We were able to squeeze in a couple more trips to the sights around Antigua during the week though, the highlight being climbing Pacaya, an active volcano outside of town. The hike itself was beautiful and the lava flow at the top is very active. I got some good picts and video that I will upload once Im somewhere that allows it.
We spent last weekend at Lake Atitlan at the towns of Panajachel and San Pedro. The lake is located a couple hours from Antigua and is at a high elevation between several mountains. Panajachel is the largest town on the lake and is where we spent the first night. There were several cool bars and good restaurants but the streets were swarming with aggresive vendors selling the usual useless crap. We ended up hanging out with an interesting old guy named Chris from the mid west somewhere. Listening to him trying to communicate in Spanish was the highlight of the evening.
San Pedro was a very different scene. Its know ans the ¨little cuba¨ of Guatemala and its pretty clear why as soon as you get off the boat. Before I had a chance to get my bearings there were locals offering every kind of drug I have ever heard of. There were a couple cool spots in the snall town such as a british bar that showed movies on a projector at night and restaraunts overlooking the lake. The night scene turned into a very strange techno dance party at many of the places though with a strange mix of people on various drugs. We didnt really get into the ¨vibe¨ of the place though and decided to head to Lanquin after just one night there (a night spent in our room hearing techno beats and people throwing up).
It took a full day to get to Lanquin, a small town nestled in the mountains with some of the most fantastic natural scenery I have ever sceen. The drive was supposed to take 6 hours but ended up taking over a full day as we had to spend the night in a town a couple hours away. Running super late and having to replan as you go has become natural though as everyone here runs on ¨Guatemalan time¨ meaning way behind schedule with frequent issues and unnecisary stops. The place we are staying at is all cabana/cabin style housing and is right next to a river which is 50 feet or so from our room.The area is quite at beautiful with tons of native birds and a great bar/restaurant with delicious food and a lively atmosphere.
The first night here we explored a huge cavern that is home to tens of thousands of bats. At dusk we sat just inside the cave as the bats woke and flew past us in swarms which was a fun but unnerving experience. Yesterday we went on a tour a little over a kilometer into another series of caverns. This set of caverns was much different though as most of them are only 10 feet or so high, sometimes less, and connected by waterways you have to swim though while holding a candle, the only source of light provided, above your head. It was easily one of the craziest experiences of my life. We then tubed down the river that runs outside of the cave and jumped off a bridge into it which was 30 feet or so high. The final part of the tour was to Semuc Champey, a series of tourcoise pools on a rock formation above the river. I can say that it was one of the, if not THE, most beautiful place I have ever been to. Ill post pictures soon as describing it takes more time.
We are heading to Rio Dulce tomorrow morning which should be interesting as it takes a series of busses to get there and none of them really have a specific schedule...Until then this is Morgan Terrill saying stay classy United States.
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