And It Begins Again!

Semana Santa is kicking off! Got to see a nice little parade today around sunset. Made me smile. :)

There were a lot of groups of young people holding signs and dressed in various "uniforms". These ones were dressed in super nice suits. Not sure why. 

These girls just kinda swung their hoops around a bit. I was expecting them to toss them in the air and stuff but no such luck.

Robot kids? Okay! :D

I think these kids were representing Finding Nemo.

These kids were representing the movie Inside Out, which in Spanish is called Intensamente (Intensely).

Hawaiian Kids? Okay, why not?

This made more sense... they were representing their Mayan heritage.

Took a few short movies and put them together. Enjoy! More to come next week when Semana Santa really gets going. Such a fun time to be in Guate!

Scenes from Panajachel

Just some simple pictures around Panajachel, Guatemala, where I live.

This is my portón, my gate. The wooden door to the left is one of my neighbours; the black gate to the right is the other.

This is the view from my gate looking down the street. The boards to the left are being dried in the sun. A lot of lumber here is very wet. There is always construction going on on my street. They are building UP! They have to, cuz the houses are squashed so close together.

This is looking further up my street. Notice the tangle of wires overhead, the barbed wire, the honeycomb cobbles. The grate in the middle of the road is the sewer. Smelly!

Some lovely Mayan ladies walking down my street from the top of it, from near the highway.
I love my street for many reasons, but one reason is the pine trees. They smell like home.

More beautiful Mayan women in their lovely clothes, called traje (TRAH-hey).
If traje was cooler and more comfortable than regular clothes, I think I would wear it.

Learn more about the elements and creation of traditional Mayan clothes at Mayan Families' website.

One of the main intersections in town. The thatched roof in the middle right is La Palapa, a great bar, one of our favourites.

Walking up Calle de los Arboles. Chicken bus coming down the one-way street. Kids on a bike riding up!

Drying piñatas in the sunshine.

The church in Panajachel decked out for Semana Santa.
The banners say: Mercy, God. We have sinned.

Shoeshine boys and their customers.

Inside the mercado, the market.

The maze of narrow hallways in the market.

The upper level of the market, fruits and veggies, plus butchers along the back wall.

An abundance of fresh veggies outside the market.

The municipal office in Panajachel. For some reason, there are metal statues of dinosaur skeletons in this park. :D

Another busy intersection in Pana. The guy in the yellow vest on the middle left of the picture is the traffic cop. Tuk-tuks everywhere! :D

Flower petals in water at Deli Jasmin.

Flashback! Vanilla Coke, Cherry Coke, Cherry 7Up in Sandra's Grocery.

My first choco-banana, courtesy of my friend, Jo-Lori. Cost Q1. Delicious!
Very cold. The banana is frozen. Almost like eating a banana popsicle.

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!)