Lanquin is a little village about 2.5 hours from Coban in Central Guatemala (the last 5km of which are down a pretty treacherous road/track) and it is beautiful. The two main lodges to choose from are Zepher and El Retiro. We opted for the latter which has a range of gorgeous wood cabins and dormitories set in lush gardens along a river. We ended up getting a little too comfortable swinging in the hammocks there and spent five nights there. The first few days we just kicked back; the height of our activities being going tubing for 30 minutes down the river. Rachael & Brownie were quite excited about this as they had worked in Vang Vieng in Laos for a few months and so were very much tubing fans. It wasn't quite the same- not a rope swing or bucket in sight, but still fun as the river was quite fast in places and we even managed a few beers for the journey (I'm sure my can contained more river water than beer by the end).

We were planning to do some tours on Sunday, but then Saturday night happened! The bar there has a 'wheel of fortune' and Brownie & I got a little carried away with it. The 'prizes' were anything from free shots (more like a punishments given the quality of the alcohol) to free banana pancake breakfasts. The punishments included cinnamon challenge (eat a spoonful of the stuff) and 'jump in the river now' (pitch black fast flowing river). I was clearly playing too often as I got most of them, except thank God 'Jump in the river' which other people got & did, along with body shots and all sorts. Anyway, unsurprisingly we all got pretty drunk, had a lot of fun but weren't feeling too fresh the next day so activities were postponed till Monday, but it was so worth the wait.

The caves of Semuc Champey are awesome . We were a group of 14 in the end with one local guide who led us through the almost pitch black cave system. The water was usually chest deep, but at times deeper so you had to swim one handed as you had your light source (a candle) in the other. Of course there were a few 'obstacles' in the way; clambering along ledges, through gaps in rocks etc. but it was climbing up a rock face with a waterfall directly on your head that pushed me over the edge. Obviously with the water directly on your head you can't breathe and as I didn't know how far I had to keep going I freaked out. On my 3rd unsuccessful attempt the guide took pity on me, pulled me from the waterfall and showed me another route- a fecking rope ladder with no water in its path had been there all the time! Once back in the outside world the adventures continued; lots of rope swings, tubing and rock slides to be done. It was a long, action & adrenaline packed day- but so much fun .

Since I had ticked this off my list I decided it was time to move on. I had really wanted to hit Todos Santos in the west next, but after much local advice saying not to use this road, I changed my plans and headed south on the main road. Next stop- Antigua!