For the Present is the point at which time touches eternity. – C. S. Lewis

Awaking the next morning before jumping out of bed, I realize that my bearings are a bit different as I am elevated more than I have been used to as the mosquito net is within an arm’s reach above me. Extremely thankful I didn’t fall out of the top bunk, you must remember it has been years since I’ve even slept in a twin bed, let alone the top bunk. I sit up in bed and look to my right, making eye contact with Char who is awake lying in bed two bunks away, we agree that it is time to rise and decide for ourselves if Semuc Champey truly lives up to the hype. Tim is always last to crawl from bed, clinging to the last precious seconds I suppose.
The short walk uphill to the main dirt road that circles through Lanquin, it is 10:30am and we have thirty minutes until the next bus arrives, supposedly. After learning that there are no more transports to the pools, we begin walking towards the center of town, and after ten minutes I notice a sign for tours. Just inside the narrow doorway, the tiny shaded room is full of four other tourists inquiring about the same issue. Exchanging introductions with everyone Melissa, a short blonde haired girl from Seattle and the only fluent Spanish speaker among us negotiates our transport. We are ecstatic to learn that for Q300 ($40 USD) they will take all seven of us now and pick us up at 3:30pm. The rest of our new entourage hails from Seattle as well and consists of a mid-thirties married couple, Koban, a native South Afrian and his wife Jessica, along with her brother Jared, of which both are Americans. Later, we learn that these three are impressively driving a Toyota 4-Runner from Washington State to Argentina over the course of eighteen months. I’m always amazed at the adventurous spirit of other travelers and the diverse plans and methods they choose to adopt in their personal and unique experience of exploring the world we live in.


