After spending 3 weeks in the heart of adventure tourism of Guatemala, I’ve come to realize that adventure tourism is just another way of saying difficult, uncomfortable, rustic, and dangerous. 

If you stay at an adventure tourism hostel, don’t expect warm water or reliable electricity. Definitely don’t expect wifi. Don’t get me wrong, you may luck out and get these things, but they are not the norm (even if the hostel’s website says they have wifi). 

Do expect lots of bugs, birds, and other animals. Do expect limited options for food. Do expect some physically challenging, even dangerous, explorations. 

Adventure tourism is fun, not luxurious. 

In Lanquin, the wifi doesn’t work unless the weather is perfect. The water is turned off and on at various times of the day. If it rains too much, the electricity goes out. 

It had been raining for 7 days.

So, when I saw a sliver of blue sky in the morning one day, I jumped at the chance to visit Semuc Champey. 

Semuc Champey is the reason people make the difficult journey to Lanquin. It is a national park and is located about 11 kilometers from Lanquin. It takes 40 minutes in an 4-wheel drive pick up truck to get to Semuc Champey from Lanquin. It takes me another 40 minutes to recover from the bumpy, curvy, mountainous ride. 

Semuc Champey is more than beautiful. 

The Cahabon River flows underground at Semuc and causes pools of aquamarine colored water to form on the surface. Adventure tourists enjoy climbing the slippery rocks and diving into the pools. 

 

To get a better view of the pools, climb up to the mirador, or view point. 

While only a half mile hike, it is one of the most difficult hikes I’ve done. It rained off and on the whole time we visited Semuc, so the rocks that formed “stairs” were slick with mud. The path was also nearly straight up. I was sweating and my legs were shaking by the time we reached the mirador.

I loved it.

The view was worth the climb.

At the mirador, we ran into one of the guides we knew from El Muro, Pepe. He told us his transport back to Lanquin was leaving at 2:00 and that we could hop on. We said yes. 

After another 30 minutes down the difficult mountain path, and we were on our way to the truck. 

Homemade chocolate? Yes, please.

At the entrance of Semuc Champey are a plethora of little Guatemalan girls carrying baskets of homemade chocolate and saying in one breath, “Hello, my name is Martha. What is your name? Chocolate? Two for five Quetzales. Maybe later?” 

These little girls are adorable. Their chocolate is a fun novelty, although I really want to teach them how to make a simple sugar syrup so that the chocolate isn’t crunchy from sugar granules. 

We bought some lunch from one of the local woman serving grilled chicken with salad, rice, beans, and avocado – a very typical Guatemalan meal.

After experiencing Semuc Champey, I still like adventure tourism, but I have no delusions about what it is and what it is not. 

I love hiking in the woods. I love getting mud on my shoes. I love living in rustic settings. I also love cities. 

We spent three weeks in rural Guatemala in the heart of adventure tourism. I’m ready for city life again. I’m ready to move to Coban.