Semuc Champei from El MiradorIt seems as though only when I get to a new place I am able to write about the adventures of the one that I left behind. I arrived this afternoon in Antigua, a beautiful city with a village-type atmosphere, right in the heart of Guatemala. Some decades ago it used to be the capital city, but due to an earthquake which destroyed most of it, it’s now just a very small friendly city... Very different than the current capital – Guatemala City, which is big, busy, hectic, and full of crime and violence. I only passed through it while on the shuttle to Antigua and judging by what I had seen, I didn’t miss out on much J
This is also the first time that I am back to being on my own in the past few days.
The days at El Retiro have been amazing more than words can describe... and again I find that I don’t even know where to begin!
On the first evening I met Dudu (the virtual co-traveler), and he turned out to be a great person, just the way I thought he would be, and more. And what do you know - he appears to be writing a book and scripts himself!
Along with him I met Moshiko and Daniel, two 22 year old boys who are traveling together, very not typical for their age, very intelligent and deep and just fun to be with.
We had the most amazing chemistry between us 4, so we spent most of the time together, playing card games, making jokes, dinning & drinking... for the first time since I started traveling on my own I got the feeling of being around true friends, a sort of a warm fuzzy feeling, almost like being home while you’re actually away…
The next day we took a tour together to Ka`anbana cave and Semuc Champey...
I’m so glad I did this tour with those three guys, because it was a challenging one, and they took REALLY good care of me, and we couldn’t stop laughing our lungs out the whole time!
The first part - you walk / swim inside an enormous cave filled with cool water and dripstones, completely dark and filled with bats... but unbelievable. We each held a candle in our hand and helped each other out with the slippery rocks and climbing and all... it was like a team mission (a true “Survival” episode), a really beautiful and challenging one, and after an hour and a half we got out of there, back to daylight, we were ecstatic at least as if we just conquered the Everest!
After the cave we went to the nature reservation of Semuc Champey - First, you climb 1400 meters, a VERY steep climb through the moist jungle thicket, to the “Mirador”- the observation point. All the rocks are wet and slippery and you can hardly breathe from the humidity. You try to hang in to this bowls that might not carry your weight or might be already hosting a huge spider or some other unfamiliar insect, so it’s a true struggle, but then, almost when you feel like you cannot continue one step up - you get to heaven.
From 1400m high you see, framed by rocks covered with moss, 7 natural pools of sweet waters, which are changing from green to turquoise to blue - according to the depth.
We stood there staring with amazement and couldn’t even speak. To see something like that, especially after you’ve worked so hard to get there... it’s ten times more rewarding.
And then came the fun part -
We had to go all the way down (which is not so much easier than climbing) - to the pools!
I basically ran there while I was tossing my backpack and clothes, remaining only with my bikini, jumping into the coolest, softest, sweetest water ever.... I felt like I am on top of the world.
We came back from the tour exhausted and starving in the afternoon. Good thing there was a BBQ feast at the main restaurant that very evening! We sat together with everyone after showering and reviving, eating like pigs and having a blast...
The morning after, the two kiddos left and Dudu and I decided to spend one more day there at the farm, just chilling. Except for visiting the kids’ craft market at noon, we didn’t do a thing except for lying in the hammocks, reading books, drinking fresh Liquidos and talking.
That evening we also met a few more interesting people: A documentaries film director, whose film was broadcast in Channel 2 the very same day (he was depressed for not being in Israel and nervous about the critics so we tried to cheer him up), And an American guy named Lucas who spent two years in Honduras volunteering for the peace corps and working with children there. Now he’s traveling with his younger brother, Jessie. We all had dinner together with fascinating conversations and then moved on to the bar to drink Cuba Libre and continue our conversation that didn’t seem to dry out of topics…
The next morning we (Dudu, Lucas, Jessie and me) took the bus back to Koban. From there they were supposed to continue to Tikal (where I came from) and me to Antigua. But we decided to split the long trip and spend a night in Koban. And what a wise decision that turned out to be! We got into ¨Casa Luna¨- the best hostel I’ve been to since the trip began! Beautiful. clean, not too expensive, the best bed ever, the best shower ever, and the best food ever, all managed by a charming lady called Magda, who is like a true mom, doing it all from the heart and taking care of her guests as if they were her family.
In the evening we hooked up with a funny but strange Aussie couple, bought a HUGE bottle of rum and coke, and sat at the garden of the hostel, with music playing, and drank ourselves to stupidity... what a hilarious evening that was!
This morning I said goodbye to my guys, as they got on the bus to Flores and I continued to Antigua. I will probably meet Lucas again as he will make his way to Antigua in a few days.
I felt sad to say goodbye, but not in a bad kind of way. Just very over-emotional by the intensity of connections I find here and how enriching they are, meetings and partings and going through such amazing experiences together, which very quickly create a sense of bonding and intimacy that you never find so quickly in normal life.
And the more mind-blowing the experience and the connection is, the harder it is when the time comes (and with trips... it always comes) to say goodbye and move on. But there is also something so amazingly beautiful in it - for the days that we spent together, we were the closest ever, and that was the only thing that existed. But then you move on to the next place, and it’s a bran new reality with adventures that quickly sweep you away and don’t allow you to think too much... Some connections, the more unique of them, will remain – despite the distance and the flow of adventures.
This is also the first time that I am back to being on my own in the past few days.
The days at El Retiro have been amazing more than words can describe... and again I find that I don’t even know where to begin!
On the first evening I met Dudu (the virtual co-traveler), and he turned out to be a great person, just the way I thought he would be, and more. And what do you know - he appears to be writing a book and scripts himself!
Along with him I met Moshiko and Daniel, two 22 year old boys who are traveling together, very not typical for their age, very intelligent and deep and just fun to be with.
We had the most amazing chemistry between us 4, so we spent most of the time together, playing card games, making jokes, dinning & drinking... for the first time since I started traveling on my own I got the feeling of being around true friends, a sort of a warm fuzzy feeling, almost like being home while you’re actually away…
The next day we took a tour together to Ka`anbana cave and Semuc Champey...
I’m so glad I did this tour with those three guys, because it was a challenging one, and they took REALLY good care of me, and we couldn’t stop laughing our lungs out the whole time!
The first part - you walk / swim inside an enormous cave filled with cool water and dripstones, completely dark and filled with bats... but unbelievable. We each held a candle in our hand and helped each other out with the slippery rocks and climbing and all... it was like a team mission (a true “Survival” episode), a really beautiful and challenging one, and after an hour and a half we got out of there, back to daylight, we were ecstatic at least as if we just conquered the Everest!
After the cave we went to the nature reservation of Semuc Champey - First, you climb 1400 meters, a VERY steep climb through the moist jungle thicket, to the “Mirador”- the observation point. All the rocks are wet and slippery and you can hardly breathe from the humidity. You try to hang in to this bowls that might not carry your weight or might be already hosting a huge spider or some other unfamiliar insect, so it’s a true struggle, but then, almost when you feel like you cannot continue one step up - you get to heaven.
From 1400m high you see, framed by rocks covered with moss, 7 natural pools of sweet waters, which are changing from green to turquoise to blue - according to the depth.
We stood there staring with amazement and couldn’t even speak. To see something like that, especially after you’ve worked so hard to get there... it’s ten times more rewarding.
And then came the fun part -
We had to go all the way down (which is not so much easier than climbing) - to the pools!
I basically ran there while I was tossing my backpack and clothes, remaining only with my bikini, jumping into the coolest, softest, sweetest water ever.... I felt like I am on top of the world.
We came back from the tour exhausted and starving in the afternoon. Good thing there was a BBQ feast at the main restaurant that very evening! We sat together with everyone after showering and reviving, eating like pigs and having a blast...
The morning after, the two kiddos left and Dudu and I decided to spend one more day there at the farm, just chilling. Except for visiting the kids’ craft market at noon, we didn’t do a thing except for lying in the hammocks, reading books, drinking fresh Liquidos and talking.
That evening we also met a few more interesting people: A documentaries film director, whose film was broadcast in Channel 2 the very same day (he was depressed for not being in Israel and nervous about the critics so we tried to cheer him up), And an American guy named Lucas who spent two years in Honduras volunteering for the peace corps and working with children there. Now he’s traveling with his younger brother, Jessie. We all had dinner together with fascinating conversations and then moved on to the bar to drink Cuba Libre and continue our conversation that didn’t seem to dry out of topics…
The next morning we (Dudu, Lucas, Jessie and me) took the bus back to Koban. From there they were supposed to continue to Tikal (where I came from) and me to Antigua. But we decided to split the long trip and spend a night in Koban. And what a wise decision that turned out to be! We got into ¨Casa Luna¨- the best hostel I’ve been to since the trip began! Beautiful. clean, not too expensive, the best bed ever, the best shower ever, and the best food ever, all managed by a charming lady called Magda, who is like a true mom, doing it all from the heart and taking care of her guests as if they were her family.
In the evening we hooked up with a funny but strange Aussie couple, bought a HUGE bottle of rum and coke, and sat at the garden of the hostel, with music playing, and drank ourselves to stupidity... what a hilarious evening that was!
This morning I said goodbye to my guys, as they got on the bus to Flores and I continued to Antigua. I will probably meet Lucas again as he will make his way to Antigua in a few days.
I felt sad to say goodbye, but not in a bad kind of way. Just very over-emotional by the intensity of connections I find here and how enriching they are, meetings and partings and going through such amazing experiences together, which very quickly create a sense of bonding and intimacy that you never find so quickly in normal life.
And the more mind-blowing the experience and the connection is, the harder it is when the time comes (and with trips... it always comes) to say goodbye and move on. But there is also something so amazingly beautiful in it - for the days that we spent together, we were the closest ever, and that was the only thing that existed. But then you move on to the next place, and it’s a bran new reality with adventures that quickly sweep you away and don’t allow you to think too much... Some connections, the more unique of them, will remain – despite the distance and the flow of adventures.
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