King Marcos Cave, Biotopo del Quetzal
Looking at the different options I had after Flores, I decided to get on a bus to Cobán and stay there for a few days before going to the south of Guatemala. I asked around different tour agencies in Flores, and was surprised to receive some contradicting information regarding the journey, especially as it was quite a popular route on the way to Semuc Champey. It took about five and a half hours to get to Cobán, and included a stop on the way for a little snack. Tired and not in the mood to take my time figuring out how to get to my accommodation, I just took a taxi at a price that was reasonable to me.
At the check-in, I was informed that due to maintenance work in the area, there is no electricity but it should be back promptly. With nothing better to do, I put my bags in the room and headed out. There wasn’t much in the city, but not too far from me was Las Victorias National Park. Unfortunately, when I made it to the entrance it turned out the park was closed, even though Google Maps showed it as open. On the bright side, by the time I came back to the accommodation the electricity was back as well.
Getting out of the city without a car was a bit tricky, and I had to ask around people in the street in order to figure out my transportation. I wanted to get to King Marcos Cave, as it looked interesting online and I had a good experience with the cave in Flores which I was keen to repeat.
From where I was staying, I had to walk around for a little bit, ask around, and get on a bus to the Talpetate bus terminal. Then I got on another bus heading to a place called Chamelco. In Chamelco, I was quickly rushed into a tuktuk, and about two minutes later I transferred into yet another bus. That bus took me most of the way to the cave, and then I had to walk for a little bit before I got to the site’s entrance.
When I was trying to get the ticket, I was told that I need to be in a group, but the next group heading in was nearly two hours later. Not happy about it, I tried to ask if there is some place I can just wait more comfortably, and I do not know if there was some miscommunication between me and the cashier, but he made a phone call, after which I was told I can go in right away.
Although I was confused by this turn of events, I didn’t protest and simply followed the cashier, who was going to be my guide, into the information center, where I got a helmet and a pair of rubber boots that nearly reached my knees.
After I was ready, me and my guide started to climb quite a few stairs on the way to the cave’s entrance. For the first few minutes I thought he was mumbling to himself something I could not understand, and then I figured out he was simply talking on the phone. It was a nice road, with plenty of trees around. Although the walk wasn’t difficult, it was up a staircase, so I did need a moment when we got to the top in order to catch my breath.
The guide gave me another brief introduction to what we were going to do, and then we headed inside. At first, it was a nice (yet unimpressive) sight of rock formations. Quickly it turned out to be more. There was a stream of water going through the cave, which was why the boots were necessary, and the closer we got to it the louder the stream was. And as we looked at the edge of a waterfall, that was the point my guide chose to speak again, but I could barely hear him, let alone understand what he was saying to me.
We walked in the water for a bit, crouched for a moment, climbed up a few slippery rocks, and then we were on the other side. The loud rush of water had quieted down, and I was able to hear my guide once. And that was important, because in that section of the cave there were quite a few stalagmites and stalactites. The guide pointed out a few of them and made me pay a bit more attention to the unique formations they had. It was quite nice, and felt like a teaser for the cave up north.
Then we headed a little bit further into the cave, until we got to the end of the road. According to my guide, the Mayans were there at some point, using this cave as a sacred place for their rituals. The guide then turned off the lights in the cave for “a moment of silence” for the people who were in this place a long time ago. I wasn’t really sure how it was respectful toward the Mayans, but I didn’t argue.
When the lights were turned back on, we quickly made our way out of the cave and toward the information center. It was a very quick tour, which didn’t take more than 15 minutes. I got out of the rubber boots, put my shoes back on, thanked the guide, and made my way back to Cobán. Although King Marcos Cave was nice, I felt like the time it took to get there wasn’t justified. Perhaps it could’ve been better with a car, but with public transport the ride was a bit too long for me. On the way, I tried my luck again with Las Victorias, and although it was still open, I was informed that it was going to close soon, and I better off coming back another day.
Without much time, or much to do, I wanted to visit Biotopo del Quetzal, which as far as I could understand was some kind of eco-park where there was a chance to see quetzal and some other birds. It also seemed like a nice place for hiking. But once more, I needed to figure out my transportation.
On the surface, it was supposed to be easier than the cave. After getting to the bus terminal of Talpetate, I was told I have two choices. I could take the bus to Purulhá, and from there take another bus to the park, or I could take the bus to Salamá, which passes by the park so I don’t need to transfer. I didn’t see any buses to Salamá, and didn’t feel like waiting around, so I got on the bus to Purulhá. I had to pay more than I expected, but I didn’t argue.
The ride was quiet and uneventful, all the way up to a place called Tactic. In the nearby petrol station outside of the town, there was some kind of protest (which later on I was told was about ex-military citizens), so the bus couldn’t go any further. Everyone had to get off at the petrol station, cross the protest, and find a new bus on the other side. After asking around, I found a bus that will take me to Biotopo del Quetzal.
I got to the park, paid the entry fee, and went up some stairs to the information center, which didn’t have much more than a map of the place, and some explanation in Spanish that I didn’t bother to try and understand, although I was taken by surprise at the mentioned of an latitude of 2,550 meters above sea level, which seemed odd to me. I didn’t stick around at the entrance for long and headed to the starting point of the trails. There were two to choose from, a short trail and a long trail. Both started at the same point, so in the beginning I didn’t have a choice.
Not that it was a bad thing, the road was quite nice. A dirt trail with some stairs in the beginning, passing through the forest. Every now and then there was a sign telling me the altitude, although I wasn’t sure if any of those signs were accurate. There were some insects flying and buzzing as I went by, although they didn’t get in the way. As the park was somewhat isolated, there wasn’t much noise to begin with, and the higher I went the less I could hear coming from the road. It was a pretty comfortable road, without any steep angles, so even though I was going up and getting a bit of a workout, I didn’t build up much sweat.
Soon enough I got to the split in the road, which led to the short trail. As I was interested in doing the long trail, I simply kept going up along the main road. There was more of the same along that road, with the forest on both sides and the insects all around. I did hear a few birds as well, for a couple of minutes, and then they were gone, and that was as close as I got to spotting any of them. Perhaps I would’ve had a better chance in the dry season.
Eventually, at an altitude of about 1,900 meters above sea level (according to the sign), the road leveled. A few minutes later there was another split in the road, heading toward a viewpoint, and I followed that road without any hesitation. I did think it was a bit weird that the road was going down, rather than up, but there wasn’t anything I could do about it. I followed the road, and at some point I started to hear the rushing of water. A couple of minutes later I saw the water, rushing down the mountain all the way to the bottom. And then, eventually, I got to the viewpoint, which was quite beautiful. I smiled as I looked around me, and thought to myself this view was definitely worth it.
I headed back to the split and on the road and then proceeded along the path, which at that point started to go down. Although I didn’t see the quetzal, or any other bird, I still had a great time there. But then I needed to go back. As I missed one bus, and got tired of waiting for another, I decided to walk for a while until I got a ride from a local, all the way to the petrol station. From there I took a bus straight back to Cobán, although it took a while to get away from the protests. While the ride was pretty straightforward, it just took a long time. I’m certain this adventure would’ve been a lot better on another day, with no protests or roadblocks.