Candlelight Cave Tours, Massive Bruises, Vertical Climbs to Amazing Views - Semuc Champey and Lanquin Caves

We woke up early and ate breakfast at the restaurant at El Retiro before getting ready to join the group going to the caves and Semuc Champey. As was becoming the norm, given the vagueness of our Bamba tickets, there was a bit of confusion regarding what our included tour actually included. It was determined that we could go to both the caves and the crystalline pools. Fantastic!

The bus arrived and picked us up. And when I say "bus" I should specify that it was actually a pick up truck with a caged back not unlike what you would find to haul livestock around. And into the back like livestock we went.

We arrived at the entrance to the caves and walked a bit to get to a spot to leave our stuff. We were told to wear proper footwear, since flip flops weren't enough. Those that did only have flip flops had the option to have them tied on their feet so they could walk through the caves semi-protected. Thankfully, we'd purchased those Croc-off shoes a couple days before and they came in handy!

Before venturing through the caves we had the opportunity to swing from the rope swing into the rushing water. Not about to turn down a mildly dangerous event, I got in line and waited. Meg, given the fact that she can't hear, opted to hang back a bit and observe before making her decision to swing. The idea was the guy minding the swing would yell "JUMP" as the person on it reached the correct spot... however, when unable to hear Meg just had to somewhat count off until it was time to launch herself into the air. 

I went first - and survived. The current in the water was extremely fast and the minute I hit the water I was being swept away. Off to the side I swam, climbed out and took my camera from Meg so that she could go. She lined up, got to the swing and went for it... did a pretty good job of leaving the swing at an appropriate time, but landed slightly off kilter and broke the surface of the water with her thigh. She made it out of the water (thank goodness!) despite the minor injury (which would turn into one of the most horrible looking bruises I've ever seen as the week went on.) 

After the whole group had had a chance to swing (if they wanted) we trekked up the hill a little bit to the entrance of the cave. We were all given candles to light the way. The caves were full of water, sometimes deep, sometimes shallow. We had a few guides leading the way. 

Highlights of the cave were climbing UP a waterfall, while getting pounded by water, being at the front of the group (I always end up there.. I hate getting stuck behind people) and the guide asking me if I was afraid of jumping (Of course not) and him directing me to scale a wall in the caves and jump into the darkness (there was a deep pool below) and on the way back shooting through a rushing water hole into the darkness below. 

We made our way back out of the cave after about an hour and a bit of adventuring. Not ready to end the adventure we were given tubes and shown the path to the spot to climb aboard before floating downstream. 

Meg and I floated downstream, getting completely different views from the water than from on the shore.

After we got off the tubes the group gathered again and walked to the entrance to Semuc Champey. We had lunch (hosted to us by a tiny park-side stall) and then headed into the park. The walk to the crystalline pools wasn't too long and soon we were greeted with a gorgeous view.

The water was warm and absolutely gorgeous. Limestone pools like stairs along the river, there were little waterfalls and islands to explore. Not long after we'd been in the water I discovered something that was somewhat familiar to me - the nibbly little teeth of Dr. Fish!

We swam around, enjoyed the water and generally just relaxed for a while. Then it was time for our hike. What!? Hike!? Again?

The guide lead the group up the side of the mountain, about a kilometer straight up along a pathway (with stairs etc built in, thank god) that was far more exhausting than even the hardest parts of the trek through the jungle in Thailand or up the volcano two days prior. As always, I walked too fast and wore myself out. Each time we thought we were there we turned a corner to see even more vertical climb to go. It only took about half an hour but it was the most excruciating half hour I've experienced in a long time.

The end result, however, was completely worth it:

We all took turns staring over the platform that had been built to allow us to get a look at the pools from above. Snapped some photos (which really don't accurately show the heights to which we'd climbed) and then started our descent. 

Which required us to go UP first. What!? Why more up!? 

I was tired of up. 

However, eventually the path started to go in a downward fashion. Back to my billy-goat tendencies, I was making my way down the hill at a fast pace while Meg was left behind. Granted, her leg was pretty sore from the swing incident earlier. 

We made it down, injury free, and back onto the bus, er truck, and back to the hostel. Showers all around, warm and dry clothes and a massive dinner (this time Meg and I shared a buffet dinner) and a few drinks before bed. 

Off to Flores in the morning!

How to Hike a Volcano, Acquire a Dutch Travel Family and Make Friends with a Dog - Hiking the Pacaya Volcano

With our feet and bodies now better prepared for the trek up the volcano, we relaxed in the lobby of the hostel awaiting our bus. 

When the bus arrived we climbed on board and sat near the front. Taking off, we arrived at another hotel to pick up more people. Onto the bus climbed a group of about 14 people along with a guide... who looked a bit put out that we were on the bus. She said something to the driver, he shrugged, said something back. Then she called someone on her phone and started asking questions. Given that this whole exchange happened in Spanish, I had no idea what was going on.  The bus started driving while she attempted to deal with whatever was causing her grief. 

Eventually it seemed to be sorted out and she told the group that she was sorry, this was supposed to be a PRIVATE tour, she didn't know why WE were on the bus, but it would get figured out when we arrived at the volcano. Then she turned to Meg and I, apologized for seeming so rude, but hopefully we understood. We just smiled, said all we did was get on the bus that came for us. Then the bus stopped, the guide got off, and Meg and I looked at each other confused.

Ready to hike the volcano

When we arrived at the starting point of the volcano trek it became obvious that we too would end up with a private tour of the volcano, as there were no other groups awaiting the climb. We'd heard stories of people being robbed etc on the hill, especially in the evening when it got dark, and so we were a bit apprehensive about how to proceed. Meg and I got off the bus and waiting outside while the other passengers remained on the bus. Words were exchanged and then one of them spoke up to say they really didn't care if they had a "private tour", and would much prefer knowing that we were safe, so would we care to join their group?

Of course we would. So off we went. 

Little boys were selling walking sticks and there was a team of horses awaiting us should we decide we are too out of shape to continue and need a lift. Of course at a price. 150Q up and 150Q down. We would be fine to walk. 

The trek started out fairly simple, a low incline and relatively well packed ground. However, as we made it up the hill it became progressively more difficult. I've never done it, but I can liken the experience to climbing up a massive sand dune. The volcanic rock under our feet was soft and slippery, crumbling under each step. Unless you walked along the side where the small amounts of grass were growing, each step resulted in your foot sliding back about half as far. 

Eventually we made it past the "green" part of the volcano and to the point where the lava had accumulated after the most recent explosion (about a year and a half ago). Here the walking became a bit more treacherous (volcanic rock is extremely sharp and rough) but the end was in sight! An hour and 25 min after we first started, we reached the top!

Our guide lead us to a rest spot that was right beside a deep crevice. It's been said that the air/rock is hot enough to cook an egg, and a few of the Dutch travellers had brought one along to try it out. The guide reached in, stuck it in one of the cracks and left it to cook. From there he showed us a spot where we could climb down inside the rock and feel the warmth. A small cave with a crack to the outside, it was a lot like a sauna - warm, somehow dry but humid at the same time, and a bit stuffy. 

Probably the best part, however, was the friend we made at the top of the volcano. 

An adorable little dog, living all by herself on this volcano, greeted us when we arrived. Incredibly friendly, she took to me (and likely the food in my pocket). Despite the fact that she didn't have any owners, and if she did they wouldn't speak English, she sat when I told her to and even shook a paw. 

I wanted to keep her. The authorities, however, would have an issue with this I'm sure, so I had to say goodbye and leave her there all by herself. 

Back down the volcano we went, the loose terrain and the downward slope speeding up our descent. 

A realization that would later become even more obvious, I am apparently part billy goat, as I made my way down the hill in about 45 min, while Meg opted to be a bit more cautious. 

We waited for our bus and when it arrived we boarded, found a seat at the back and settled in for the dark drive back. 

Koh Phi Phi Lookout

Despite going to bed at somewhere around 4am, I got myself up at 7:30 am and gathered up my camera and headed to the view point. I wasn’t sure exactly where to go but there were signs pointing the way so it wasn’t hard to figure out.

At the end of the normal street, there was a set of stairs that went straight up, and I couldn’t even see where they ended. I started to climb. Up and up and up I went, the odd slight curve in the stairs but for the most part straight up the side of the hill/mountain. Eventually I got to a look out point with a couple of benches to rest on. I was the only one there so I snapped a few photos and saw a couple signs pointing to “Lookout 1” and “Lookout 2” so I started to follow them. Instead of stairs this time, it was a paved path that was on a 40 degree angle that I had to go up. Up up up some more I went, glad that I decided to do this trek in the early morning and not at high noon, since it was already feeling like it was over 30 degrees.

After about 20 minutes of hiking I reached the top of the hill, where a little guesthouse and restaurant was located. There was an outcropping of rocks so I climbed up on them and took a seat to enjoy the view.  There was a man, who evidently worked at the guesthouse, outside sweeping and tidying up around the establishment.  He asked me where I was from and I told him Canada – to which he replied there sure seemed to be a lot of us on Koh Phi Phi. I agreed, thinking of the massive group we were with the day before.  He told me that there had been a massive storm in the morning, around 5 am, when the sun was coming up. However, since the sun had come up behind the storm, there had been a fantastic rainbow that was visible from the view point. I told him I was really sad to have missed such a sight.

I spent about 20 minutes just sitting and staring out over the island. One the left hand side was the port, where we’d arrived into. There were boats docked out in the harbour area, and boats all along the shore. On the right side was the bay that all the bars were located along, where we had spent the first night partying and swimming.  The actual town was situated on a very small sand bar between the two bays, and on either side of the sand bar were massive hills like the one I had climbed to catch this fantastic view.

I started back down the hill, deciding to maybe go swim in the water before we left the island that afternoon.  When I got back down to the lower view point to where the stairs began I started to count each step, curious to know exactly how many steps I had climbed to get up here (not to mention the paved portion of the path up to the official view point).  I must have looked kinda crazy, counting as I went down but considering I was the only person on the path at 8:30 in the morning I wasn’t too worried about it.

Eventually I reached the bottom.... 325 steps later.  It seemed completely ridiculous that I had just climbed up that many stairs. But, as I said before, it was completely worth it.

I wandered to the beach, and walked along with my feel in the water. There were a lot of jelly fish, however, so I ended up not swimming after all. I sat down, tried to take as many mental pictures as possible and just enjoyed the moment before heading back to the hotel to get the boys up and moving.

I thought maybe when I got back to the room the guys would be up and moving, but I was wrong. I’d left the key behind, in case they needed it,  so I wasn’t able to get in. I banged on the door and was surprised to see the room still dark and both boys still laying in bed barely functioning.  I told them I’d be back in a bit, and left to go hang out near the cafe with the internet.

After about half an hour I went back to the hotel and started to get the boys moving. We decided to find some food and then come back and check out officially.  We made our way over to the fruit shake stand that we had gone to the day before and ordered up some drinks. I had already had one that morning, when I had gone to check out the internet, but for the equivalent of $1.10 I really couldn’t pass up the chance to have another.

While drinking our drinks we saw the guys we’d been hanging out with and asked what their plans were. The guys from Edmonton were heading to Koh Tao, and the German was thinking of heading back to Phuket, so asked if he could join us. We said no problem. 

Because we had to be at the airport at noon the next day to catch our flight to Bangkok, our only option was to head back to the main land that afternoon, since the ferry likely wouldn’t give us enough time to get back in order to catch our flight.  Unhappy with Patong Beach, we opted to spend the night in Phuket Town, tagging along with some other Germans that the guys had met while they were out without me.  They already had a room booked at the On On hotel, the hotel that was used in the filming of The Beach.

This was quickly turning into a Leonardo DiCaprio vacation – first we watched Titantic on the flat screen at the beach bar, we visited Maya Bay, and now we were going to sleep where they filmed the hostel scenes of the movie.

We went back to the hotel and  packed up our stuff, left it to pick up later and went to book our ferry tickets back to Phuket. We had about an hour to kill before having to be at the port so we opted to just hang out and do a bit of shopping at the little stalls before heading to the pier.

The sky had started to cloud over since my walk up to the view point that morning, and it looked like it might start to rain. We’d been extremely lucky so far while on Koh Phi Phi, with the only rain happening while we were sleeping (or should have been sleeping). The wind had also picked up, which was sort of nice as it helped with the feeling incredibly sticky from all the humidity.

We took off for the pier, said our goodbyes to the guys from Edmonton, and climbed aboard the ferry. There weren’t a lot of people on the boat so we each took our own seats and tried to make ourselves comfortable.

Unfortunately the wind that was so nice on the shore was creating some pretty serious waves on the water. The boat bounced up and down, sometimes pretty harshly. Somehow I managed to sleep most of the way, despite the fact that my head was hitting against the window of the ferry off and on. Some people on the boat weren’t so lucky though, and were throwing up off the back of the boat. Eric made sure to tell us that even the baby behind him was throwing up.

Along with the rough waters, the rain had also started. Eventually we docked the boat and gathered our stuff. We scrambled off the boat to the pier to stay dry and jumped in our van to take us to the hostel.

Thailand in 3.5 Minutes

While I'm struggling to get my blog updated (being back to work seems to make this difficult!) here's a video of our whole trip in 3.5 min, courtesy of Ren. The music used was recorded in Chiang Mai at the Sunday Market, played by a couple of buskers in the middle of the street.

Enjoy!

Hiking and Hilltribes in Northern Thailand - Day 2

The next morning we woke up early, around 5am. The guys wandered around the village taking pictures while I attempted to catch up on my writing. I wrote for about an hour, then wandered around the village myself before heading back to the hut to have a nap. We all fell back asleep from about 7:30 til 9am when we got up for breakfast.

The family had prepared us some breakfast consisting of toast (with an interesting wood-fire flavour) and butter and jam, hard boiled eggs and tea and/or instant coffee. Starving, we each ate at least 3 pieces of toast. While we ate we discussed the art of raising chickens, and how does one know who's chickens are who's, as we watched birds roaming about the dirt floor.

We got ourselves ready for our morning of hiking to the spot where we would hop on a bamboo raft to go down the Mekong river. I managed to fit my camera bag into my backpack (and swearing that on my next trip I wouldn't pack so much) and filled up my water bottle. My clothes had finally dried to a point that allowed me to put them back on without cringing at the feeling of dampness against my body. One more walk around town to snap some photos and we were off on the next leg of our journey.

The first leg of the hike was up. Up. UP. A lot of up. And my muscles still hurt from the day before. So I'll admit I was a little bit whiny. However, I was pretty happy when we started going down down down not long after that. The steepness of the hill wasn't overly enjoyable but it gave me a chance to use different muscles at least.

Eventually we came to a little rest spot near the water. We all had another can of beer Chang (probably not the best rehydration tactic, but sooo delicious) and sat with our feet in the water. As we sat there it started to rain, but none of us bothered to move... instead we just laid back on the rocks and let the rain fall on us and cool us off.

We hung out at the rest spot for about 20 min before getting back on our feet and making our way to the main road. At some point Tony Montana pulled out his cell phone, rattled off some words in Thai and next thing we knew there was a pickup truck waiting for us. We piled into the truck completely unsure of where we were going next.

The truck took us to a little roadside stop where we got out and were instructed to put our stuff down. Lunch was to be served before going on our bamboo raft trip. We had no idea what to expect in terms of food, but figured it would probably be delicious. And it was. Very simple fried noodles and veggies were presented to us and we devoured them.

As we ate our food we watched a pair of children come over and inspect the camera that Ren was making on his Go Pro video camera. They just kept staring into it and we all watched, amused and excited about what might come of it on the video.

When we were done eating we piled into the back of the truck again, this time joined by a few more people - a couple from Canada and a guy from France. They too were doing a trek and the bamboo raft ride. We drove to the raft take off spot, unloaded ourselves (leaving our gear in the car) and went down to the river. The rafts were waiting for us so we climbed aboard, myself at the front right behind the "driver", Ren in the middle and Eric in the back .

As we took off down the river all of a sudden the "driver" (gondolier? Raft man?) started laughing and pointing at my lap. I was a bit concerned what on earth he could be seeing that was causing him such enjoyment and looked down. There, on the raft was a black and brown frog, apparently coming along for the ride. Ever the animal lover, I picked him up and we became friends.  He couldn't have cared less that he was sitting on me, infact was completely content to just hang out on my knee or hand while we floated downstream.

The ride itself was awesome, very peaceful and giving us a completely different perspective of the area. We floated past a few "beach" spots - areas where the locals would come to to hang out by the water with their friends on bamboo platforms. We'd wave and they'd wave back . We went over a waterfall (thankfully not too big) and got wet. And it felt awesome.

When we reached the end of the ride we all climbed back up on shore and back to our truck. The driver took us back to Chiang Mai and dropped us off at the hostel. We said goodbye to the people we'd met and gathered our stuff from the locked room and headed off to shower before heading down to the Lost Hut for some well deserved beer Changs.

Trekking and Hilltribes in Northern Thailand - Day 1

The tour bus dropped us off on the side of the road to begin our hike. We set out straight across the road and immediately up a hill that felt to be 90 degrees but likely was only about 30. However with the 20lbs of stuff (camera, clothes etc) it was far from easy especially with my leg muscles burning from clinging to the back of an elephant for the last 2 hours.

Eventually the path evened out but not for too long. Up and up we climbed, my lungs burning part from exertion and part just from my shoulder bag crushing my chest. 

The scenery, however was totally worth the effort. Rolling green hills went on for miles,turning a hazy blue in the distance, the humidity clouding the horizon. 

Up and down through the hill we went,  ducking under branches and dodging the odd spider blocking the path.When we started our journey we'd acquired a follower - a little hilltribe dog that trotted along in front of us the whole way. He'd run ahead, and then come back to find us.

We trekked for about an hour and a bit before coming out into a clearing with a few little bamboo huts set up for people to sleep in. Straight ahead was a huge waterfall. Exhausted we all sat down to enjoy the sound of the water crashing over the rocks and the nice cold refreshingness of a can of Chang. (Beer Chang as it's always referred to in Thailand).

soooo sweaty!

Because the sun disappears early in Thailand we didn't stop for too long. About 20 min of rest and we were back on our feet on the way to the hilltribe village. We only had to walk about half an hour before reaching the village, which I think we were all ecstatic about. The last trek up the hill leading into the village seemed to be never ending.

As we walked up the hill we were greeted by some people from the village, a trio sitting on the front "porch" of a hut drinking mystery liquid from a communal glass. Tony Montana, our wonderful guide, introduced us and taught us the hilltribe word for "hello". We all said hello and were offered a drink from the glass. I took a sip.. it tasted like vodka, or whisky... kind of smooth with a definite burning after taste. I passed it onto the boys doing my best to not shudder from the taste.

Saying goodbye to the villagers on the porch, we walked to what would be our home for the night. We were instructed to put our stuff in the cabin and that dinner would be served shortly. We walked up into our cabin and were greeted with about 5 mats on the ground and mosquito netting hanging from the ceiling. We each picked a mat and dropped our stuff on the ground. I immediately draped my sweat drenched clothes over the lines hanging in the room to attempt to dry them out before our trek the next day... and realized I didn't have any other dry clothes. So, on went my bathing suit top and I wrapped myself in my pashmina scarf. Sometimes you just gotta make do.

We went down to the table in the "yard" to eat dinner. The family had been hard at work putting together a meal of rice, massamon curry and stir fried veggies. We were shown the cooler with the drinks in it and told to mark off what we bought and we could pay the next day. Apparently starving, we each had multiple servings of the wonderful food while discussing the day's events up until that point. We marveled at all the things we'd done and how many more things we still had yet to do.

After eating we were invited into the family's main  living area. We decided to play cards. First a game of Asshole/Shithead and then a hilltribe game called "Black Magic". A simple enough game to play, Tony Montana explained the rules to us: Each person is dealt a card. Ace is low, Kings are high and unbeatable. You look at your card and decide if you want to keep it. If it's low enough you can trade it with the person beside you, unless they have a King, in which case you can't. Once everyone has traded you turn your card over. The winner is the holder of the highest card. And he gets the honour of performing "Black Magic" on the loser.

Photo Courtesy of Ren Bostelaar

In this case "Black Magic" means rubbing their finger on a sooty pot bottom and drawing on the losers face in whatever way they see fit.

I did great for the first couple rounds. And then I lost. Repeatedly.

By the end of the game I was covered in soot and looked like the guy from V for Vendetta. Lovely.
But it was a lot of fun, it really was. Even more fun was being able to wash my face off with face cleaner without truly running water.

We all went to bed soon after that, our elephant and hiking muscles completely exhausted from the amount of work they got. I'm not usually one for super hard beds but the fact that I had a place to rest my weary body meant that I fell asleep fairly quickly.

Outline of Peru Trip

It's getting close now - only about 4 days til I'm on a plane and heading to some warmer weather!

So that everyone knows where I'm going to be and what I'm going to be doing, here's my itinerary:

November 26 - Depart Canada

Leaving Toronto at 16:35pm - will be spending the entire day at Pearson though - so glad they now have free wireless!

November 27 -  Arrive Cuzco

Arrive in Lima and then transfer to Cuzco. The G.A.P guide will meet us at the airport and then take us to the hotel. Lots of time to unpack and relax before a welcome dinner in the evening.

November 28 - Cuzco

After breakfast, you’ll have the option to either do a horseback riding tour outside of Cuzco to nearby ruins or you can take park in a mountain biking tour if you think horseback riding is too tame. Overnight in Cuzco.

Thinking I might take the horseback riding option, since it's been ages since I got to ride a horse and perhaps I can take some fun pictures that won't result in me wiping out and breaking bones.

November 29 -  Cuzco / Ccaccaccollo

Free morning. Then, at midday, transfer to Ccaccaccollo and meet families. In the afternoon, volunteer at a project in the community.  Overnight homestay.

Don't know the specifics on the homestay but I'm pretty excited about this!

November 30 – Ccaccaccollo / Aguas Calientes

Continue volunteering with the community in the morning. In the afternoon, transfer to Ollantaytambo for the train to Aguas Clientes. If time allows, you can visit Machu Picchu in the afternoon on your own or you can just take in the thermal baths of the areas or even do some shopping in the local market. Overnight in Aguas Calientes. 

Ooo... market shopping... guess where everyone's Christmas presents are coming from this year!

December 1 -  Machu Picchu / Cuzco

Rise early to take advantage of viewing Machu Picchu in the early morning light. This is the best time to view the ‘Lost City of the Incas’. Our local guide will provide a detailed interpretation of the Inca history before the majority of other tourists arrive at midday.  For those looking for a bit more adventure, you can also choose to climb Wayna Picchu, an arduous hour climb that offers a spectacular bird’s eye view of the ancient site.  We’ll head back to Cuzco in the afternoon. Overnight in Cuzco.

Pretty sure "early" is tour-code for 4am. Hiking Wayna Picchu sounds like a good idea, since I really should be able to claim I've done some sort of hiking in Peru!

December 2 – Cuzco

Free day in Cuzco to do as you please.  We can help arrange a whitewater rafting tour if you wish, a city tour, a visit to our community project in Cuzco or maybe you just want to take in a cocoa tea at one of the sidewalk cafes surrounding the Plaza de Armas. Overnight in Cuzco.

So many options! Whitewater rafting would be amazing... but I do love a good cafe!

December 3 – Cuzco / Lima

After breakfast, you’ll transfer back to the airport for your early morning flight to Lima at 0900, arriving in Lima at 1025.    You’ll be met at the airport and shown the sites of Lima by our local guide.  With a population of over 10 million people, Lima is a bustling metropolis that has a lot to offer.  Many people think, “who’d want to stay in Lima?” . There is great shopping, a beautiful coastline, wonderful restaurants, museums and nearby ruins.  We’ll end the evening with a farewell dinner at Huaca Pucllana.  This restaurant is famous in Lima as it overlooks the ruins of the same name and makes for a perfect location for our farewell dinner.

December 4 - Depart Lima/Arrive home

Departing from Lima late at night and arriving back home to Toronto midday.