Now this is not a picture that you will see in most sites from Guatemala. This was taken in the highlands of Guatemala, not many travel to these high remote villages like I do. I love going up and visiting the people that live in these areas of the country. When I take teams up to do humanitarian work in these villages we are always welcomed to a delicious meal. Every time we are greeted with home made tamales. Tamales can be plain or filled with vegetables, cheese, chilies or meats; chicken and pork are the most common. Most of the time these tamales are made of masa (corn dough) and wrapped in banana leaves and steamed. Most of the time tamales are served to us with either
Guatemala Pepián or Subanik. These two dishes are very special to the Mayans that live in the highland areas of the country. Another traditions that you do not see on other web sites or blogs is the laying on pine needles on the mud floors for their guest. This is very special and means a lot to the locals. You see in these areas of the country the local villagers do not have cement floors and most of the homes are made of mud. So when guest come it is tradition to pick bushels of fresh green pine needles and lay them on the floor like carpet. This also brings a fresh aroma to the room.
