Intermezzo: Lost in Lanquin or The Sacramental Semuc

Lanquin is halfway to the middle of nowhere. It doesn't seem to matter much where you come from. The way there takes hours regardless. Not because of the distance. But because of the type and quality of the roads. The type is the windy, alternating between the uphill and downhill variarty. The quality ranges from decent to almost off the scale terrible. At some points we barely drove faster than 20-25km. Especially the last 40 kilometres took us about two hours. 

There is basically one reason why anyone would make the strenuous journey to Lanquin. And it's not because of Lanquin itself. The town is actually surprisingly dull. Lanquin has just two churches and a number of tiendas. What makes it interesting, is that it is the jumping point to the 'most beautiful place in Guatemala': the beautiful limestone pools of Semuc Champey.

There are options to stay at Semuc itself, but with limited electricity and little to no Internet connection, people seem to prefer to camp out in Lanquin. So did we. Even my local and reliable Claro sim couldn't find a simple phone single in Semuc. Also, other than the pools, there's not too much to do around here. While the pools are beautiful, spending more than one, maybe two days would be a bit too much. And while we thought Lanquin was remote, Semuc is even worse. Any road in the area is terrible. Most people - including us - spend about 45 minutes in the back of a pickup truck to cover the 10 kilometres. Which actually isn't too bad. There's a breeze, there's beautiful nature and you're either heading or coming from the clear waters of Semuc.

I'll let the pictures tell the rest of the story!

The best part of the road to Semuc. At least they made an effort here, some time ago.

Our group had a pickup truck for eight. Others left when their truck was full. And full means full here! 

Terrible roads, but pleasant views. Even when it's cloudy. 

The last bit before Semuc. A bridge that's becoming less bridge and more air each day. 

Mind the gap! 

So the pools are part of a river, of which one part goes underground (left) and one part flows over the plateaus (right), thus creating the said pools. 

Semuc Champey as seen from the viewpoint. The pools are filled with small fish that nibble at your feet. It's like a fish spa, with twenty little fish eating away the dead skin! Sorry, no pictures!

The end of the pools. After this the water from the underground river and pools join, and it becomes one big turquoise current. 

Panorama of the meeting point. As you can see, this part is not so suitable for swimming, though it does make for a pretty picture. Later on, the water becomes calmer.

As the river is calm here, people tend to swim to and jump off the rock. Good thing no one gets hurt, since the nearest hospital is just fours hours away!