The journey to Semuc Champey is not easy. A bus ride from Antigua, via the capital, takes you to Coban. Here an overnight stay is pretty much necessary, with little to do except gaze at a very odd piece of 60's style run-down public art. From there, a 3 hour mini-bus ride takes you to Lanquin. And from there, it's a crazy 40 min pick up ride to the oasis. But once you make it... wow! Arguably the most idyllic places to take a dip in the world. In the freshest, clearest water - surrounded by jungle and waterfalls. Absolutely top class.Right next door you can partake in one of the oddest experiences the world has to offer, in the Grutas de Lanquin. This comprised a fairly hardcore 2 hour caving experience, involving squeezing, swimming, climbing and jumping, two kilometres underground in serious bat land, undertaken with nothing more than a cheap candle for light and in board-shorts or a bikini (I chose the former). Ridiculous and all the more sensational because of it.
Both activities are bundled in a one-day package from the fantastic El Retiro lodge near Lanqin - described by one Aussie guest as a backpacker resort (with big communal buffets, little mix with the outside world, wooden cabins and a riverside setting, the description is fitting). Rather than pay a 125Q for the convenience of the tour, we decided to DIY. Saving a massive 15Q seemed pretty smart early in the day. But that was before missing the last pick-up and being forced to walk all the way home along an unimaginably hilly dirt road, in the dark and a tropical downpour. In thongs and those chaffing boardies. Not the best three hours of my trip.
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