guatemala: eating

Oh boy did we ever have some delicious Guatemalan food last week! Let me break it down for ya.

breakfast

Fresh succulent pineapple. Fresh bananas. Fresh milk. (Fresh?) cereal. Fresh breads of all flavors – banana nut, orange & chocolate, almond, etc. Fresh coffee “black as night, strong as passion, sweet as love and hot as hell” (kudos to whoever knew who said that without googling it). Did I mention everything was fresh? Each morning from 5-6am the team ambled into the common room of our hostel at various times to grab whatever they could before leaving for the village each day. And while I am sure our perspective on local eating customs was skewed due to the fact that we were, well, not locals, I felt breakfast was the least social of the meals we had each day. Whether this was because of the early hour, or that we were away from our team leaders’ families (and their typical morning routines), breakfast was a subdued affair in comparison to our midday and evening meals.

lunch

Wonderful. Simply wonderful. Each day in the community we were treated to an incredible meal at the house of one of the village leaders. Fresh hot tortillas, sumptuous black beans, vegetable soups and either fish (tilapia!!! so delicious!), chicken or beef. All our dishes were prepared over an open flame, served piping hot and seasoned to perfection. Coupled with cold soda and bottled waters for everyone that wasn’t a coke fan, we couldn’t have asked for anything more. Everyone sat outdoors at the same long table, a palm branch roof/covering extending out from the village leader’s house and protecting the eating area, cooking area and cleaning area from the noonday sun. Chickens, turkeys, dogs, a pig, lizards, birds, etc. wandered around outside the house and under the nearby shade trees as we ate, adding to the ambient country noises of southern Guatemala - wind blowing in the sugar cane fields and palm trees, the occasional motorbike rumbling by on the dirt road and the chirps and buzzing of insects about their daily routine.

dinner

Back at our budget hostel each night, it was once again impossible to escape the generosity of Guatemalans. More tortillas (again, prepared fresh each day – how cool would that have been on our bike trip?), rice, refried black beans, steamed vegetables, sweet plantains and once again, some incredible beef, chicken and fish. Our nights at Living Water’s base were just as amazing, and here (as well as at lunch), food was savored and conversations unfolded. Guatemalans take time to enjoy their food as well as the company with whom they shared it. 

Basically, we were spoiled the whole time, I probably gained a ton of weight, couldn't stop smiling every time we sat down to eat, and will probably be a coffee snob for the next couple weeks until I forget the taste of that shade-grown Guatemalan goodness we sipped on each morning.

until next time,

may the rains fall softly on your fields

josh & mark

the lifecycle team