The buffet of Guatemala
Guatemala has found the way to my heart and it is through my stomach. The vegetarian food variation has been very slim during this journey, when you take away the meat from the local dishes all that remains is usually some rice, beans and tortillas. Here in Guatemala however, I have found some culinary oases with buffets. And I have taken the all-you-can-eat-concept very seriously.
An entire table or bar has been filled with freshly baked bread, steaming organic vegetables, oven baked pies, garden picked spices, vinegar flavoured salads and tasty cream sauces. For deserts there has been selections of gorgeous cheesecakes, sweet tiramisus and rich lemon meringue pies. The fruits have also been fabulous. I eat fruit salad in the morning and drink fruit smoothies any time of the day. Fruit is also my lifeline during hot days, chopping up juicy pineapple with friends in the shade of a store or stopping at a field to share a refreshing watermelon with some farmers that are just as sweaty as I am.
The Guatemalan roads have been rough and the buffets have served as my fuel. While all this varied nutrition is gathered on a small area, a varied landscape is gathered in the tiny areal of Guatemala. Between my meals I cycle to the Mayan temples that rise above the jungle, swim in the turquoise pools of a natural limestone bridge, enjoy the solitude at dawn underneath a hot waterfall, push my bicycle up the steep mountain roads and cruise downhill to a volcanic lake so beautiful it makes me linger.
Here at the Lake Atitlan I am enjoying familiar dishes like falafel with tahini sauce, tagliatelle with pesto and Swedish crisp bread with cheddar cheese. Except for stuffing my mouth full of food, I am also trying to use it for pronouncing new words and creating correct sentences. I will stay here for a few weeks to study Spanish and continue to read the local and international menus.
Peace
Hello there, what you are doing is great Hanna, congratulations!
You may like to get in touch with Edward Herbert, a friend of mine from the UK who just went through Central America by bike into Colombia, then Ecuador and now he is in Peru, his blog is: http://www.edwardherbert.blogspot.com
Take Care,
elmono enbici.
Thank you Elmono,
Hopefully I will follow Edward and his tire tracks to South America.