Tuesday 8 February 2011

Coban and Semuc Champay – Unexpected cool

We decided to go to Coban and Semuc Champay to break up our journey from Flores to Antigua. Our minibus driver to Coban was a maniac and the journey was one of the most terrifying experiences of my life (think 140km/h on the wrong side of the road, around blind corners, on the edge of cliffs). I was so amazed that we made it to Coban alive that I insisted that we have a celebratory lunch – and a much needed wine.

We found a little restaurant in a garden courtyard called Acuna. It had absolutely beautiful food and wine. That afternoon we had soup, bruschetta and wine, and we returned again the next night for guacamole, pastas and the MOST AMAZING DESSERT EVER ZOMGGG!!! The waiter liked us because we gave him a $5 tip at lunch, so at dinner we got free dips, cheese toasties, chicken legs (?) and an extra big piece of cake.

Street corn on the cob with mayonnaise, tomato sauce, chilli sauce and parmasan

Also - we walked to a church overlooking the town at sunset, had our first Pollo Campero experience (like KFC only better, and one of Guatemala’s most successful businesses) and saw cute dogs and a billion chickens in a pet shop.

Giant pinata store

View over Coban from the church on the hill

Semuc Champay is made up of a valley between two steep cliffs, a river running through the valley, and a limestone step platform covering the river with flat pools of fresh water to swim in. No one I have met has been able to explain how or why it was formed. Not even Wikipedia. We went on a day tour from Coban with a bunch of cool traveler kids. The day started with a long drive through mountains covered in coffee plantations, and a steep climb up to a lookout to view the platform from above. AMAZING. Then we went swimming in the pools, jumping from platform to platform. So fun.

Limestone platforms from above

Us at the lookout


Platforms

Having a break

After we visited some caves. No so interesting. But okay in retrospect. 

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