Wednesday, August 1, 2007

Living it up in Guatemala


It's a little late, but I'm finally getting around to posting about my vegan adventures in Guatemala. As I've said below, I loved the place and hope to return. The picture above shows one of the most charming places in Antigua, Guatemala. It's an old-fashioned dolce shop. (I think it's called Dona Maria.) Gorgeous little cookies and pastries are sold by women in immaculate white costumes. The sweets in the display cases are the only things for sale; the rest is just bric-a-brac.

I didn't follow a completely vegan diet there, but it was quite easy to find vegan food almost everywhere. Our hotel in Antigua had a yummy breakfast consisting of a fruit plate and a basket of warm bread:





We went on a hike up the Pacaya volcano. After several hours of somewhat difficult hiking, our guide produced from his backpack a whole pineapple and supplies for pita sandwiches with beans, avocado, tomatoes, onions, red peppers, and cucumbers. Here are members of our group enjoying lunch in the rain:



The afternoon we arrived at our second destination, Lake Atitlan, I was felled by a bad sandwich. The next day, when my appetite had returned, we went to the Bombay cafe. The food was tasty but the service was pretty slow. However, their homemade ginger ale was just what the doctor ordered:



I followed it with another pita sandwich, this one stuffed with marinated tofu, spinach, and peanut sauce.



One day, we went to a huge market day in Solola, a small-ish town in the hills above Lake Atitlan. Among the thousands of items for sale were these roosters. Let's hope they were purchased by a vegan (yeah, right!).

2 comments:

Theresa said...

Ugh, I saw so many chickens for sale at the markets in Ethiopia. People would just carry them upside down by their legs! That can't feel good!

Your pictures make Guatemala look like a really great place. It sounds like you had an awesome time! I'd love to get there someday...

Katyola said...

The pita sandwich was delicious — I wonder if we can recreate it at home. Lovely pictures, and I'm ready to go back! (Next time, Aaculaax)