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Well, there has been a change in plans. I spoke with Joann Dwyer Sunday evening after arriving in Panajachel and she informed me that the work in Chi Chi had been cancelled and that she would not have anything for me to do until Saturday. I was left with an entire week to find something to do, so I decided to head North to Semuc Champey to enjoy it's emerald pools, waterfalls, and caves.

A Change In Plans

Jeremy Curl
2006-08-28 16:48:32

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everyone getting a candle except for me; I brought a glow stick with string and wore it around my neck (I would highly recommend).

We waded our way, waist high in water, into the mouth of the cave with bats flying all around our heads. Soon the water was to deep to stand, so everyone had to swim with one hand and use the other to hold the candle above the water. Now candles do not put off as much light as a flashlight, so it was quite dark and the water that was up to our necks was a bit chilly. We made our way back into the cave for an hour; sometimes fully swimming and other times just wading. We came to a waterfall where there was a ladder off to one side and a knotted rope going up through the falls. We all had a choice whether to take the ladder (like a chicken) or to go up the rope. Of course we all chose the rope which was quite fun. We made our way back further until we reached a pool with cascades and cliffs on the walls of the cave. The guide, weighing a buck 40 and 5 ft in height, had everyone stand around the pool as he climbed up onto one of the cliffs. He jumped off
and disappeared into the dark pool of water. Suddenly he popped his head up through a little hole in the rock that we all stood on. He had swam underwater and come up through the hole that was about 2ft in diameter. Next it was all of our turns. I climbed up first and the guide pointed his light where I had to jump. If you jumped too far you landed in rocks and if you jumped too high you hit stalactites (besides that it was extremely safe). I made my jump with no problem and headed underwater for the hole, but I couldn't fit through and hit my head. Everyone else went next and were able to fit through the hole after coming up for a breath. Now I was determined to do it, so I jumped back in (Mom, don't read this next part). The group all warned me not to try because they had barely squeezed through and they didn't think it was possible for me, but of course ...