Semuc Champey!

So behind Tikal, Semuc Champey might be Guatemala`s biggest attraction.  There's no denying that it's a beautiful bend in the river, and that the pools are pretty amazing, but like so many tourist attractions in the middle of nowhere, it's been turned into a bit of a circus.  The pools are visited on a full day tour, that also includes inner-tubing on the river, a rope swing, a 45 minute hike, a candlelit exploration of a river cave system, and a few hours of floating.  Maybe I'm just in a bad mood because I've had a string a bad luck the past few days, but here are my complaints about Semuc Champey:

First of all, the location can't be helped, because it is where it is, but being right on the tourist trail from Guatemala City to Tikal means that there are an inordinate number of partiers that come through the area who are mostly there to hang out at night, not see anything special by day.  It's exactly these kind of people that make me embarassed to be a traveler sometimes.

Secondly, everyone talks about what an amazing experience it is to each be given a candle and swim for a quarter mile in an underground river.  Yes, it sounds great in theory, and could be a really special thing.  Unfortunately, following in a line of 12 people for 45 minutes and then turning back is the exact same experience that everyone who goes to Semuc Champey has.  I'll bet that every guide takes all the candles at the end and dunks them in the river, plunging people into complete darkness for a minute (cue all the girls screaming) until he turns his headlight on and leads the way back to daylight.  Again, it is decently fun, but I can talk to anyone who has been to Semuc in the past 5 years and they´ll all have had the exact same experience.

I have more to say, but I'll save it.  Here are some pictures that I pirated from the internet.
It's probably even worth your time to do a google image search for "Semuc Champey".

In order to end on a positive note, I've found the following food items funny:
-Fanny brand sardines
-Bimbo brand bread
-FUD brand hotdogs (could there be a more aptly named product?)
-Nair brand tuna