We found PARADISE in Guatemala! 🇬🇹 (48 hours at Semuc Champey)

We spent the last couple weeks exploring Guatemala for the first time. From the beautiful shores of Lake Atilan to the colorful streets of Antigua, plus hiking to an active volcano. And for our final couple days in the country, we're in Samuk Champe, a stunning paradise tucked in the jungle with vibrant turquoise pools. This is paradise. Lush mountain scenery and some very sketchy and exhilarating activities. This kind of thing would never be legal in the US. This is so wild. But getting here was quite the journey. First, we took a beautiful 8-hour shuttle from Antigua to Lancin, the main town, for some mukchamp. And then we hopped into the back of Akamoneta, which is the common form of transportation here, to head to our lodging. I've been so excited for this part. This is hilarious. Pretty sure we could have sat in the truck, but this seems like the more local way to get around. safe? Probably not, but so much fun. I just love all the transportation methods here in Guatemala. They are so fun. It is so pretty out here. Already totally worth the 8 hour shuttle ride. Wa! Oh gosh! Entertainment has ended. Here we go. Flashbacks to our launcher ride. All right, we made it. What an adventure. Today, our plan is to explore the popular sites here in Semuk Champe. And first we're heading up to Elm Miridor to overlook the area's iconic scenery. Last night it rained and it was the loudest and most intense rain I have heard in my entire life. It was so cool, but it is making the rocks very slick this morning. Wa! Oh, wow. It's just as beautiful as all the photos. Oh, wow. Holy cow. Dang, that is so beautiful. The water is so blue. This is paradise. Semuk Champe translates to where the river hides beneath the earth in the Mayan Kekchi language. And it's home to a 300 m long limestone bridge which the Kahabon River runs underneath. While on top you'll find a series of turquoise pools and small waterfalls. This kind of reminds me of Havasupai in Arizona with just the clear bright blue water except in the jungle instead of the desert. But man, it is humid and muggy today and we are dripping in sweat. So, it's time to head down there and go for a swim. Fresh cocoa. So, just near the overlook, there's a family selling fresh coconuts. I'm not always the biggest fan of coconut water. Very refreshing. So, they have restrooms and changing rooms here. And if you're wondering where to keep your stuff when you're swimming, they have lockers. However, you do have to bring your own lock. And I've noticed that many of these do not have a spot to put a lock. So, make sure to get here early to snag one of them. So, we just put most of our stuff in here. And then we also brought a dry bag so we can bring some stuff closer to the water and hopefully keep it dry. It's very cloudy today, so we weren't sure if the water would be too cold, but after how much we sweat earlier, I think it's going to feel amazing. Oh, yeah. This feels good. It's slick getting in here, even with shoes on. It's chilly, but it does feel good. Oh. All right, we're just going to send it. Yeah. Oh, that feels so good. I'm not a fan of cold water, but this is perfect. Oh, it's so deep. I can't stand. This is awesome. Heat. Heat. There are a bunch of pools here. Some of them are huge while others are kind of more tucked away and tiny. We got here right when they opened at 8:00 and hardly anyone was here. And it's now after 11:00 and the tour groups are starting to arrive. But there is still tons of space to swim and hang out. I cannot think of a more magical place to swim. So, besides the coconuts, there's no actual food inside the park, but just outside of the park, there are tons of stands grilling meats and selling plates. We just walked down the road and found a random one. And for 35 kale, we got this plate of food with rice, like some sloth, beans, chicken, tortillas, and kind of looks like spaghetti. And one very important thing to know about this area is that it is cash only. So make sure to bring tons of cash with you. There is an ATM in Lanke, but we hear that it is broken often. So make sure to get money in your previous destination before coming here. And also one thing that's been kind of a struggle here in Guatemala is small bills. A lot of the smaller vendors, transportation, they want small bills, but the ATMs give you 100. So we've been having to just buy random stuff to get smaller bills the whole trip. That's actually some really good grilled chicken. Tortillas and salad, too. As always, getting random food from a stand on the side of the street that you can't read reviews on beforehand. It's a tad risky, but it tastes good. We're going to hope that it doesn't come back to haunt us later. So, you can book a tour to take you to everywhere that we're exploring today. But since we're staying just a quick walk away, we decided to explore the main area of Simuk Champa on our own. But for our final two activities, you are required to have a guide. So, we hired a local named Rudy through our Airbnb. And for our first stop, we're heading to the Kba Caves, which should be an adventure. Oh, you look cool. It smells good. Yeah, wait. So, the unique thing about this tour is that we are going through the cave with just candle light. Oh, and the cave is filled with water. Wa! Yeah, that is cold. And unlike the water in the swimming area, you cannot see the bottom. So, it's kind of hard to know where to step. Kicking it old school with the candles. I feel like Indiana Jones or something. We're about to go almost neck deep in water right now through this cave with Jess's candle. My candle is dripping on my finger and it's burning me. This is so creepy. There's a rope to hold on to. I am shoulders deep in water right now. This kind of thing would never be legal in the US. This is so wild. I can't even touch the bottom anymore. Now we're about to climb a ladder. I'm kind of glad it's dark so I can't totally tell what's happening. This is the perfect mix of fun, adrenaline pumping, and also terrifying. This reminds me of our Vietnam adventure, but with zero harnesses and pretty much zero safety. I'm glad we have multiple candles cuz the running low. Oh, wow. This is so cool. So, we're at a waterfall and you can't see it because it's so dark in here. You have the choice to climb up it with a rope or a ladder. There is no way to climb on that rope. No, I'm not doing that. Oh my god, that was so much fun. We now have the option to jump off the cave wall into a pool of water. The lowest option is one meter, which is what Adam's going to do. I think I'm going to crazy and scary. Oh my god. Oh, the final part of the tour. You can go down this tunnel or hole with the water. It's like pretty tight. I think we're going to skip that one. Not doing that. We survived the cave. Oh my gosh. One of the craziest things I've ever done. I I kind of put that up there with the via. That was wild. At least the via actually has safety measures. That was truly an adventure. My arms and my hands are covered in wax and the GoPro is covered in wax. And now it's time to go tubing. We headed down to where the river reemerges from under Samuk Champ's limestone bridge and the goal get to the middle of the river so the current takes us downream. Okay, let's go. Okay. Why am I not going? This has been a lot harder than I thought it would be. I am so far from the entire group. I'm the last one. Oh gosh, we have some rabbits. All right, reunited. The river is much calmer now, so this is the perfect way to relax after that wild cave experience. Yeah. Thank you, Rudy. When planning our trip to Guatemala, we had read kind of mixed things if Samuk Champe was worth visiting, mostly just because of how long it takes to get here. And even after our shuttle ride yesterday, I knew it was going to be worth it just from the scenery we saw along the way. And today sealed the deal. It was so much fun exploring today. 1,000% worth it. I am so glad we came here. And the best part is we still have another full day here. The most common area to stay when visiting Seamuk Champe is in Lancin, which is about 30 minutes away, but we're staying just a short walk away from the main sites at Bontio Guest House, which means thank you in the Maya Kekchi language. And this place is awesome. The hosts are super nice and helpful, and the property has a common area plus a dining area where they serve breakfast and dinner for an extra fee. All of the meals have been delicious so far. Plus, there are super cute rescue dogs. They have a few different accommodations here, but we're in one of their tree houses. So, inside the treehouse, we have this living and sleeping area. We have a nice comfy bed and then a couple different chairs to sit in. And one thing I love about the treehouse are all of the windows. Three out of four walls are just completely covered in windows. And I love the materials it's made out of. It's basically all wood, but then you have this beautiful stone wall right here. But one very important thing to know about the treehouse is that it is mostly off-grid. There are no wall outlets, but they do have this battery bank which is powered by solar which you can plug your phones into to charge. And it's how the two lights in here work. So they have a switch for each one. one for the lamp in the living room and then one for the light in the bathroom. And when we got here, it was at 100%. So, it's worked totally great. But just in case it's not, we'd recommend bringing some portable battery banks as well as some headlamps, especially if you want to walk around at night cuz it's very dark out here. And then if you go behind the stone wall, you enter the bathroom. And I love this bathroom. The entire thing is made out of stone. So, you just have all these stone walls, stone floors. The shower is just completely stone. And it just feels perfect for the jungle. But the best part may be when you're sitting down on the toilet, you have an amazing view right in front of you. And speaking of views, our favorite part about this spot is the scenery. This property is tucked into the jungle with beautiful views of the mountains and trees. And besides the windows, there's also a deck outside. It has been so fun to sit out here listening to all the birds and the occasional rooster cockadoo. What do they do? Cockadoodle He's in there laughing at me. So, we did most of the popular things to do at Simuk Champa yesterday, but since it's such a trek to get here, we decided to spend two full days here, which I would highly, highly recommend. And today, our plan is to head back to the pools for a morning and afternoon of swimming, reading, and relaxing. The sun's out today, so the water is even more blue and it feels warmer out, so it'll feel even better. Woo! The little fish in the water love just nipping at my toenails and my feet. It tickles near the entrance of the park. There's a bunch of young hustlers and entrepreneurs trying to sell you stuff and trying to get you to eat at their little tiendas and stuff. But there's a little boy that we met yesterday walking back to the Airbnb selling chocolate. We didn't want him yesterday, but we got him today. We got four for 10. And speaking of chocolate, our Airbnb host has connected us with one of his Maya neighbors. And for the rest of the day, we're going over to their house to learn how to make chocolate. So, we're going to have lots of chocolate in our lives. That's really good. Will ours be better? Yeah. Will ours that we make here in a bit better? This is the cacao plant, which is where chocolate begins. The seeds are picked, fermented, dried, and then roasted, which here is done directly over the fire. And while the cacao was roasting, sugar was ground up on a matateé until it became a fine powder. We even got to give this a try. Next up, we were tasked with helping to remove the shells off the beans, which was harder than it looked. You can eat the roasted ones. And then it was time for the labor of love, grinding the chocolate. And we were not prepared for just how much physical work this takes. As the cacao is ground repeatedly, it goes from bean form to sort of like a powder to the consistency of brownie batter to more liquidy. She was working so incredibly hard. We got to try some of it ourselves. And let's just say she made it look smooth and easy. And after adding in sugar and our flavor of choice, we left with our own half pound of handmade chocolate. All right, we got to pick our flavor between chili, milk, cinnamon, and cardamom. Still very liquidy. It looks like brownie batter. Yeah. Oh man. Need a spoon, I guess. Just scoop the finger in. M. I got chili. It's got just the right amount of spice. Just a little kick in there. Oh, but it tastes like so pure like the raw the chocolate, the raw chili. So like on the freshest chocolate you could ever taste. We cannot think of a better place to end our adventures here in Guatemala. It was the perfect mix of relaxing and adventure. And that's exactly how we describe Guatemala as a whole. Before coming here, the people we told that we were going to be visiting Guatemala responded with why or what's there to do there? But what an amazing country. It's home to gorgeous scenery, epic hikes and experiences, and colorful and lively towns, plus wonderful and friendly people. We loved it here, and we will definitely be coming back because one, we have unfinished business with that volcano, and two, we really want to spend a couple weeks or a month just living in Guatemala and doing a Spanish immersion school because one of my life goals is to become fluent in Spanish. And every time we go to a Spanish-sp speakaking country, I'm just like a deer in headlights. And I'm tired of that feeling. I want to be able to communicate. But tomorrow we begin our kind of long multi-day trekk back to the US where we're going to be reunited with Kona. Hi, baby. Oh, hi baby. Oh, hi baby. And then we'll be hopping back in the van for the summer to head back out west and up to Canada.