Welcome to paradise

I've been able to see and experience some amazing things in the past few days. I arrived to coban a few nights ago and promptly left for lanquin and semuc champey the next morning. I got to semuc at about 11 and swam until the parked closed at 5. This place is probably the most magical place I've ever been to. Semuc is a series of crystal clear aqua-green pools with small cliffs and waterfalls to jump off. What makes it even more incredible is that I sits on top of a powerful river rushing underneath it.

The next day I took a tour of the b.... Caves. This was a very special tour because it required wading and swimming a kilometer deep while holding a candle as your light source. The cave is actually 11 km long. After this I went and explored the lanquin caves. The chambers were huge and home to hundreds of thousands of bats. I was at the cave at dusk, which is the best time to see all the bats flying out into the night.

The next morning I took the long trip up to Flores. I took a shuttle bus full of people from all over the world. None from the us. I also met many people at semuc and Tikal (where I was today) from all over the world.... But none from the us. I found that kind of odd. Anyway, I uad some time to walk around Flores last night, and I have to say that it is the most beautiful town I've been to yet... It's very nice here, but is also very touristy. Many very nice restaurants that are way out of my price range and some nice cafes.

Today I caught a shuttle at 6am to go to Tikal, probably the best place to see Mayan ruins anywhere. I'm glad I went early, the ruins were spectacular, and I had them all to myself. Crowds of people started pouring in around 10. I was at the park for 7 hours... If that gives you any idea of how big the place is. I'm not totally sure what I'm doing tomorrow yet. I think I'll probably go to livingston... A town that is supposed to be much different than the rest of guatemala and much more like Jamaica or other caribean places. Hope you enjoy the pictures.