For many, many reasons, I was long overdue for a vacation, and happily got on the plane before Christmas to join up with the travel group for two weeks of glorious holiday in Panama (the country, not the city in Florida, Pete). A little over a week in Panama City, including a few excursions to nearby islands and beaches, then four days in Bocas del Toro, a group of islands on the Carribean side of the country.
Panama, in one word, was FABULOUS. It was warm, sauna warm, a much appreciated break from the Seattle cold. The food, especially anything from the sea, was wonderful and delicious and fresh. The beer was ice cold. The beaches were beautiful and the water was warm. The jungle was lush, tropical, full of weird bugs and creatures that I had only seen in National Geographic. And the people in our group were fun, so very fun to travel with. It seems that the country's political winds are calm, and Panama is rapidly becoming a destination for expats of all sorts, looking for opportunity, buying a condo or a resort or an island.
Assorted highlights of the trip are below. I've inserted a few pics (in addition to those posted on the previous entry) and once Marc and Chris get all of the pictures organized, I'll post a link.
Ceviche. Fresh raw fish and seafood, mainly corvina, octopus (pulpo), shrimp (camarones) and calamari marinated in lime juice and depending on the chef's mood, maybe mixed with chopped red onion and celery. The end product was tangy and citrusy, which suited the fresh taste of the fish. One of my favorite meals was a ceviche taste-off at the Mercado del Marisco, comparing Panamaniam ceviche (cooked for a few days, so very tangy) to Peruvian ceviche (barely cooked for about twenty minutes and tasting only faintly of citrus). Both were delicious and impossible to choose a favorite. I probably ate ceviche every day in Panama City; sadly, Bocas suffered from a shortage of limes and ceviche was not to be found.
Corvina a la Plancha al Ajilla. A slightly flakey, mild white fish excellent cooked almost any way. It's similar to sea bass, but as that fish is nearly extinct, corvina is the replacement, known as the "next sea bass". I loved the fish grilled and covered in garlic sauce. The sauce was different at each restaurant; my absolute favorite was at Prado in Panama City, the fish grilled to perfection and covered with a chunky garlic and tomato sauce.
Trapped on a Tropical Island. Gabe, Jason and I flew to Contadora on Christmas Day, a small island on the Pacific side. A tiny, tiny prop plane managed to land us in one piece on the runway, which extended the length of the island, literally dropping off into the sea. It was a spectacular landing - an island rising out of the sea, covered in beaches and jungle, with a narrow strip of runway. We practically had the beaches to ourselves. Lunch was wonderful (if limited) at the Romantico Restaurant. Suddenly, late afternoon, clouds gathered and we experienced a near monsoon - the heavens opened up and poured giant buckets of rain onto us. Gabe and I were forced to take shelter indoors, and then had to move a few times as the flooding water approached; Jason had gone off for a run and took shelter on the opposite end of the runway. The drenching ended after about an hour, long enough to ensure that our plane wouldn't be taking off that night back to Panama (not because of the weather, but because the flight was delayed past the time the one-man Contadora flight controller would stay at work). Thus, an overnight in Contadora, where we stayed at the lovely Hotel Punta Galeon. Sadly, we did not pack as wisely as Ginger and Mrs. Howell; although for reasons that I still can't explain, I'd thrown an extra t-shirt, underwear and set of contacts in my bag. It was an adventure, and gave us a chance to return to the Romantico for Christmas dinner, where we were greeted by the German owner and our lunch waiter as long lost friends. And yes, I had ceviche with dinner.
Restaurante Mercado del Marisco. This was my favorite place in Panama City - I ate here at least three or four times. Fresh, fresh fish, which seemed appropriate as it was located above an open air seafood market. In addition to amazing ceviche, I had one of the most flavorful and complex fish soups I have ever tasted. The broth was delicious - I suspect made from a base of fish bones and parts and whatever else creates broth, with huge chuncks of fish, shrimp and octopus, as well as a few other wonderful flavors (coconut milk, perhaps). The restaurant also served many other dishes, including stews and risottos and other stuff. And their signature, a whole fried fish - perfection.
The Panama Canal. The canal is an impressive feat of engineering. Awe inspiring, amazing and interesting. I'm not sure what else to write...
Buccaneer Restaurant. The Buccaneer was attached to our very fun and rustic hotel in Bocas, on Isla Carenero. I should point out - Bocas is really a group of islands, and the only way to get around is by boat. Fun by day, slightly eerie and beautiful in the early inky black of night, downright scary late in the pitch black of late night while traveling in a motor-powered canoe. But about the restaurant. We ate dinner at the Buccanner three times; I had the same dish each time: pulpo (or octopus). Huge chunks of octopus sauteed in a wine sauce, tender and delicious. It was also served with patacones, fried plantains. I sampled patacones all over Panama, and decided that the Buccaneer has the best.
Dolphins & Poisonous Frogs. After spending three days in scuba certification class, ChrisB wanted to see something besides a classroom and insisted that we join him on an afternoon boat excursion. I suspect he may have been disgusted that those of us not scubaing had spent those three days eating, drinking, reading, hanging out and gazing at the waves hitting the break from the Royal Suite, and decided that we needed to do something, rather than nothing, in Bocas. So we got into a boat for an adventure. After traveling through water bordered by jungle and mangrove forests (amazing beasts, really), we arrived at Dolphin Bay. As one would suspect, Dolphin Bay was full of dolphins - glorious, beautiful creatures playing in the water. We all gasped upon seeing the first one, simply remarkable. After admiring the dolphins (and making appropriate admiration noises and trying to snap pictures), we went to Red Frog Beach. First, to get to the beach, we hiked through jungle, along a clay path. Probably because the jungle is also called a "rainforest", the clay path was wet, sucking away shoes and coating everything, sort of disgusting. I managed to cut my hand on some bamboo, but eventually made it to one of the most beautiful beaches I have ever seen. We frolicked in the water, admired the handsome Brazilians and yes, Chris found a few of the tiny, brightly colored and highly poisonous red frogs, plus a few other tropical bugs. From there, we went to a cove for some snorkeling, where I swam and paddled around in the warm water.
The Pickled Parrot. George, a salty American ex-pat, owns and runs the Pickled Parrot, just a short walk from the Buccaneer. It's not quite clear what he did in a previous life, "nuculear robotics", possibly a lot of pot and some pretty looking tabs, but he did make a mean margarita and an excellent pina colada (and that's coming from me, the person who doesn't really care for blended, fruity drinks). The food was also solid - the Thai Soup was my favorite, a coconut milk soup full of fish and seafood. We never knew what would come out of George's mouth; for example, "So the menu got a bit messed up and I need to fix it. I got laid up for a month after getting into a planecrash and they created the menu and just didn't do it right". A short pause before Gabe said, "Ummm, wait a second, can you back up. You were in a plane crash?"
Drinking in Panama. I'm a beer lover, and to me, with a few exceptions, nothing is better in a warm tropical climate than a cool beer. The Panama cerverza was my favorite - light, not much body, similar to a Corona. I made margaritas one night (Gabe insisted, we had tequila and "after all, they are a tradition"); they weren't that great due to a lack of triple sec and lemons (mental note: come prepared on all future trips). Johnny brought Pimms from the UK, which with the fresh fruit, was soo delicious. Although, whoever ate all of the pineapple out of the batch of Pimms I made, I still hate you.
Coconut Water. With a machete, it's fairly easy to get coconut water by hacking off the top of the coconut, or at least it looked easy watching the guys at Isla Taboga. Several days later, I watched Elizabeth at the Buccaneer bash a green coconut against a tree and drink the juice; she told me it was good for hangovers (I guess she recognized a fellow drinker when she imparted that knowledge). A few days later, perhaps while under the influence, Marc decided that he wanted coconut water, so found a rickety ladder, climbed a tree, gathered a couple of coconuts, and then spent the next half an hour bashing the hard coconut against the concrete. Eventually, he cracked it open, giving us delicious, tangy and very fresh coconut water. A machete, or probably picking a green coconut may have been easier. As I decided to document the experience with my camera (cause we all know I was hoping for a great "falling out of tree" pic), I know how much hard work he put into getting that cocnut water out, which made it taste even better.
Fluffy the wonderpup. It's a good thing that most cocker spaniels are not the brightest of dogs. But they are super cute to look at, which is all that counts in the end.
And finally, thank you Gabe for planning such a fabulous trip!
