Panama

Panama was an awesome trip!

I am getting back to the swing of things (work schedule, laundry) and healing from a bad fall off a bike down there (EEKKK!!). Panama was indeed a beautiful country from what I was able to see of it. My friend and I moved a lot between 3 spots: Panama City, Boquete, and Bocas Del Toro.

The food everywhere was delicious! We ate out at restaurants a lot, which I love doing (especially on vacation), and a fancy schmancy dinner there was no more than 20 dollars a plate- something you'd never find in the states! We ate a TONNNNNNNN of Ceviche, where you can find at most restaurants in Panama.

Ceviche is either a fish (corvina), octupus, shrimp, or a mix of all three. The diced fish is marinated in a citrusy-lime dressing. There is no cooking involved, in fact the lemon-limey dressing denatures the proteins in the fish, in a sense "cooking it".

In Panama, most Ceviche was mixed with chopped onions and seasoning..mmmm

Sounds nast, but its DELISSHHH and refreshing, especially when you get really fresh fish from the fish market! I got a ton of protein and Omega-3's during this vaca!

The juices there were also unbelievable. Most smoothies were from natural fruits (mango, guava, pineapple) and "fruit punch" tasted natural and not too sweet, unlike any 'fruit punch' you'd get here. There was a lot of "american-type" foods everywhere as well, including cheeseburgers, french fries (papas fritas), but there was not a lot of pasta or pizza anywhere which was a good change! For breakfast we usually had egg omelet's and fruit :)

Panama is beginning to become a touristy spot, which is why I would recommend going before it becomes too commercial. Also, The Panama Canal & it's museum was quite impressive if you ever make your way down there.

PANAMA

As some of you know, I have been planning a trip to Panama with my good friend Alyse. We are leaving on Sunday, March 7th (very early...530 am) and I will be there until the 16th of March. This is my first trip to Central America, and I am excited for all the things we have planned! Panama borders the country of Colombia in South America and Costa Rica.

We will be hopping around, mainly from Panama City--> Boquete--> Bocas Del Toro. We plan on doing some Zip Lining over the jungle, hiking Volcan Baru (an inactive volcano near Boquete), visiting a coffee plantation, and definitely the famous Canal. A few days lounging on the Caribbean beaches will be nice as well.
I am not familiar with Panamanian food, but from what I've read, meals are based around coconut rice (rice made with coconut milk), beans, and fried green plantains called patacones. Apparently a lot of food is fried, but I will be on vacation...so I plan to indulge a little!! I will have to be careful to avoid travel 'sickness'...it's recommended to eat only things that are piping hot and to drink bottled water in most places.
I will try to post some info once I am there, but I will definitely post pics when I return.