Malena loves candy. And travel. And both together. And thus, this site was born.
Mmm, some of the sweets in Guatemala were excellent. I’ve already mentioned briefly my favorite, a cinnamon and almond flavored paste, encasing a single roasted almond, all glazed in sugar. The paste was so rich it tasted like cookie dough, and the coating of sugar helped add a little delicious sweetness. I actually returned to the store two more times to buy more of these delicate little treats (called Yemas de San Leandro) and am even now regretting not buying more. But what else was there? (more…)
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A few entries back, I wrote about making chocolate at the Maya Mountain Research Farm, an organic agro-forestry demonstration farm. I left a lot of it out. I didn’t write about how green and fertile everything seemed, about seeing the decades-old hardwood trees flourishing alongside of recently planted pineapple bushes and coconut trees. How it had taken Chris and Dawn years of work to reclaim the land back from the unfertile pasture. I didn’t write about the way Chris looked when he talked about his neighbors practicing slash and burn agriculture, the worry on his face, or the danger of fires getting out of control and spreading, as happens every year. I didn’t talk about the ever-present smell of ash in southern Belize and eastern Guatemala, as farmers cleared their crops before the rainy season. I didn’t talk about the distant puffs of dark foreboding smoke visible from my bedroom at the farm. (more…)
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The day started early. Alarm set at 2:45 AM, out the door at 3. Flores is deserted, shops closed and houses boarded up. Walking through the darkened streets, I find the empty shuttle and climb aboard. In a few minutes it will be packed full, people sitting on the floor and squeezed against the door. We ride through the jungle but everyone is sleeping. Then, we are in Tikal, walking quickly to beat the sunrise, climbing and climbing hills, with light beginning to ease out from under the mist, the trees full of screeching birds and buzzing insects. Up hundreds of stairs, and we are almost there, almost to the top of the highest temple where we can watch the sun rise over the ruins. (more…)
On a street near the town center in Antigua is a small, white store. Inside, the wood is polished, the walls covered with ceramic dishes and, oddly, owls. Glass display cases gleam. Flowers, candles, crucifixes, and grandfather clocks serve as decorations for the neatly ordered wares. Customers jostle for position while aproned women, their faces framed by pressed paper headbands, carefully take orders and package boxes. Behind the counter, lines of sweets seduce me. (more…)
Candy has a lifespan: a beginning, a middle, and an end. Raw ingredients are combined using secret recipes in giant factories or methods passed down for generations in a family kitchen; the resulting candies are packaged and distributed to where they find their final destination; and, of course, the hopefully delicious moment of consumption. It’s pretty easy to learn about the end of a candy’s lifespan - just grab it at the store and eat it. That’s the “research” I’ve been doing for most of the entries in this blog. Recently, I was fortunate enough to spend some time at a small agro-forestry farm (Maya Mountain Research Farm) in southern Belize learning a little bit about some of the earlier stages of candy production… how the ingredients themselves are harvested and prepared long before anything resembles candy. (more…)
Exactly two months ago was my last day of work. It was the last day I woke up in my own bed and ate breakfast in my own apartment. I’ve had some pretty amazing experiences since that day, and I still have sixteen months to go! Traveling seems to slow down time - I don’t notice days of the week anymore, and every day I see different things, meet new people, learn new and helpful Spanish words. When I look back at all I’ve accomplished since March 7th, my last day of work, I can’t believe I managed to squeeze it all into only two months! I guess not spending 40 hours a week at a job helps with that… (more…)
So, Belize was not the candy haven I’d hoped for. Nonetheless, I still spent something like 14 days there, often without any candy at all. I’m very impressed by Belize as a travel destination - it makes an excellent quick vacation from North America. All of the other travelers I met greatly enjoyed their time there, partly because there are just so many different things to do. Native wildlife, Mayan ruins, beaches, diving, snorkeling, jungle hikes, adventure tours - it’s easy to stay busy in Belize. Also, it’s so small that it’s easy to cover pretty much the whole country in a short timeframe. The only downfall is the price, as it’s much more expensive than neighboring countries. Still cheaper than the US though! (more…)