Semuc Champey

The last boy hanging on the side of our car, selling us on a tour of the park, directed us to the the parking for our hostel just off the dirt road, above the hostel, in a large concrete area backed by cinder blocks and murals.  I grabbed our gigantic duffel bag we always bring in, containing the wardrobe for the whole family, and went to check us in with Ted at my heels.  We were greeted by Keegan, the resident pit bull terrier (we had been previously made aware by the manager: “you should know that we have a pit bull but he is very friendly”). I also got confirmation that there was an armed guard throughout the night for the vehicles, and directions to our room before a 4×4 truckload of backpackers arrived and swarmed in.

The first evening was quite the party atmosphere..…and us on “dry-uary”.  Ugh.  We had dinner, during which the owner of Greengo’s Hotel, Golan, showed up and expressed surprise that Keegan had not attacked (or possibly killed) Ted, as he was a larger outside dog.  Well, that was a good thing, then.

The forecast had us prepared for a few rainy days, and we were looking forward to some time to relax and read – no internet at Greengo’s.  Our bungalow was quiet and dark; we slept in quite late every morning and slowly moseyed up to order a breakfast before it was too late to bother the kitchen.  A little leisure consisted of hanging out playing with toys in the sand volleyball court and taking a dip in the river, between some less exciting chores of laundry and trips up the hill to the truck.  The the food was good, and the company was amicable.

On our second full day the skies cleared up earlier than expected, and a hot sunny brunch inspired us to head to the park.  We hired the guide services of the same boy we’d met on our arrival, and pretended we didn’t know who Ted was when he followed us through the entry gates because technically dogs are not permitted.  Jen insisted on carrying Nina in the backpack the whole time for exercise, and when the clouds moved over the sun we were grateful because the hike up to the vista point was grueling, steep, and muddy.  Ted needed assistance on several sections and looked like a mud-creature from the chest down.  We were relieved that the trail down to the pools was less intense.

Nina worked up the courage to take a leap into the emerald pools of the river to cheers and applause from the bystanders.  Teddy had to be tied up to a tree since he wasn’t really allowed there in the first place, and suffered a light attack by a hive of (luckily) dwarf honey bees before we realized what was going on and moved him.

Our 4th and last night during dinner, Keegan attacked a street dog that wandered in and the staff had to separate them while all the guests looked on in horror.  Needless to say we were a little on edge for our last morning there and kept a close eye on Ted, but overall I’m glad we ended up there.  We felt welcomed as a family in a normally boisterous backpacker’s type of place. The owner took care of us with special food, Ted attracted the usual attention from other travelers, and Nina even made friends with the local girl who sold handmade chocolate by sharing her ballerina magnet toys.