Some Chocolatey Snacks

I wouldn't say I'm a chocolate connoisseur. I'll pretty much eat any chocolate you put in front of me, and often go for quantity over quality! However, I am very appreciative whenever I get luxury chocolates as a gift, such as Godiva, Purdy's, or even Laura Secord. :)

Three local chocolate bars found in Panajachel, Guatemala

Finding good chocolate bars in Guatemala has been a surprising challenge. Don't they grow cocoa here? Shouldn't they have this down pat?
There are really good specialty chocolate bars sold in Chalo's and Sandra's grocery stores. But the average chocolate bar you pick up at a tienda tastes cheap and waxy. Bert says they all taste like Dollar Store chocolate! Perhaps it's their chocolate making techniques? The delicate balance between cocoa fat, sugar, and milk? To be certain, professional chocolatiers know how to get it right!

We've tried several local chocolate bars, plus indulged in truffles and bars from Dina's Chocolate Shop at the intersection of Santander, Real, and Arboles. (SO GOOD!) The Despensa and most tiendas (corner stores) sell Snickers regular and almond, Granada, Hershey's plain and white, plus the more local brands of Choy's and Emperadora. American brand chocolate bars cost around Q8, or about $1.50 Canadian. Local chocolate bars cost much less, down to Q3 for a Sprinter!

Here's some of the bars I've tried and my chocoholic opinion of them.

Layer -- Gross! As soon as I opened this, I knew this was NOT going to be good. The smell of bad chocolate is very distinct. Plus, the wrapper said galletas -- cookies -- but that actually meant wafers, not the Oreo type cookie bits I was hoping for. I had a brief thought that it might taste like a Kit Kat but was gravely disappointed. It was "chocolatey" not chocolate. The wafers were soft, not crispy. Ick. Couldn't eat more than one bite. Into the trash. (Made in Guatemala.)

Layer chocolate bar by Sharp

Fantasia -- Surprised when I opened this to find that it wasn't chocolate at all. I guess if I had read the package I would have noticed chocolate was not one of the ingredients. It tasted like peanut brittle, or perhaps a nougat. It was hard to bite yet chewy when it warmed up in my mouth. I like it! (Made in Guatemala.)

Fantasia bar by Sharp

Sprinter -- Our standby for a good chocolate fix. Only Q3. Basically a Snickers clone. Very good. (I read the back of the wrapper and they're made in Turkey. Go figure!)

Sprinter bar. Chocolate-coated caramel and nougat and nuts. Cheap and good!

My favourite cheap chocolate bar from a tienda? The Choco Menta. Love these little suckers. Not too many stores sell them though. I've taken to carrying an old wrapper around in my purse to show shopkeepers to see if they carry it. If I just ask for "choco menta" they offer me either a Snickers or gum. *rolls eyes*

The best!! Choco Menta. Sooooo good.  (Made in Guatemala by Granada)

Inside the Menta bar. They're quite small but we found a store that sells them for only Q2.

And now, the pièce de résistance, an Ixcacao milk chocolate coconut bar. Bought at Sandra's for Q13.75 or around $2.38 Canadian. A mere 30 grams. (Made in Antigua.)

Ixcacao chocolate bar. Simple, understated packaging hides a gem of chocolate richness.

Oh, they aren't kidding about the "habit forming" part!

Not much to look at but, oh my goodness, it is sooooo delicious!
Rich chocolate, not at all waxy, melts lusciously on your fingertips and in your mouth,
loaded with toasted coconut inside. It's true that quality is worth the price. YUM.
I think I may have to try all the flavours!

I felt too nervous to take a picture of the chocolate section at Sandra's because the cashier lady was standing right there, but you can't miss it. It's right straight as you walk in. Same goes for the tiendas, it just didn't feel right to whip out a camera and take pictures of their countertops!

But I did manage to snap these photos of two other chocolate displays.

The snacks display at the checkout at the Despensa Familiar, the grocery store. Looks like Canada, doesn't it?
(It's cuz Despensa's parent company is Walmart.)

Some of the fancy artisan chocolates sold at Chalo's, plus regular Hershey's bars, etc. They're actually locked inside the glass case and you have to ask the cashier to unlock it for you.

See the brightly-wrapped cylinders of chocolate in the picture above? That's Diego's Chocolates. If you love good chocolate and want to try a taste of real artisan chocolate from Guatemala -- in fact from San Pedro la Laguna, right across the lake from where I am right now -- then you can go to their webpage, Diego's Chocolates, to discover all about them, or just jump right to the deliciousness and order online from their Etsy store. 

And now a word of caution. (Insert serious face here.)

I found this bar of chocolate at Chalo's grocery and thought, Wow, what a great price for a huge bar of chocolate!
Well, it's not EXACTLY chocolate. It's hot chocolate mix! If I had been reading more carefully, I would have figured that out. Instead, I opened it up and took a big bite. BLECK! However, it is fabulous when put in a mug with hot milk and a bit of sugar. Often, they're flavoured with cinnamon too. Yummy!

Don't take a bite of this!  :D

For those of you coming to Guatemala to visit or live, don't fret about missing chocolate from "back home". Guatemala's chocolatiers have got you covered! Remember to pay a bit more for quality, but don't be nervous to spend a few Q to try some bars at the corner store. You may be pleasantly surprised. Buen provecho! (Bon appétit! Enjoy your food!)

A Walk With Calvin

I was restless today, and so was Calvin, so went out for a walk. Just the two of us! This doesn't happen often as Bert prefers to walk Calvin as he can be a bit of a jerk. (Calvin, not Bert. Heh heh.) But I have confidence in our yodeling goofball dog and I wanted to try to walk him ... wait for it ... off leash. GASP!! No!

Well, as you can tell by the fact that I'm writing this, things went well. I'm not in jail for my dog chomping up a smaller dog or nipping at a passerby, and I have all my own fingers to type with. :D

I left the house with a plan: to wear him out with an uphill walk before letting him off the leash on a quiet, low-traffic, dead-end road.

Overlooking Lake Atitlan and the bay where Hotel Atitlan is.

The moment of truth... Calvin off-leash!

So after a STEEP climb in the midday sun up the highway towards Sololá, we turned off on the road to Hotel Atitlan. We walked a bit away from the highway and then I took off Calvin's leash. He didn't bolt -- too hot and tired! -- but started to trot ahead. I watched carefully... and he stopped and looked back to see if I was following! YAY! Success!

Really wish I had a boat!

We walked to the bottom of the hill and the first major building with no problems. I kept a steady pace and he ranged ahead and behind. I was going to walk further, but when we reached the flat area and a long stretch of open road ahead of us, Calvin stopped in the shade of a big tree and looked at me forlornly. He wanted to go home. Ha! I wore him out. :D

So we walked back up the hill, I put his leash back on when we got to the highway, and then we trudged down the highway, across town, met with some friends who admired Calvin and said he was calm (more success!), and then finally got home to collapse in the shade with a cool drink of water. Whew!

Life is continuing on its merry way here in Guatemala. The only big news is it RAINED! It's been months since it has rained. I went out and felt the raindrops of my skin. So lovely.

Semana Santa is approaching and the town is gearing up for the usual madness in a few weeks. Loads more tourists coming in. Hotels filling up. Streets getting crowded.
The police went around and put up posters saying that drinking alcohol on the streets is not allowed. WHAT??? Not sure how they're going to enforce that. There is a new mayor so I guess he's cracking down. We'll see.

We will be here for our second Semana Santa and our one-year Guateversary on April 1st. One year! Time flies when you're having fun. Bert and I still sometimes blurt out, "We're in Guatemala. Guatemala!" It still makes us feel thrilled and amazed.

I had a neat Facebook conversation with some people and we talked about all the "dangerous"
animals we've seen. Everyone had a story about a scorpion in an unfortunate place. (I've found a scorpion under my pillow twice. Twice!) A person across the lake had a coral snake in their garden, and another one saw a viper hanging in a coffee tree. Wow!

I'm always on the lookout for new critters. Today, I saw this little lizard. I often hear them scurrying in the leaves but rarely get pictures.

Fat little lizard.

To follow up on the previous post about making a simple cat shelter, here is lovely Sombra enjoying the cat house. She won't let her brother in! It's adorable.

Kitty in the bucket!

More adventures to come soon, not only Semana Santa, but also a shopping trip to Xela this week and a visa run to Mexico in early April. Stay tuned, amigos!

A Cheap House for Feral Cats

I got this idea for a cheap and easy house for stray cats from a small picture on the web of an animal welfare group in Turkey. There were no instructions included but it looked super simple so I tried it out.

Couldn't find which group was doing this but it's a great idea!

I bought two plastic wash basins from the Q3 store for Q6 each. I wanted to get bigger ones but I found that the larger sizes were not level on the top edge. They have raised plastic bumps for your hands to hold the basin. To be able to attach the two basins together, I needed flat edges. The size I got is good for one adult cat. I chose light-colored basins because the weather here is hot, whereas if you're making a shelter for feral cats in a colder zone, a dark-colored basin would gather more heat.

The hardest part -- cutting a door out of the top basin.

It was hard to cut the plastic! The basin was very sturdy and the lip on the edge was quite thick. We used a combination of a serrated kitchen knife, a small retractable box cutter, and scissors. Please be very, very careful if you attempt this!

The two basins on top of each other.

Our door opening is a bit crooked but our cutting tools were pretty inadequate. Next time I make one, I'm going to find a better knife or something to cut cleaner and more evenly.

I put the two basins together so I could line up the holes through the edges. I heated up the end of a screwdriver on the gas stove and slowly pushed it through the lip of the basin so it melted right through and made the holes. Very effective... but be careful with the hot screwdriver. Don't put it down on any wooden counters. I speak from experience!

Used four cable ties to attach the basins together.

I had brought a bunch of cable ties with me from Canada so I used them to attach the basins together. Worked brilliantly! I clipped off the excess plastic ends. This also makes it easy to cut the ties and open the cat house if necessary.

House of Cats!

Once it was all done, we put an old shirt in the bottom and placed it out in the yard for The Kittens to check out. We tossed in a bit of dry kibble to entice them. We tried a few different areas to see which appealed to them the most. The final location is under the edge of our pila right next to the grass.

After a few days of them checking it out, Sombra claimed it as her own! She goes in there to relax and sleep, and fights off her brother when he tries to get in! So I'm thinking I need to make another cat house for him. :D

We jokingly started calling the male kitten, Dos Equis, and it's kinda stuck!
Here he is being The Most Interesting Cat in the World.
(If you don't get the reference, click here to see the commercials.)

Lovely Sombra. This is on the grass right next to the cat house.

BONUS PHOTO! Bert at the spay/neuter clinic held by Ayuda Para la Salud de los Perros y Gatos. He sat down and puppies crawled into his lap. We wanted to take them all home!

Bert the Dog Whisperer.