Guatamala is incredibly beautiful. I travelled south from Flores to a city called Coban. At one point we had to drive onto a ferry to cross a river. Washing clothes on the same river:

There I met a Swiss girl, Cindy, and a French Canadian guy, Alex, and we got a mini bus to a place called Lanquin. Then the road ran out so we got a 4 wheel drive pick up, which we had to stand in the back, to a place called Semuc Champey.

The scenery we saw was stunning. Huge mountains up into the clouds, tiny rural villages, coffee and cardamin plantations. Its funny how you always imagine a plant growing differently. I didnt think coffee grew so high up and on such steep slopes, on such poor rocky soil.

Coffee plantation taken from a very shakey bus:

So after all that travelling, we stayed in a place which only had electricity from 6.00pm to 10.00pm. The next day myself and Alex and two others got a guide to bring us through a cave system. It was a very strange experience swimming... yes swimming.. for two hours holding a candle... yes candle... through the pitch dark. No photos Im afraid. It was hard enough to keep the candle dry. I did google and found a photo on someone elses blog:

After that, I went to see a really interesting and unique feature of nature. A raging river flows underground, under a natural limestone bridge. On the top of the bridge there are beautiful pools of water, all different shades of blue and green. Maybe the diagram will help explain:

River entering underground where Im standing:

Pools on the top:

Now, Im back in Coban city for the night. But not before we had to wait on the road for an hour while a buldozer tried to help a truck get unstuck.

The last 24 hours were the most rural and off the beaten tourist trail Ive been on and it was fantastic. The photos only touch the surface of what it was like.

Me, Cindy, German guy and Alex in Coban, back to civilisation:

Any news from Ireland... England?? xxx roz