Best thing I ate on my travels in 2013

Welp we are closer to the end of 2013 and I already posted my favorite recipe of this year. So I thought I'd add the best thing I ate while traveling in 2013. This one was an easy one...I only went to Guatemala this year! I was itching to book plane tickets SO BAD but I ended up getting a Cross Country Coaching job that I did not want to pass up. Probably one of the best things I did for myself this year. Not only am I a better runner now than when I first started 13 years ago, I worked with high school students instead of my little ones and it was an experience I'll never forget.

Definitely had a great group of students to run with and despite working in 'The Valley' (I did find (smell) some pretty authentic restaurants to eat at while running!) and the commuting everyday (I will not miss the drive!!), it was a learning experience that I needed and appreciate the opportunity I was given. I also learned that I need to toughen up a little! :)) I was constantly told that "I'm too nice." If someone yelled at me, I wouldn't want to go run 8 miles!! Maybe that's why I sometimes get taken advantage of but I'm glad the teams respected me and listened to what I had to say. My boss at my other job just told me the same thing. :/ Even when I wore my 'tough cookie' shirt. He didn't by it!

So anyway, that was my reason why I didn't purchase a plane ticket this year but I will be doing that soooooon.... :)

So with all the wonderful meals I ate in Guatemala, this was the best thing I ate while traveling in the year 2013:

Marshmallows roasting over an open and active volcanoooo! ;)

 

Just kidding...that was one of my favorite things to do in Guatemala. I AM A SUCKER FOR MARSHMALLOWS! EVERYONE KNOWS THAT!!

 

Ok the best thing I ate was...

 

 

Pollo Asado con tortillas, tomate, y cebolla!

 

It was simple, filling, made with love, and enjoyable to eat while chit chatting it up with the locals around the asado. It was actually the first meal I could eat and felt normal again after my sleep deprivation experience ...that won't happen again! It felt so good to eat this comforting meal. I almost went for seconds but ate at the asado right next to this one..to be fair! :) I also enjoyed the rellenitos! I didn't get a chance to love up on the Guatemalan tamales and chile rellenos but my best friend is Guatemalan and her mom makes the best! And I love the Guatemalan restaurant Guatemaltecos to get my fix when I need it.

 

So there you have it! The best thing I ate while traveling in 2013. Until next year.... :)

 

The best thing I ever ate in....

Argentina


Carne Asada from a street parilla. The smell made me get off the bus while the bus driver was making his way back on the bus to get the show on the road. I begged for two more minutes and he just smiled! He knew. That's how good the smell was and how much I had to have it.



Of course I have to have my flan and te con leche



Dulce de leche is another must in Argentina



Mate. Mate. Mate. When someone offers you their mate, you better not say no!


And you can't go to Argentina and not eat their beef.
Brazil


Pumpkin Bean Soup. So hearty.


Pirarucu a Baiana. Years later and I still remember its taste.
Honestly, I preferred Northern Brazil. I felt I could really dig into the Brazilian culture up north. Southern Brazil is lovely of course, but I felt like I was really eating food made from someone's heart.

And of course...


Have açaí any way that you can.

Ecuador


Camarones al ajillo. Yesss.

The Galápagos Islands
Jugo de tomate arbol. No picture sadly, but introduced to the tree tomato on the islands. Surprisingly sweet and quite enjoyable to drink.



Very fond of the fresh albacore tuna steaks.

Chile


Machas a la Parmesana


Patagonian Lamb


Harina Tostada (Toasted Corn) Gelato

Colombia
Not making a decision yet due to not enough exploration. Next time!

Honduras


Spent most of my time near the Caribbean so I really just appreciated the fresh seafood.

Panama
Pretty much all of Central America, I just appreciated the seafood the most.




Costa Rica




Shrimp and Fried Red Snapper.


Agua de coco fresca

Curaçao
(Not pictured)A plate full of seafood. Fish. Shrimp. Scallop. Baby Octopus. Mussels. It went straight to my heart.

Mexico City
Have to dig a little deeper for my Mexico City pictures but pretty much everything I ate there was delicious. Mexican food hasn't tasted the same to me ever since.

Bolivia


Fried fish and Ispi with purple potato and corn


Sopa de mani. Really, all the food was wonderful and homey in Bolivia. Al paca was another treat.

Peru
Everything. Seriously one of the best cuisines in the world. Yes, I said it. Here's just a few dishes to drool over.


Lomo Saltado


Meat and potato on a stick. My choice was llama. Served with salsa.



Peruvian ceviche


Chicha Morada. I'm very fond of this drink and make it quite often now.

Egypt

Falafel. Fluffy and made to perfection.


Zalabiah




Really just loved the street fruit and corn.


You can't go to Egypt and not partake in drinking mint tea.

Turkey
Need more time to explore. Of course the food is amazing there.

Guatemala


It's just as simple as pollo asado, tortillas y cebolla. Made with love.
Food is just better when it is made with the heart.

I take it all back

Remember what I said about sleep and how it's only for home? Forget what I said. Sleep IS for home AND for travel. You need it to function. Your body needs the rest and to be given the chance to rejuvenate for the next days great adventure. Of course when traveling there are plenty of times that this is not possible. It's okay. This is supposed to be part of the travel experience. It's a miracle if you are able to sleep on an overnight bus from one destination to the next. I try but I just can't do it!

With that said, by day 6 of my Guatemala experience, my friend and I were so sleep deprived, we couldn't even function. We spent most of the day exploring Tikal with no food, made time for a quick snack/lunch though I really had a hard time eating while feeling sick to my stomach, and went to freshen up and relax before New Years dinner and festivities. Then it somehow finally caught up to us.

Of course more me than her because she can fall asleep ANYWHERE and wasn't nearly as tired as I was. I really don't know how she does it.

Night time hit and we were planning on eating dinner around 8 and ending the year exploring more of Tikal.

But by 6 pm, she was telling me she no longer had an appetite, didn't want dinner, and was focused on the mosquitos flying in our cabin.

I was still really hungry but I was so physically exhausted I literally couldn't move and even go to get dinner. I could not get up, keep my eyes open, couldn't focus on her trying to keep our conversation going, my body was frozen, kept falling asleep while she was talking then waking up with migraines, feeling like throwing up nothing because I had nothing in my stomach, and really did not care about the flying mosquitos and the 3 not small spiders next to my bed and normally I DO! They could have attacked me and I would have let them. It was that bad.

All the days leading up to day 6 with barely any sleep finally caught up and it wasn't pretty. And that is how I ended the year 2012.

My plan was to wake up really early and spend New Years Day in the jungle and watching the incredible and 'magical' sunrise as described exactly to me by a few friends. It would be me alone because Vanessa was fine with not having to wake up at 3 am and wanted the sleep time. After hearing about this 'magical' sunrise more than once, there was no way I was going to miss out on the opportunity because I knew I would have regretted it. That and I love wandering around any jungle/rainforest any chance that I get.

Well then that sleep deprivation experience happened and I realized I really needed that night of sleep....so somehow I finally was able to reach over and turn off my alarm. I sadly 'thought' I made up my mind about not going to see the sunrise and continuing my exploration of Tikal. I didn't know what to do and I knew deep down it was the wrong decision.

And funny how things happen to fall into place. Vanessa got out of her bed to go to the bathroom and with the flick of the light, I woke up. I tried covering my face to make it dark but I was wide awake. I turned over to look at the clock and it was 3:50am. I all of a sudden got really worried and right away Vanessa could see it in my eyes because you can see EVERYTHING I'm feeling through my eyes and said: "Do you want to go see the sunrise?" And I responded with: "Yes, I really want to." I knew then I would have been so disappointed in myself if I made it to Tikal and didn't even go. And somehow I found my energy, quickly got up, changed my clothes, threw on my shoes, no make up, and grabbed my camera, flashlight, and Tikal ticket. I was out of there at 4 am. And just the night before, I couldn't even move a muscle!

The time spent in the jungle at 4 in the morning was absolutely amazing. There are not enough words to describe this experience. The sounds were just indescribable. The howler monkeys were so vocally vibrant and expressive. The bats flying around. I love and appreciate everything the jungle offers. Not just here but through my other experiences in the Amazon as well. Oh and the sunrise above the rainforest really was 'magical'. I'm keeping that experience for myself and won't post any pictures of it just to leave it as a surprise for anybody planning a trip there.

The other bonus for being up that early was that the area was nearly deserted! I got to spend more time within the Mayan pyramids with no distractions and tourists! I was able to really take it all in, take pictures, and see what I missed out on the previous day. Got a few cool pictures taken of me from some people there with promises of emailing them, in which I have received! I also helped out a couple from Mexico and Argentina who didn't have a camera and couldn't capture any Tikal pictures. I paid it forward and took some of them with promises of emailing them. Glad I got to help them out and give them a good memory to have on their journey.:) It was a day that I won't ever forget and am so glad it was meant for me to wake up without my alarm and to explore more. Being happy to wake up at 3:50 in the morning just sounds so silly!

So with all this, I won't change my style of travel and love of adventure. I also really love sleep and will continue to make sure I'm getting it but at the same time not sleeping through an adventure and missing out. All I can say is don't do what I did! Fit sleep in somehow! Time and the amount of days I had affected what I was going to do in Guatemala. I normally don't have this problem. I diagnosed myself with the case of the 'I have to see it all in this time period'.

Can't wait to revisit what I ate in Guatemala. Oh and one more thing I took from Guatemala--I should have been making my own tortillas a long time ago. That starts from now on.

On the road again...

On to another vacay.....oops, I mean ADVENTURE!

Guatemala

Will be doing so many things, I probably won't have time to sit! Sleeping is for home as I always say. ☺ Even with this cold that I've just caught, I can't let it keep me from climbing the volcanoes and playing in the jungle!

Happy Holidays and Happy New Year!

My new years resolution(s): Run more races, bike more races, and try to stop using so many exclamation points!

❤

Rain ♥

Rain. I can't resist it. I'll sit near a slightly opened door to listen to its sound. I can watch it for hours and somehow I never get bored. I love it oh so much. In fact, I just enjoyed a homemade breakfast under an umbrella, outside in the rain. :)

Thought it would be wonderful to post a few pictures from some of the places I've been to on a rainy day.


Plane ride from São Paulo to Manaus, Brazil.

Tons of rain in the Amazon Rainforest = mud. Coca, Ecuador.

Two days prior, we were walking on that path just fine. Coca, Ecuador.

Staring out my window and watching the rain. Dolphin Beach. Isla Isabela, Galapagos.

Slight rain drops on this beauty. Isla Floreana, Galapagos.

More drops on these green clovers as well. Isla Floreana, Galapagos.

Hiked up an inactive volcano trying to look through the rain and clouds to search for another volcano. Isla Isabela, Galapagos.

Due to the rain, I slipped and got muddy.:) Isla Isabela, Galapagos.

The clouds came in. Isla Roatan, Bay Islands, Honduras.

The clouds and the sky darkened. Isla Roatan, Bay Islands, Honduras.

The rain came. And it was not light at all. Vehicles in this alley way were stuck and had to be pushed out. Isla Roatan, Bay Islands, Honduras.

A beautiful rainbow after the rain over Panama City, Panama.

Very stormy here. Isla Yandup, San Blas Islands, Panama.

There I am lying down and relaxing on that hammock while watching the rain and listening to its sound. Isla Yandup, San Blas Islands, Panama.

Had to walk around on this small island trying to find things to do. Beautiful over the water cabins before being hounded by the rain. Isla Yandup, San Blas Islands, Panama.

Walking in the rain on the bridge. Between Playon Chico and Ukupseni, San Blas Islands, Panama.

Stormy weather = Currents so strong that if I had gone into the water, I wouldn't be writing this blog post now! The most beautiful and clean beach I have ever seen and it's my dream to go back ASAP. Red Frog Beach, Isla Bastimentos, Bocas del Toro, Panama.

Beautiful kids walking in the rain and holding their umbrella. Puerto Viejo, Costa Rica.

Light sprinkle on the way to Volcan Poas. Alajuela, Costa Rica