Semuc Champey

Last weekend I ventured to Coban, Alta Verapaz, the hot and sticky part of Guatemala that feels and looks like what you imagine Central American to be. I visited some geologically-fascinating waterfalls and pools. At this spot the Cahabón River passes through a 300 meter-long cave. The river disappears from sight, and all that remains is the water that spills over into a series of beautiful pools on top of the cave, like a very long bridge over the river. The site is known as Semuc Champey, which means “where the river hides beneath the earth” in the Q’eqchi’ language.





I climbed to a lookout point, which was a 45-minute climb up steep rocks in unbearable humidity. Every time a Guatemalan guide passed my disheveled and sweaty self, they would say, “Pobrecita!” To which I replied, “I live in Xela. I don’t do heat!” And the guides knowingly nodded their heads, suddenly full of respect for me—I am the Guatemalan equivalent of a penguin trekking in the Amazon.



Getting there and back was an adventure, but not the good kind. Semuc Champey is a 2-hour drive to Lanquín along nasty dirt roads, plus another half an hour on more bad roads to the river. On the way home, I waited for a microbus to take me to Coban, but for 45 minutes none passed. Finally, a large flatbed truck meant for carrying animals passed by. What choice did I have? The Q’eqchi’ señoras and I hopped into the back on the truck, and we sat on top of the sacks of grain.


Half-way to Coban, the driver transferred us to a different truck. There, an older guy tried to talk to me. He had no teeth and spoke in half-Spanish and half-Q’eqchi’. Added to that, the motor of the truck was roaring, and I couldn’t make out a word of what he was saying. To emphasize the utility of conversation, I exaggeratedly screamed at him that I couldn’t hear him. He decided to sit closer so I could hear (NO! Leave me alone!), and even my fake excuse of “No Espanish!” didn’t deter him. Finally, his stop arrived, and I was alone in the back of a truck in who-knows-where…which didn’t feel safe, but neither did getting off and waiting alongside the deserted highway. Finally I arrived safe and sound in Coban, glad to have seen the site, but relieved to be out of the heat and stress of a dodgy truck.