Semana Santa

I haven't been the best blogger of 2014. I will admit that, however, I like to think that it's due to the fact I have been at such a loss for words lately due to my many mixed emotions. I cannot believe that it is already the fourth partial. I cannot believe it is already going on the end of April. I cannot believe that Semana Santa has come and gone. I cannot believe how QUICKLY time has gone. Anyways, this blog post is not about how much of an emotional wreck I have become thinking about how little time there is left. This post is about my latest adventures during Semana Santa.

Semana Santa is also referred to as Holy Week here in Central America. It is the week prior to Easter and down here, it is a big deal! A lot of places will shut down, schools will get off, and many people just get to enjoy a week full of family and friends. As for me, school did close and myself and 4 other teachers took the adventure to Guatemala. I had been to Guatemala before and was even more excited to go back. Guatemala is such a beautiful country full of bright colors, culture, and friendly people.

Day 1: Travel to Copan Ruinas.
-Because traveling in Central America takes 4 times as long as it would by car, we had to break our journey up into segments. Right after school ended on Friday, we set off for Copan Ruinas. Copan Ruinas is super cute, touristy boarder town. Our first part of the trip started out awesome when we ran into a friend who was already going that way. So casually, we hitchhiked and hopped in the back of his truck and off we went.

Day 2-4: Antigua, Guatemala
-Like mentioned before, I had been to Antigua, Guatemala prior to this trip so to say I was excited to go back was an understatement. Antigua is such a cool, chill, and beautiful city. After about 8 hours in a bus we finally had arrived to Antigua. The next couple of days, were spent exploring the city of Antigua. We shopped, we wondered from church to church, we took naps, we ate (lots and lots of wonderful food), and we witnessed the real Holy Week. During Holy Week, so many towns in Central America celebrate with parades, purple, and lots and lots of people. Experiencing Semana Santa in Antigua, Guatemala is definitely bucket list worthy. It's such a strong tradition and a beautiful one at that. On Sunday we were on our way to the market to do some shopping when we got stopped by the parade. This parade was breathe taking. Thousands and thousands of people gather to watch and participate in this parade. A sea of purple people were walking in the parade. However, the coolest part of the whole thing was seeing this HUGE and I mean huge Jesus being crusified on the cross, float being carried by the sea of purple men. We read in the newspaper the next day it brought together around 7000 people and they averaged 6 blocks an hour. I kid you not, this parade was no joke. They started early morning and did not end until 11:30 pm. It was definitely a sight to see and a sight to be remembered.

The other days spent in Antigua, were the true definition of vacation. We wondered around when we wanted, slept in, took naps, ate when we were hungry, and just enjoyed being on vacation.

Day  5-7: Semuc Champey
We left Antigua and headed about 8 hours north to a place called Semuc Champey. For those of you who don't know what that is. Stop what you are doing right now and go google it. Look at the pictures and put it on your bucket list. Semuc Champey had been on one of the girls I was traveling with's bucket list. Needless to say, it is now on mine and officially checked off my list as well. Semuc Champey is literally a hidden pocket of the world. It is in the middle of a mountain, down in a valley. It took us about an hour just to drive down the mountain to get to the little town we stayed at. We arrived at our hostel to only be blown away by the view. We stayed in these beautiful cabanas looking out on every side to nothing but mountain! Woke up: mountains. Showered: mountains. Ate breakfast: mountains. Brushed my teeth: mountains. It was wonderful. The next full day we had, we took a tour of Semuc Champey. We started the morning off with a 2 hour cave tour. With candle in one hand and nothing but excitement in the other we climbed into the cave. For two hours we climbed up and down, in and out of the water, slide down and jumped off cliffs all inside this bat cave. It was incredible. By the time our candles were just about burnt out it was time to move on to the next part of the day. After eating lunch, we hiked up the mountain to the look out point of the one and only Semuc Champey. The hike, in my opinion, was rough and challenging. SO. many. stairs. However, I made it to the top, barely, and I did thoroughly enjoy the view from the top. It was breathe taking once again. We then climbed back down the mountain to what I think was the best part of the day. We got to swim in the all natural made lime stone pools. There were a series of pools and waterfalls that we were able to swim from one to another. Swimming in these pools has been one of my favorite memories thus far. Imagine swimming in an all natural lime stone pool, fish nibbling at your feet, crystal clear water, mountains and monkeys howling in background. It was such an incredible moment that I keep watching over and over again in my head. After a long day of adventure and lots of water we climbed in the back of a truck yet again and headed back to our hostel. The day was wonderful, however hitchiking in the back of a truck driving through the mountains is icing on the cake. The next day and last full day of true vacation we had the definition of a relaxing day. We woke up with the sunrise, had lunch, read our books outside, went to the river, and had fun with our new friends we met. Semuc Champey was such a wonderful experience I advise anyone to check out!

Day 6: Rio Dulce
-The next day we had to catch our shuttle to our layover town because once again traveling is always a long process. We stopped in Rio Dulce which is a really cute and fun lake town. It is one of the main stops when going to Livingston (another new bucket list item). In Rio Dulce there was a big fair happening in celebration of Semana Santa. There was a ferris wheel, live music, food, games, and lots of people. I was beyond exhausted which resulted in pretty much staying in our hotel the whole night. If I had another opportunity, I would for sure go back to Rio Dulce and spend a night or two there and then head out to Livingston.

So there you have it, Semana Santa 2014. Definitely a trip to remember! Now back to reality full of students, tests, and Honduras. I still cannot believe we only have 6 weeks left!

xoxo,
Carly