After a smooth flight into Sao Paulo, Brazil, I checked into the lovely Laghetto Stilo Sao Paulo for a bit of ‘luxury’ before my 13 hr flight to Guatemala. Sao Paulo is a huge city and not one of my favorites in Brazil, but the Laghetto Stilo was a nice respite for the night; I particularly enjoyed the complimentary champagne, coffee, flavored water, and candies upon check in.
The next morning, in usual fashion, I set out to explore and walk the city, which turned out to be a mini discovery of Brazil’s cultural diversity. Just by chance, my hotel was hosting a Arab/Brazilian festival and at the nearby Parque Ibirapuera, there was an African festival happening with music, dancing and exhibits. After a few hours of festival hopping, I ventured further into the city and stumbled upon Sao Paulo’s Little Tokyo, which was a street packed with people, vendors and shops selling everything from trinkets to Japanese street food.
By early evening, it was time for me to head to the airport and set off for my flight to Guatemala via Houston.
Brazil is a country I’ve visited twice prior to this stopover and each time I fall more in love with it. There is something about its raw passion and cultural diversity (along with its undeniable beauty) that speaks to my soul. While Sao Paulo was nothing like Rio and had little to offer in terms of adventure, it was still a great way to spend a layover.
Uruguay to Guatemala isn’t exactly the most direct travel route and some of you may wonder why I put Guatemala on my trip list? What was the sense behind that particular geographic route? My trip to Guatemala was chosen for 2 reasons: 1) it was the only country I’d not yet visited in Central America and, 2) my family was joining me there for the Thanksgiving Holiday. I planned 15 days total for my trip, as some parts of Guatemala required a long drive time to visit, specifically the famous Natural Monument, Semuc Champey, a major bucket list item for me. While my entire family did not join me for the full 15 days (my parents did not want to endure the long car/bus travel time to the northern parts of the country), my younger sister, being an adventurous sort, decided to join my travels 5 days before the rest of the family arrived in Guatemala.
After my layover in Houston it was a quick 2.5 flight into Guatemala City. I had previously booked my ticket using flight miles, scoring a Polaris class ticket on United. The flight from Sao Paulo to Houston was almost 10 hours and I had a 3.5 hour layover in Houston before my flight to Guatemala. Polaris class proved its weight in gold as I was able to use the lounge in Houston for a proper breakfast and shower during my layover. As my sister’s flight arrived almost at the same time as mine we passed through customs and immigration together, which was very smooth and quick, with only a QR code required upon entry for customs. I had arranged for a car to meet us at the airport and soon we were on our way to what would be our home base for the next 4 nights, the city of Coban, Guatemala. Why Coban? Coban is 5 hours by car from Guatemala City and unreachable by air; however, its’ location provides a good central launching point for Semuc Champey and Bombil Pek, both within a 2 hour drive (each way) from Coban. Additionally, an 8+ hour drive to Semuc Champey after a 13 hour flight was much less appealing to me than a 5 hour drive and a comfortable stay in a hotel, so Coban it was.
The car I hired was basic, a 4 door Nissan, but sufficient and both my sister and I were glad for 5 hours of travel instead of 8+, as the roads were as windy and full of traffic as my research promised. Almost the entirety of the 5 hour trip was spent on two lane roads passing big, slow trucks, tuk tuks, motorbikes and stray dogs. Upon arrival to the city of Coban, my impression of was not favorable as the city itself didn’t have much to offer and was a bit dirty, run down and smoggy. However, this impression was quickly proven wrong….
Our hotel in Coban, Casa Gaia, turned out to be an incredibly lovely diamond in the rough. Even after extensive research, I found almost no lodging options outside of basic hostels in the area and while the reviews and photos of the hotel seemed acceptable, they were somewhat limited, so I had relatively low expectations. However, immediately upon arrival, I could tell that my instincts and planning had worked out in my favor. The hotel was small, with only 12 rooms, set on an extensive garden landscape. The grounds and building were gorgeous, peaceful and tranquil, full of foliage and nature. The staff was super kind and helpful and our room was both clean and comfortable. All for $47/night! My sister and I settled in and made a quick trip to the on site restaurant for dinner, which was also surprisingly cheap and delicious
I had not booked the tours to Semuc Champey and Bombil Pek prior to my arrival in Coban, but had communicated with the hotel previously about tours to both and they indicated it would be easy to book upon arrival at the hotel. At check in I confirmed tours to both parks, starting with Bombil Pik for the first day and then Semuc Champey for the second. As our tour was to start at 9am the next day, my sister and I turned in early for the night.
The next morning, after a delicious breakfast at the hotel, our tour guide met us and we headed off to Bombil Pek, a park with caves for hiking and rappelling. The drive to the park’s entrance was 2 hours long on the same windy, two lane roads we experienced on our drive in from the airport. This time it also rained the entire way, which was a surprise to me as November was supposed to be dry season in Guatemala. I began to wonder if the tour would be cancelled as the rain only seemed to intensify as we got closer and closer to the park. Unbeknownst to me, Coban is rainy year round, unlike the rest of the country, and my tour guide had no intentions of cancelling. When we arrived at the park’s ‘entrance’ (merely a covered park bench off the side of the road) and our guide indicated that we should put on our gear and start the trek to the caves.
The tour included treks to two caves and a rappel, for a total of 2.5 hours, not including drive time. Our guide did not instruct us on equipment to wear or bring prior to the tour, but I was glad I had a rain jacket as it was about to be put to good use! The trek to the first cave was a muddy, wet 40 minute hike and when we got to the entrance, which was pretty much a hole in the ground covered in leaves, our tour guide, decked out properly in rain boots and a plastic bag rain jacket, handed us flashlights and led us into the cave.
The interior of the caves was muddy and wet, but the scenery was well worth it as it was only my sister and myself in the cave and no other tourists around to spoil our experience. After a good 20 minutes of exploring, we climbed out of the cave and back into the rain for another 20 minute hike to the second cave that we would rappel 80 meters down into. The rappel site consisted of a small wooden platform and a metal 5 rung ladder. To perform the rappel one had to walk backwards on the platform and ladder while feeding the rope with one hand and guiding yourself down with the other. To do this while soaking wet on a very slippery surface was slightly precarious, to say the least, but the rappel down into the cave was worth the risk – what a rush!
After the rappel, our guide started to walk us into the second cave to explore. At this point, my sister and I were a bit tired of being wet and muddy and not really up for another, dirty, sticky climb. However, our guide tried to assure us that the next cave was not muddy, so reluctantly we agreed. He then proceeded to begin guiding us up a very steep portion of the cave that was indeed muddy and slippery, with nothing to hold on to but the cave walls, which was near impossible in the pitch black with a hand held flashlight! When we reached the top, he pointed to a VERY small hole in the side of the cave wall and told us that was the entrance into the next portion of caves. My sister and I looked at each other in amazement and asked the guide if he was joking. Indeed he was not and said that when you go through it symbolizes being ‘reborn.’ Still not believing that we could fit through the cave opening we told the guide to demonstrate how it was done. Our guide, who was a very small man, both shorter and smaller than either my sister or myself, then proceeded to push his body through the opening, which was also wet and muddy, through to the other side, landing in a puddle of mud. After observing how we would pass into the cave, my sister and I both said that we would pass on that portion of the tour – we had already been born and did not desire to be ‘born again’ through a mud hole!
To get out of the cave we had to climb up a very tall ladder almost 80 meters high with long rungs that were soaking wet and muddy, with no safety gear! Needless to say, it was actually a bit more precarious than the rappel down! After another muddy, wet hike back, we were glad to have a few hours to dry off in the car ride back to our hotel. That evening’s ‘activities’ included an exciting hot shower, thorough washing of our clothes and dinner at the hotel. It was another early night for us as our tour to Semuc Champey began at 7am the next day.
Unfortunately, as the air was so damp, we had no real means of air drying our clothes and everything was still wet the next morning. Reluctantly, we put on our wet gear and set off for another 2 hour drive to Semuc Champey. The drive proved to be more of the same as the previous day, windy, wet and slow. Again, the guide had provided little to no instruction on gear required, but this time we came more prepared with water shoes and a headlamp. After 2 hours in a minibus, we then had to transfer to a pickup truck for the remaining 30 minute ride into the park. It was still pouring rain at this point and although the guide covered the back of the truck with plastic, it blew around frantically during the wet, slippery and bumpy ride and provided limited rain cover.
A little bruised and a lot wet, we finally reached the entrance to the park and began the 30 minute, very wet, very steep climb to the viewpoint of Semuc Champey.
Semuc Champey had been on my bucket list for a long time and I was determined, regardless of the rain, to see the famous turquoise pools. As we reached the top of the viewpoint, the rain slowed, the clouds parted and wow, the view was indeed all that I hoped for! Pictures and words can’t quite describe how gorgeous those pools are in person, but I can honestly say that every wet, muddy minute was absolutely worth the reward.
After the viewpoint hike, the tour allowed time for us to swim in the pools and, because of the rain, the pools were almost void of people and my sister and I had a blast splashing around in our ‘private paradise,’ letting little fish nibble at our limbs, enjoying the gorgeous scenery. Even the rain let up during our swim!
The tour was supposed to include a candlelight tubing visit to the nearby caves, however, the rain had made the caves impassible; instead we ended the tour early and headed back to our hotel. As we had already experienced wet caves the day previously, I cannot say that I felt like I missed out on that portion of the adventure and was glad for the earlier return time to dry off!
The next day was a planned rest/dry off day and my sister and I welcomed the opportunity to do laundry and relax as we would be driving 5 hours back to Guatemala City the following day to meet up with the rest of my family.
Overall, my visit to a bucket list destination proved to be as adventurous and rewarding as I anticipated and I could not wait to see what the rest of Guatemala had in store for me, with Lake Atitlan, Antigua and El Paredon on the remaining city itinerary for Guatemala. Join me on the next portion of my trip in Part 2 – the Bushes take on Guatemala!
TRAVEL MILE COUNT: From Buenos Aires to Sao Paulo, to Houston & Guatemala City, to Coban, Semuc Champey & Bombil Pek = 8,160.2
TRAVEL METHOD COUNT: 3 flights, 5 car rides, 2 pickup truck bed rides
TRAVEL CASUALITIES (Items lost): 0