Hello Guatemala

After 3 hours in an airport lounge guzzling the free Cali Chardonnay and an overnight flight with no sleep, we arrived in Guatemala City feeling slightly un-fresh.

Our ride wasn’t there so we hitched another ride with a guy called Edy Eduardo, what a cool name, and 40mins later we rolled up to our new pad in Antigua. Cities like Antigua don’t change much in 15 years, there is too much history and cultural pride to let things move, which is why places like this are so attractive to visit.

I was so keen to get to the markets I didn’t even take a good look around our new diggs, I grabbed my sunnies and walked into town to do my most favourite thing in foreign countries; which is to put my cash card into an ATM and watch the local dosh spit out. Who knows how much 2,000 QTS really is? I mean its equivalent to about $250 Aus but that means nothing, the real question and meaning is how much good living this will provide.

After stumbling upon a spectacular garden café for breakfast, we wandered through the produce markets and found a lady hand-making mouth watering quesadillas. Which I have since leant are called 'Pupusas', quesedillas are Mexican. We had just eaten a massive breakfast, but that didn’t stop us woofing down a couple of these delicate parcels of awesomeness. I’m in this part of the world to perfect making tortillas so its very exciting to see them made by experts. Years of practice make this look as easy and putting the kettle on for these ladies. They perfect a round shape each time which is quite remarkable once you have attempted it yourself.

What is resonating here is the absolute simplicity of the local food, tortillas are corn flour and water, guacamole is avocado and salt, salsa is chilies and tomatoes. Modern Australian cuisine tends to over complicate things, which makes it easier to make mistakes. Here, the outstanding guacamole for your tortilla is made fresh each time so the avocado doesn’t turn brown, the tortilla is cooked in front of you to keep the fresh corn taste, aromatic salsa is made daily; this is real food for me. Not a packaged guacamole or bread loaf in site. It just reiterates the splendour of preparing your own food daily with simple fresh ingredients and to not rely on mass-produced goods.