Photos from Guatemala-Panajachel to Semuc Champey

We have finally had some pictures downloaded to disc and have some computer time to get a posting up. These are all pictures from our time in Guatemala, a country we loved every step of the way. It is a very diverse country and still rich in traditional culture. This is the view across Lake Atitlan that greeted us out our door every morning. The lake was perfect glass every morning, making us wish we had towed the wakeboard boat with us!!

Language classes everyday took place in the school's garden with our teacher, Patricia, who has lived in Panajachel her entire life. The farthest she had traveled was to one of the small villages at the base of one of the volcanoes across the lake.

We were able to walk into town everyday from our campsite up and over the hill from town. This is the view looking back to our campsite on one morning's walk...
The nightlife and bright colors of the streets of Panajachel. The food was great and just as cheap to eat out as to buy groceries and cook, so we took advantage of that! Especially since a nightly rain would make cooking out at camp a little hard.

After leaving the lake, we got off the "beaten path" for a few days and were on dirt roads that took us into some of the most beautiful areas of the country. But ended up being quite a commitment...we were driving about 10 km per hour on some crazy back roads, but it was very worth it. First stop was the caves at Lanquin. They are lit for the first few hundred yards past the entrance and the locals have labeled all kinds of formations within the caves including a monkey face, an Eagle, a skeleton, and the Virgin Mary.

This is the view through the entrance to the source of the river flowing from in the cave that we found out was the drinking source for the village below.

Every night just at dusk, the caves come to life with thousands and thousands of bats coming out for the night. There was no trace of them during the day while we toured the cave...

Our next stop was an area called Semuc Champey, one of our favorite spots on the entire trip. It was a short hike into a series of limestone swimming pools that you can swim in and walk through. We both decided that a spot like this in the states would have been fenced off a long time ago.

The pools alone were so refreshing after a hot day in the car and were so amazingly beautiful...BUT...


It was when we realized we were in fact swimming on a limestone bridge that had formed over the river below that this place became truly magical. The bridge itself was almost 1,000 feet long with countless peaceful pools and waterfalls running through it. You would never know there is a river raging beneath it! Here is a picture of the river as it starts to flow underneath the bridge...

Even though pretty beat from the day we decided to make the hike straight uphill to the Mirador, Spanish for a lookout. The hike litterally went so straight up in some places that ladders and steep stairs had been installed. The view from the top made it all worth it.