather, odd. After a semi-warm shower, I washed some clothes, hoping they'd dry before I leave (they didn't).
Toilet and shower stalls are separate. Water is barely warm here. Sink outside. I like this sign in the toilet. TOILET PAPER
SANITARY NAPKINS
USED DIAPERS
OLD LOVE LETTERS
GOLDFISH
KITTENS AND PUPPIES
HOPES & DREAMS
My phone wasn't able to connect to the free wifi here. No photo today. I'm surprised that I didn't get car sick, maybe because we were so slow. 60km from Coban took 2.5 hours.
11/24, day 7, Friday. Overcast. Semuc Champey (9:00-4:30) day tour. For the first time on this trip, I applied insect repellent. Not too bad. Breakfast has a few choices. I ordered omelette and toast (Q25), and sat by the river. The toast tasted a bit strange, maybe no salt. Baked in house. I walked around the property. Quite nice. All thatched roofs. Found out that Vina Tours has direct shuttle to Lake Atitlan (San Pedro and Pana) for only 8 hours without going through Guatemala City. This would be a much better route. But I'm uncertain that it would run without enough people to fill up a van.
My hotel has 8 French (2 smoke), Maria and me on the tour today. Seems every hotel runs the same tour, each group with 2 chaperones. They speak serviceable English. The national monument of Semuc Champey is 9km away, but takes ~40 minutes. Saw a couple of hotels along the way, 1 turkey, 4 pigs, more chickens and dogs, no cattle or sheep. Saw a hillside where a truckload of trash was dumped!
First stop, Kan'Ba Cave, above Cahabón river. Similar to the one I waded in New Zealand. This is more touristy, water isn't cold. A couple of ropes and ladders are installed inside. Water level gets as high as my head at points. Hard to swim, because I would hit someone or rocks. Not much in terms of security precaution. Maria rented a life vest, as she cannot swim at all. Fun, nonetheless. Everyone is given a candle. Mine ducked in water multiple times. I took my headlamp. There were so many people, plenty candles lit the cave. The downside is that we had to wait sometimes, so I got a bit cold toward the end. There's a plunge you can jump into, a waterfall you can climb with a rope. Saw some bats. Didn't bring my phone, so no photo. Check out other people's photo here. Left everything in a lockbox at the entrance (one per group).
After the cave, we walked to a bigger waterfall, below the last of the terraces. On the way, a swing, where you swing towards water and then release to jump down to the river. The river feels colder. Continue to the waterfall, where you can sit in a rubber tube and flow downstream (extra Q20). From the bridge, you can also jump into the river (no one in my group did). We had lunch at a roadside comedor (not included in the tour price).
Our truck crossed the bridge, but couldn't make the hill to the national monument fully loaded. So we walked up a few minutes to the park entrance. There's a hostel here. More locals selling stuff. In just a few minutes on the trail, we saw some howler monkeys and cacao trees. Didn't see any more animals later. First we hiked to the Mirador. Steep but only ~20 minutes. The view is excellent. From here you can clearly see the narrow and steep walls of this river valley, and the turquoise pools below. At two spots along the trail, locals sell fruit and drink. Took many photos in the small lookout waiting for Maria to get here.
Next, we swam in the pools which we just saw. Can see where the river plunges under the terrace. Water isn't cold, initially, it felt good to wash the sweat off. We were given an hour, so able to relax and explore all the pools. I took my phone in a dry bag to the pools. There are slides and plunges. However, I began to feel cold halfway through. It would be nicer if it's sunny, would be better color and warmer.
It's very pretty here. I'm afraid that soon the beauty will be gone, as more trash being dumped everywhere. Despite of the lengthy access, this is discovered by more visitors. More locals are selling things and leaving trash behind as they always did.
Overall I like the tour of Semuc Champey except that I felt like being herded like a sheep. I guess all tours are like this. It's hard to visit here independently. It's well organized. Not sure if it's worth 11.5 hours of bus ride.
It took awhile to drive the 9km back to town. We had a few local hitchhikers. After a lukewarm shower, I waited for dinner sitting in my hammock reading my Kindle. My neighbors changed, still both French, just older: retired. Christine next door is very friendly. She showed me her itinerary. A large group. They flew here from Paris with Air Mexico. I would run into her later in Flores.
7:30pm. Dinner is Guatemalan. Quite a variety. My most satisfying meal of the trip. I sat with Maria, who lend me money to tip the boy on the trip. In the middle of the dinner, Viheke arrived. She said she just returned from her tour, which she booked in advance on Internet. They did Mirador and swimming first, cave at 3, so didn't see crowds in the cave. Their trip includes tubing, but she said she was freezing.
11/25, day 8, Saturday. Guatemala breakfast (Q25), slow. My French neighbors woke me up today because they tried to talk to each other through the door. I fell asleep last night with my door open. Oops.
Heading north. Finally I was able to see the scenery of the drive, not bad from Lanquin to Coban. Was pitch dark when we arrived. It would be 9 hours until we arrive at the destination.
I'm now half way through my trip, but I'm getting sick.
