Ah Semuc Champey, the treasure of Guatemala. How many times did I Google you and stare in wonder  at your picturesque beauty? Too many to count. You were the main reason I returned to Guatemala. How could I say I traveled this beautiful country if I had not rested my eyes on the fabled Semuc Champey, meaning ‘where the river hides beneath the earth’.

As I write this, I’m sitting in my rustic little ‘A’ frame thatch-roofed hut.  The front end, opposite the door and where my bed is positioned, has a three foot high railing and that is all- it’s left entirely open. The rain is hammering down, the torrents coming down in waves, thunder is reverberating in the distance and the occasional flash of lightening sends a blaze of light into the hut. It smells of wet jungle – moist vegetation and damp earth. I sit shrouded in the opaque protection of my bug net and once again I am astounded that this is my life. Continue reading →