Lanquin & Semuc Champey

The cascading pools at Semuc Champey
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The caves at Semuc Champey were a genuinely unexpected treat.  They're wet rather than dry caves, and we spent about two hours swimming through them.  Head torches aren't provided, which is great as it means that the only available light came from the flickering candles we held above the water while we swam (very Indiana Jones).  Swam through small passages with bats squeaking above us, clambered up and down rickety steel ladders into antechambers, forced myself to take the hard option and climb up a waterfall via a length of rope, and squeezed myself down what can only be described as a birthing canal to get out.  Just fantastic.

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The natural cascading pools in contrast were beautiful and an incredible spot for relaxing and unwinding.  Swimming in the crystal clear water surrounded by densely rainforested mountains it was hard to imagine I was still in Guatemala rather than Laos or Thailand.  In fact when a few days later I was freezing my ass off on the top of Volcan Tajumulco it really did all seem like a dream.

Candle lit caving