Shore Food on a Panama Canal Cruise
A few months ago I took advantage of a great rate to do a Panama Canal
cruise. I traveled on the Island Princess, IMHO one of the nicest cruise ships around. The gourmet food on the ship was very nice, but I was on a
mission to find some local type places in the countries I visited.
Cabo San Lucas was first. Beer for $2.50 USD----with a free shot of tequila!
I
found my next good meal in Acapulco, going off the beaten (touristy) path in
a quest for a taco. I found this stand, out on a side street with nary a
tourist in sight. The menu says it all. Aprroximately $2.50 USD for 5 tacos!
The experienced waitstaff, ready to take my order.
I ordered a variety of tacos---chiccharon, al pastor pork, chicken, mole and barbacoa. This is what I got.
Each one was delicious. I also got a side of beans (visible in the row of containers on the front of the cart) and some salsa. The cost---$2.50 American. Street food at it's best!
Walked back to the touristy part for a local beer to finish it off. Yum!
In Puntarenas, Costa Rica, I found this ceviche------strictly local sea bass.
!
!
Some of my adventures were cut down some by the weather. It's the
rainy season in Central America and I got a good dose of rain. In Panama
City/Puerte Amador, I did make it to a neat little outdoor area where I
got some great empanadas.
The dough was flaky and fresh and the chicken and pork stuffings were delish.
The dough was flaky and fresh and the chicken and pork stuffings were delish.
There was another street vendor grilling some meat on skewers. And after all, what could be more street food than a meal cooked over a auto wheel!
Later on, I did my search for ceviche. I had decided to see if I could
try some in each of the cities I visited. Here's the ceviche in Panama
City.
A mixed type, with octopus, shrimp and local fish.
A mixed type, with octopus, shrimp and local fish.
It came with the
hottest----and possibly best---hot sauce I had ever eaten. It's a Panamanian specialty called aji chimbo. I asked if
the had it bottled to go, but no such luck----they made it fresh during
the day. Look at that color. Habanero supreme!
The local Panamanian beer was good too.
The first time I was in Aruba I just walked a few touristy places and
had some coffee and that was it. This time, I decided to talk to the
locals and see what to try. Some of the locals at a store I was in
steered me on to this thing called a pastechi. It's essentialy Aruba's
version of the empanada or Jamaica's pattys. The first place I was sent
to looked promising. The women at the store said they got them all the
time from this place. I went there but they were out of just about
everything.
I went back to the store where I had been and got a suggestion of an
even better place but one that was quite a walk. Well, I was on a
mission!
The sign in from of the place left nothing to doubt. I had arrived.
The sign in from of the place left nothing to doubt. I had arrived.
I looked at the menu. Too many interesting things to choose from!
I decided to try a beef one and a conch pastechi. Conch happens to be
one of my favorite things so I was really happy. They came quickly,
accompanied by two bottles of sauce---a hot sauce and a curry sauce.
I split them in two so I could try each half with a different sauce.
They were delicious. The conch was tender and still had the taste of the sea. The beef was good too. If I could have ordered one of everything on their menu I would have. The sauces realy kicked things up but did not overpower the flavors.
They were delicious. The conch was tender and still had the taste of the sea. The beef was good too. If I could have ordered one of everything on their menu I would have. The sauces realy kicked things up but did not overpower the flavors.
After that I went to Iguana Joe's to sample the local beers.
The Polar Beer, while technically not local, comes from
Venuzuela-------seventeen miles across the sea from where we were.
I had a few disappointments. Cartegena, Columbia, was the port I
wanted to see the most. I had a place called La Cevicheria all picked
out as well as planning on walking the streets to buy a few more vendor
treats. We shared a taxi with some women from another ship and got a great 4 hour guided tour from the taxi driver. It poured rain the whole time and traffic was a mess,
so all I got was some of the local beers at a little bar out of the
rain, outside but under an overhang. Good, but not what I wanted
foodwise and certainly not the walking day I had planned in Cartegena.
Even in the rain, though, Cartegena is one beautiful city.
When I arrived in Ft. Lauderdale, I still was looking for some good local places.
What better way to end the trip, sitting across from the beach..........
....and having a rum and coke at the Elbow Room!
