I survived a 10 meter jump and all I got was...

Hey bloggers...

In a word, Semuc Chempey was totally freakin' bodasciously gorgeous. Ok, that was more like 4 words, if you count bodasciously as a word...Regardless, pictures should be posted by tonight or by the latest when I return to the USA.
But for now, turn off the music you may listening to, stop your work for a second (ahem! If you are reading this at work please note that this is by no means an invitation to shirk your responsibilities, shame shame), close your eyes, open them, take a breath, and let me recap my adventure...

Semuc Chempey is a cluster of water pools that emenate (I think) from a rather large water fall or certainly a water flow. The water, due to restrictions on usage and likely due to the ever flowing of water AND to the surrounding jungle it is nestled between, is a hue of blue green. There are smaller little waterfalls that divide each pool, and the water feels great. So if you are scoring at home, there are a lot of beautiful pools of blue green water, in the middle of the jungle. Ok? Ok.I decided to go as part of a tour, while pricey, and was by far and away a great choice. It started off innocently enough...climbing up to the top of the jungle to get an aerial view. Working up a sweat, we jumped into the water and swam. All the while...the ominous 10 meter jump (30+ feet) was on all of our minds. Yes, this was optional, but essentially, it consisted of climbing down a rope ladder to jump some 30 odd feet into the cool water.

I was totally up for it. At least mentally. About 10 of us decided to go for it, and we started by climbing up the side of a cliff for a mere 6 meter jump. Only 3 of us did this, your humble narator (yes, from A Clockwork Orange, I know) being one of them. Man...Rene, our guide went first, and did a beautiful headfirst dive into the water. Um....ok. I was up next. I didn´t want to do it...my knees were shaking, but that was the only way down. It wasn´t pretty, but I jumped and landed. WOOOOOOOOO!

So that was the easy one? Crap! We kept going, did another crazy jump and finally got to a cross-roads. Take a funky little rope ladder down to go further. Alright, I´m in. Kids, this was scary, at least for me anyways...we scaled a shear cliff on nothing but a little rope ladder. AWESOME. After that, we were surronded by rushing water and a high cliff. Time to jump? Nope, not quite yet. We then lassoed a rope around rocks, ducked our heads and climbed down into a cave. This was AWESOMER! The cave walls on one side looked like petrified wood. On the other side it looked like a big melted wax candle. Freakin´cool man. Never have seen anything like this, truly special. After soaking (literally) the cave up, we headed back up the rope and to the last cross-roads. 30 ft jump?

Did I ever mention that I´m a teency bit scared of heights? Yah, ferris wheels kinda give me the willies. And during ropes course stuff, I´ve done it, but if I jump off that pole thing, the whole pole is shaking.

Oh, and this one time...

Oh wait, sorry, back to the story.

Hell yes I jumped! Apparently I didn´t jump that far out...but I set a good example for the other jumpers so they could try and not make it as close to the side of the cliff as me. Hey, I got style...or actually, nothing like it. But I did it. And I had fun. And I pushed my boundries. So now I can salsa dance, cliff dive, and understand spoken spanish pretty well.

During this little adventure I befriended two Canadiens and an Austrailian who might crash at 406 Oak once he makes it to SF, thanks roomies! They are super nice, and it felt good to share the adventure with them if it couldn´t be Roni. Speaking about Roni, she is doing well, Adam misses her a ton.

Now I am in...Flores. Again. Why? Because it was really hard to get to Rio Dulce from Coban. I mean, I chickened out from taking two chicken buses on long trips by myself. Whatever. I hope to get there tomorrow and to Livingston. This will be the carribbean leg of the program.

Then to Antigua by Thursday night, then back home to SF Friday. All in due time. This might be the last posting before I come home, so Guatemala, thank you!