Vagabond and Beyond: Caving by candlelight and what Star Wars has to do with the Tikal Ruins

The bus from Antigua to Lanquin was the usual entertainment of a crazy driver with a death wish. About half way through the journey there was a problem with the wheel so when we reached Coban we switched buses. Even though the driver knew there was a problem with the wheel he still overtook on blind corners and floored the accelerator the whole way. Sarah made an Israeli friend on the bus that did nothing but complain about everything, this guy would put a dampener on anybody’s party. Arriving in Zephyr lodge we were very lucky in obtaining a cabana for the three nights we would be staying there. Later that night we found out that in fact another Sarah had reserved the cabana a few weeks in advance but because she arrived on a later bus than us we got her reservation, nice! I think they figured out something for her later on but we were happy with our luck. The views of the valley from the lodge made up for the lack of working showers for our whole time there. We booked the Semuc Champey tour with Zephyr for the next day which involves wading/swimming/climbing/jumping through caves with only candlelight to guide you, jumping off water swings /waterfalls, hiking and swimming in beautiful natural made pools. However the tour had to be put off for the next day as both of us were up sick all night, we were unsure if it was the Malaria pills or bad food from earlier in the day but either way a day of activities was not the way to recover.

After a day of recovery we set off by pick-up truck to the beautiful Semuc Champey, a candlelight cave tour followed by views of a 300m natural limestone bridge and swimming in turquoise pools. Reading several reviews online and talking to a few people who did it we were both wondering whether we would come to regret doing this tour. Nearly every review or person we spoke to mentioned phrases like “this tour would never be legal at home”, “surprised no one was killed”, “most dangerous thing I have ever done” and “there is no concern for safety”. On the other side of these reviews that make it sound mental people always say at the end that it was completely worth it and you have to do it, they probably say this because they made it through the tour safely and alive. In the end Sarah chose not to do the cave tour and after doing it myself I can agree that the tour is a bit mental and it’s shocking that they can get away with doing something so dangerous with no safety equipment in the dark but I was glad I did it.

We started the tour off with a rope swing from a platform on the river’s edge into the fast flowing current of the Semuc River. It seemed reasonably safe and was pretty fun after doing it, just swim back to shore quickly before the current takes you down river. One guy nearly held on too long which would have resulted in him swinging back towards the rocks on the edge. He jumped off the swing about 2 seconds before his day would have been cut short. After the swing our guide handed out a candle to each of us for the cave part of the tour. So with only a pair of shorts, flip flops and candle we headed off to the cave for about an hour of craziness. Any sane thinking people would have you wearing helmets, headlights and complete body padding before entering the cave but we were in a country where it’s normal for an 8 year old to carry a machete and for a 10 seater van to carry 30 people. The several horror stories took their toll on Sarah so she enjoyed the views while we headed into the caves. After treading our way through water with random sharp rocks everywhere the first obstacle was a 12 foot waterfall to climb up through using a rope. If you fell you were in serious head injury territory but it wasn’t too difficult (would not recommend a hangover for this tour by the way), some more climbing and swimming before you reach the dead end point which is pitch black. Soon you realise that people are climbing up a rock face (maybe 15 feet high) and jumping into a 4 foot deep pool of water which is completely black. So you are just hoping you land in the right spot. Climbing a slippery jagged rock face in flip flops is stupid enough but jumping into the black shallow pool after really tops it. I’m glad the guy before me told me it was only 4 feet so I knew how to jump in. After this we did a small tame enough slide and then abseiled back down the waterfall which was a lot harder than it looked (the force of the water makes gripping with your feet almost impossible so you stumble down ungracefully). At the end you slide through a hole in the rocks into a small drop that you can’t see as there is a sharp turn in the rocks, it was fine after you do it but you can’t see the drop until you do it which makes it a little worrying. After this it was some swimming to the safety of daylight. I probably exaggerate the danger of the cave tour but honestly any slip inside could lead to serious injury and there is zero protection for you in only your swim gear. The guide does look out for you but one young guide who is a daredevil for a group of 10 plus people hardly make this a safe tour.

After the cave we all headed to the 8m bridge jump into the fast flowing river. One person was about to just jump in when the guide casually said “you better move over another foot to your right as there rocks where you are about to jump”. This guy was a second from jumping!! I had decided after the cave that I was done with activities for the day that could paralyse or kill me so we watched the group that was with us, a group of surfer type Americans, do their summersaults etc. off the bridge. A couple of small injuries but all were alive so off we set to hike El Mirador to glimpse the panoramic view of Semuc Champey. It was a tough (slippery and muddy with only hiking sandals for support) but short hike to the top but the views were worth it. We had lunch at the top and then headed back down for some swimming in the turquoise pools. A few natural slides and jumps made them a great place to enjoy; it felt like a natural water park. The climax of the day was the 12m waterfall jump, the end of which you climb back up by pulling yourself back up the rope the guide tied at the top. There was a local guy there who had just broken his arm the week before doing the jump. It did look fun but I don’t think the insurance or my heart could take this one. It was a great day as naturally it’s amazing but nothing in Central America can just be a tour where the scenery is beautiful. They always need to add a crazy danger element to everything, whether it is the bus journey to the place or the jumping off rock faces into shallow black pools deep inside a cave. It probably says something about the majority of people that travel Central America as well as the relaxed attitude to life the locals take. An entertaining pick-up back and a round of beers to celebrate life at the end of the day back at Zephyr. Overall Zephyr was a nice place to stay and food was pretty good. They had a similar tab system to Earth Lodge so you needed to keep an eye on how much you spent, especially seeing as the nearest ATM is a 2 hour bus ride back to Coban!

The next morning we set off back to Coban in order to get to Flores, a lake island close to the ruins of Tikal. This meant we had to backtrack for a couple of hours but it was a necessary hassle to get to Flores. Not too many people on bus which made it a lot more comfortable than most Guatemala shuttle rides however this English guy who was staying at Zephyr had a few too many the night before and looked in bad shape. As Sarah was lying on the back seat of the bus she felt what she thought was rain on her face but got up to see that there was sick all over the window of the bus. The hung-over lad had gotten sick out the window while it was moving and Sarah got some backsplash! He apologised and Sarah gave him a Motilium, more for her benefit than his I think.

We arrived at our hostel, Los Amigos, and booked a shuttle out to the Tikal ruins for the next day. They try to sell you the 4.30am sunrise guided tour but I recommend you go by yourself and go about 9am. First off, the ruins open at 6am, about 30 minutes after sunrise (if you want to see the sunrise you need to stay in a hotel within the park, even with this we heard it's not possible), secondly there was not that many people there later on despite what the agencies tell you and finally the howler monkeys are around all day not just the morning. So save yourself the early rise and go later in the day, 4 to 5 hours is plenty of time. It’s one of the more expensive ruins in Central America, at $15. The conductor on the bus filled us in on the general history of Tikal and this was enough to get a lot out of the ruins.

One of the first signs you see after arriving in Tikal is a warning sign relating to the howler monkeys that reside there. As you can see from the picture below the sign warns you the howler monkeys will attempt to defecate on your head to show their presence. We thought the chances of this would be slim until we watched one of them follow us and attempt to do this. He missed us by about 10 feet but it was warning enough to not walk underneath them intentionally. In fact Ade who we met in San Pedro had been volunteering in an animal reserve not that far from Tikal and a monkey did in fact shit on his head, so there you go, it’s possible so heed the warnings! Warned we headed towards the main plaza to see Temple I and II. “The temples at Tikal are turned to face one another, and the rooms which are built at the have depressions in the walls that serve as amplifiers so the voice of a person at the top of one pyramid, speaking at a normal volume, can be heard by another person standing at the top of another pyramid some astonishing distance away.” We climbed the wooden steps of temple II which have a massive gap between each step for some reason even though they were built for tourists to climb up them. We continued to explore a few more ruins before climbing up the 70 metre Temple IV, the tallest pyramid in the Mayan region. On top we sat around for an hour to kill time before our bus back to Flores and watched the amazing views of the jungle canopy that is broken in parts by the summits of four other temples. We also saw a few Toucans and a few crazy tourists. I also found out that this view was the same view that George Lucas used at the end of his first Star Wars movie, Episode IV: A New Hope which is pretty cool for all us sci-fi nerds out there. In fact as a special treat just below the photo I took of the scene I put in a You Tube video from the film so you can compare (it's about 30 seconds into the clip) and because it’s just an awesome film!!

Later that night we met Ade and Aisling for a few very cheap drinks (less than 50 cent a bottle of beer) and food, a couple we met in San Pedro that would be joining us for the Ragamuffin Tour in a couple of days. A sailing trip that island hops along the coast of Belize. The next day we all got the bus to Belize City; we arrived at the border for about 7.30am (about 2.5 hours to the border). Roads are terrible to the border and even saw what looked like a fatal bus crash on the way. We were at the border for about an hour as our bus got selected for a full search but other than that no hassles. We watched as all the local Guatemalan kids crossed the border into Belize to go to an English speaking school. We changed a good bit of Guatemalan quetzals for Belizean Dollars with one of the unofficial money changers. I checked online the rate the night before and he gave me the exact same rate so I don’t know how they make money unless they rip people off going the other way. The roads on the Belizean side were much better so it took us only an hour and half to make it to the coast, Belize City. We managed to get a great deal on the water taxi with perfect timing and paid only 10 BZD to get the boat to Caye Caulker where we would stay for 3 nights gorging on cheap delicious lobster tails before starting the Ragamuffin tour. The tour would stop off in Rendezvous and Tobacco Islands for a night each before finishing up in Placencia. From Placencia we would continue to work our way towards the Bay Islands for Christmas crossing through Guatemala once again on the way.

It is the end of a month and a half in Guatemala and we had a brilliant time and met so many great people but now it’s time for some seafood, sun and paradise islands.....