Life in Guatemala A to Z: Nature Preserve

Just outside the city of Panajachel is a nature preserve, within walking distance if you don't mind a good hike. It's where you can see the spider monkeys showing off for visitors.

And where you can cross those scary jungle bridges like you see in movies, and pretend you're Indiana Jones

Thankfully these bridges are modernized with railings!

And you can get your photo taken in front of the most amazing waterfall ever. 

And then there's the butterfly preserve, where thousands of butterflies are captured in a net building. So lovely and peaceful and picturesque.

When you visit Panachel, be sure to tour the Nature Preserve. It's well worth the small entry fee. Spend the day, bring a lunch or eat at the very comfortable visitor's center. 

Life in Guatemala A to Z: Mayans

The Mayan people are the best part about living in Guatemala. 

Their enterprising and artistic spirits...

their colorful handiwork and tapestries...

the devotion to their religion...

their celebrations and festivals...

and most of all, their beautiful, friendly smiling faces....

Life in Guatemala A to Z: Learning Spanish

It's amazing how quickly one can pick up a language when immersed in it, especially when the natives stick to their own tongue and don't speak English. Unlike resort areas in Mexico, where people will quickly revert to English when they see it's your language, in Pana it's pretty much all Spanish. Stores, restaurants, tourist spots-- places where you'd figure the workers would know a little English-- nope. It's Spanish or nothing.

This has been fun for me because I took quite a bit of Spanish in school and appreciate the opportunity to be forced into using it. Not so for my husband. He says, "I could never figure out how to conjugate English verbs, how can I hope to remember the Spanish ones?"

But he keeps at it, we both do. Ever heard of duolingo.com? It's a free site that takes you through a series of lessons, from beginner to proficiency. You just choose the language and get started. Of course, you can't be afraid to open your mouth and practice, even when something comes out to make the store clerk grin.

Have you ever visited a country without knowing the language? How did you manage?

Life in Guatemala A to Z: Kitchen

I had a gourmet kitchen in my home in the States, fully equipped, because for a time I was running my cookie business out of it, making 80 dozen chocolate chip cookies a week. And it was where I tested all 100 recipes for my family cookbook last year.

Part of the preparation of moving to Guatemala was getting rid of stuff-- so much stuff! The hardest to let go of were all my kitchen utensils and pans and tools and mixers and serving dishes and knives and double ovens.... you get the idea.

I figured we'd find a studio apartment with a mini-fridge and a hot plate. My cooking days were over!

And then we happened upon a two bedroom house with a full kitchen-- oven, regular-sized refrigerator, hot water in the sink faucet, counter space-- in Panachel real estate lingo, a "gourmet kitchen."

And now that we're settled in, I'm back to enjoying cooking. We eat simple, healthy meals, prepared fairly quickly and then we clean up.

I wash the dishes (no dishwasher!) and my husband dries and puts them away. It's rather sweet, because he never did much to help out in the kitchen ever before. But we've found it a very warm and homey and comforting routine, this simple meal prep in our "gourmet kitchen" in Panachel.

Life in Guatemala A to Z: Jalapenos

I've been a fan of jalapenos ever since I married my husband, a native of California. He introduced me to strange foods I'd never experienced before, like all kinds of spicy peppers, avocados, fresh pineapple, fresh garlic. Sure, these things can be found in supermarkets in the Midwest but they don't taste the same as fresh grown.

When we lived for a time in California, I started cooking a lot with jalapenos, tossing them in soup and beans, chopping to add to salads, making fresh salsa.

Now I'm in heaven, because not only are the jalapeno peppers widely available at the local market, but also fresh roma tomatoes. I just have to remember to treat the vegetables with a sanitary bath before chopping.

Fresh Salsa

Roma tomatoes, diced

Onion (white is best)

Cilantro to taste

Juice of 1 lime

2 or 3 jalapenos, chopped fine, seeds removed

1 -2 teaspoons salt

Cut up everything and add to a bowl. Blend well and refrigerate until time to serve. Use only 1 jalapeno if you want mild salsa. Serve with chips! (The ones I like are very thick, perfect for scooping up salsa and guacamole.)

Life in Guatemala A to Z: Indigenous and Industrious

The native people in Guatemala are sometimes called Indians, more often referred to as Mayans, or Mayan Indians. They are also called the Indigenous people of Guatemala. However, I can describe them with one word: industrious.

I'll post more about the Mayans when I get to M, because they are fascinating to me. I have never seen such hard-working people in my entire life, and that's saying something coming from Midwest farmer stock and having lived two decades in Utah (state symbol is a honeybee to symbolize industry).

The indigenous people of Guatemala put an American to shame. Whether it's working together as a family, several generations together sharing responsibility for the family occupation, or whether it's education, or just trying to better one's station-- the industrious nature of the Mayan people commands my respect.

There is a family bakery where a young man sits at night over his school books, minding the store in case someone comes in to buy the last of the goods for sale.

Young girls help their mothers daily in open rooms next to the street, where they make and sell fresh tortillas.

Little boys carry around shoeshine kits, running from one tourist to another, offering to shine shoes for a small fee.

Ancient grandmothers in bare feet carry huge loads down from the mountain to sell their wares. No job is too small, no burden too great.

I am glad at least to see this old man is wearing shoes.

Everywhere one sees industrious Mayans going about their business, whatever it is. Whether building or repairing or carrying or selling or creating or sorting or cleaning-- everywhere the work goes on. I feel truly fortunate to share a community with such hard-working people. I admire their industrious natures, and I learn from them each day.

Life in Guatemala A to Z: House and Home

I felt immediately at home in Guatemala when I woke up the first morning to a rooster call. Our first month we were in a studio apartment, housesitting for an American expat who went to the States for doctor appointments. By the time he returned, we had a house.

We were able to get settled so quickly thanks to our son in law who speaks fluent Spanish and has lived for years off and on in the area. He knew a guy who knew a guy and the next thing we knew we were happily moved into a 2 bedroom furnished home with a fireplace, a garden, a fully equipped kitchen in a quiet area of Panajachel. And the cost of living is dramatically lower than in the States, an added bonus.

Fortunately I know how to cook carrots. No such thing as "baby carrots" here

Keeping house is quite different from in the States. There's learning to cook from what's available locally. Learning to clean with unfamiliar products with Spanish directions.

Learning to wash clothes in a pila outdoors and hang them on a clothesline-- no washer and/or drier. There aren't Laundromats, but local women will do laundry, meaning washing your clothes in a pila and hanging them on a clothesline, most likely on a roof like this one.

 
We are getting adjusted day by day. Despite the challenges, we thoroughly enjoy the interest and adventure of settling into the routine of house and home in Panajachel.