When last I left you, Michael had just finished his first
talk at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Center. After a quick meet and greet accompanied by
wonderful fried “taquito-esque” appetizers and cold, cold beer, Allen suggested
that we walk the 15 minutes (more like 30) to a Peruvian restaurant that he
loved.
The walk thru Panama City was enjoyable as we watched the
hustle and bustle of a typical big city just after working time is over. We walked thru a pedestrian mall with all of
the stores playing loud Latin music trying to entice shoppers into their store.
The architecture was typical for a Latin American country,
complete with bright colors and intricate wrought iron…..
As we passed this church I had to snap a few photos…..
I wish that we had been able to stop for a few minutes to
have a look inside!!
The first question as we sat at our table was what we wanted
to drink. Michael and Allen chose a Sangria
but I had to have the classic Panamanian drink….the Pisco Sour…..
It is made from Peruvian Pisco (a type of brandy), lime or
lemon juice, simple syrup, an egg white and a few drops of bitters. It is whipped until frothy and served over
ice. It was so refreshing.
Now it was time to order dinner. One of the other things that Panama is
famous for is their Ceviche….fish that has been marinated in lime juice and
served raw. I was skeptical but found it
to be really good. We also ordered
grilled Octopus for one of the appetizers…..
….and it ended up being my favorite of the evening.
For the main course, I had a Sea Bass with a tomato sauce
and Michael had Garlic Prawns…..
My meal was nice but his was delicious!!!
Of course we had to order dessert and we both chose the
sweet, cold Flan…..
As you can see, all of the plates had gorgeous
presentation!!!
I fell in love with the tiled floor and especially like the tile just above the blank one.....
It has so much depth to it!!!
We walked back out of the city, with Allen taking us thru
some of the un-gentrified areas. The
best scene of the evening was a house with it’s doors wide open and lots of
people sitting outside. They had all
gathered to watch the Panama vs Honduras Soccer match. It was quite a spectacle.
Allen took a side trip into a bar just so we could see the
city from the balcony……
It was worth the diversion!!
But the best/worst spectacle of the evening was this Mola
Swimsuit……
You may disagree, but I thought that it was hideous!!!
We were passed by one taxi that had his windows down and rap
music blaring….we did NOT ride with him!!
On Wednesday morning we headed to another of the STRI
institutes located on Naos Island. To get
there, you drive out on a Causeway that was built to help protect the Canal
from silt buildup. It was interesting to
be on this narrow piece of land with Panama Bay on one side and the Pacific
Ocean on the other.
As Michael started his talk, I went for a walk along the Causeway,
stopping at a small “Super Mercado” (grocery store) to buy a bottle of water and a snack. There were tables set up just outside of the
store and I joined two other people watching a Spanish dubbed version of Little
House on the Prairie!!
As I walked back to the Institute, I enjoyed seeing the
Panama City Skyline in the daylight……
…..and watching a group of Pelicans enjoying the sun. There was one who was either a bad fisherman
or he REALLY loved to dive into the water, and I watched as he dove over and
over again.
The drive to Allen's home follows along the canal and I was once again amazed by the sheer size of the container ships, especially compared to the size of the tug boats that guide them!!!
We arrived back at the house and packed up for the next leg
of our adventure….more to come!!
3 comments:
Mmm, that cocktail looks and sounds delicious!
Nothing beats having a local to show you around!
That yellow building is so cool! And the night view of the city is enchanting!
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