My life be like: Remember that time we...

  This past weekend at Semuc Champey was amazing! So many adventures and beautiful scenery the whole time. It took us a good 8 hours to finally get there with a stop at a sketch lunch place and Mcdonald's (driver's favorite) in between but the mountains were absolutely beautiful so it wasn't too bad. We got to our hostel and it was literally like a camp in the middle of the jungle. Our cabin had the boys in the attic and the girls in bunks downstairs. Oh and did I mention there was electricity only from 6-10 and spiders and insects galore? soo great. Soon after we got there the boys and queens and Jessica jumped off the nearby bridge into the river ( I was quite happy videotaping thank you very much) and then we swam around in the river for a bit and skipped rocks. Idyllic really.
  The next morning we had breakfast surrounded by the mountains which were just breathtaking with all the greenery and the clouds just resting on the top of it. The tour guides Johnny and Junior led us on our first adventure of the day. a killer hike. No but seriously though it was a million steps to the top of the viewpoint with lots of slippery moments as it had just rained the night before. However, once we got to the top- the view of the aqua-green pools was incredible. We then quickly made it down to see some waterfalls and then spend some time jumping into the pools and swimming around. So so beautiful.
  We came back and got ready to go tubing down the river. We were waiting on the banks and I saw Queena slip a little and yelled out and then before I knew it plop! went my new Flip camera. Unfortunately, the wrist strap snapped for some reason and it headed straight for the bottom. The tour guides tried to find it but the current was too strong so I said my goodbyes. Kind of a bummer but what if it had been my Canon or worse...QUEENA. Thankfully everyone was safe.
  After lunch we had our last adventure of the day which was the cave tour. It was incredible and unlike anything else. For starters they give you a candle to explore the cave with, but it's also got water where you have to swim at times and being so bad at multi-tasking as I am...my candle fizzled out real quick. We climbed ladders up a waterfall, walked along tiny ledges, jumped through a crevice that was gushing water and held on to rocks for dear life (at least I did) when the current was strong. Ridiculous. but unlike any other.
   That night we played some games and had a delish dinner when they started playing some reggaton music. One of our tour guides asked me quieres bailar?! Of course I said yes, the locals are so good at dancing to salsa and merengue. All the girls took turns dancing with him and then we got a bunch of other students to dance and started playing limbo. Que divertido!
   The next morning we had to leave early to catch our chicken bus that took us to our actual mini-bus that was driving us home. We've gotten real good at traveling on buses on this trip, that's for sure. We started driving for a while, going through the beautiful mountains and I asked the driver if we could sit up on top of bus as I had seen other people do it the whole weekend. He stopped right away and we climbed the mini ladder up to the roof and a few of us rode on top of it for about an hour or so with our ponchos and all. It was the BEST. Well... minus the occasional bugs hitting your face and the aftermath of windswept hair. We started playing a game where you got points if people whistled, blew kisses, honked at you, or dogs barked at you. I think Queena won. What a gunner. :)
   Semuc was an amazing trip to go with our group. Special thanks to Queens and Brian for watching my back in the caves, I appreciate it! And hey! Thanks for reading!
   Grace and Peace
Shreya