When I went on a group tour to Belize and Guatemala, I didn’t have many expectations about the local food. The beginning of our trip involved a lot of transportation, which meant prioritizing convenience. I had such forgettable meals as hotel breakfast and a bag of chips on the non-air conditioned bus to Flores, Guatemala.
Now, Flores is a beautiful little town, but the main reason we were there was to see the incredible Mayan ruins of Tikal. We had to get a very early start the next morning, so early that our only option for breakfast was one roadside restaurant along the way. Overall, my expectations were not high.
Desayuno típico
We pulled up to Resaturante Gonzalez, which was set up like a cafe with a terrace under a thatched roof. The deep green of the jungle was visible beyond rows of picnic tables. I got the desayuno típico, or typical breakfast, which came packed in a styrofoam container for easy transport.
As soon as I opened the container, I knew this was a good breakfast. Fresh tortillas, fluffy scrambled eggs, a little mound of puréed black beans, and more. To be honest, I wasn’t totally sure what everything was. Fried plantain, I recognized as a Central American staple. (It’s like a more starchy banana.) I soon discovered a hunk of salty cheese similar to feta, as well as little containers of salsa and cream. All of these delicious components combined perfectly with the fresh tortillas.
More breakfast, please
The desayuno típico was a 10/10 way to start the day. I had plenty of energy for exploring Tikal. (Which you should see, by the way. I wrote a mini guide.) I knew I had to seek out more of this amazing breakfast the next day.
We found a nice restaurant attached to a hotel in Flores. They had a similar and also delicious breakfast. I managed to use my broken Spanish to order extra plantains, because they are delicious and I was afraid they might be hard to find again. My travel partner got a slightly different breakfast built around a tamale. Rich, smoky, savory, it was really an incredible thing to have first thing in the morning.
Breakfast in Guatemala surprised me in the best way. And finding an unexpectedly awesome meal was a great reminder of why I love to travel. Though it’s always exciting to see a place you’ve dreamed about, some of the most magical parts of traveling are the unexpected things you experience along the way.
