So, in order to  satisfy the curiousity of my friends, I always try to take photos of the food.  A picture is worth a thousand words when it comes to food. 

Other than eating breakfast in the Panama City, Panama, Marriott Hotel, we ate the rest of our meals out ,which only consisted of 3 meals.  One of the lunches was in local pizza joint across the street from the hotel.  I don’t remember the name of it, but it was very good.  We had a huge pizza, salads, cokes and mineral water.  With tip it was about $24 USD.  A little pricey.    

Our two dinners out were both eaten in local restaurants that I had read about on Trip Advisor.  They were within walking distance of the hotel.  Many of the restaurants in the area were open air or at least had an open air part to them.  If you wanted the air conditioning, you could sit inside. 

The first dinner out was at the Costa Azul , just a block or so from the hotel.  It had good reviews.  Stephanie had steak and fries, and I had the Corvina fish in a Creole sauce.  She had a Balboa beer and I had ice tea that was heavily laced with lemon.  We ordered tap water.  The place looked clean so we figured the water was fine.   We also ate a big order of Calamari plus a couple of salads.  Total tab was around $25-a good value.    We ate outside under an awning.  It was an interesting place.  There were a lot of locals, 3-4 Americans,  and a mix of other foreigners.  I got the impression it was a hangout for ex-pats. 

Here are some of the pictures from the dinner at the Costa Azul restaurant. 

The placemat from the Costa Azul

Steak and Fries from the Costa Azul in Panama City, Panama

Corvina in Creole sauce in Costa Azul-Panama City, Panama

Calamar in Costa Azul Restaurant-Panama City, Panama

salads and drinks at the Costa Azul in Panama City, Panama

Fish from the other table

If you wonder where this whole  fish came from, it was actually another customer’s meal.  He saw me snapping photos and wanted me to take a picture of his fish……whatever!

We ate our other dinner at a restaurant named The Terrace.  I don’t have any pics of the food because it was so dark in the restaurant that we had to use the lights from our cell phones to read the menu.  We split a hamburger and some chicken fingers.  I didn’t figure you needed any photos of either of those.  It was more of a bar than a restaurant.

Next-Leaving Panama and headed south to Ecuador

Steve Barrymore

ssb11@prodigy.net

 Part of the Huashi night market

Some Dinner choices in the night market

 I asked him to select some shrimp for my dinner, but I don’t think his hands are clean

 Ok, here is my dinner-half eaten!  That is one big shrimp!

I am not sure this little guy is going to survive the night!

The highlight was a demonstration at a store front where there was a highly animated pitchman screaming about a red liquid in a glass, claiming it was snake’s blood, and would do great wonders for our health. Even though he was speaking Chinese, I caught the drift.  

For effect, three large boas lay in a glass cage in front of him.    I was the only Anglo in a group of perhaps 100 Chinese spectators.  I was 6,000 miles from home, by myself, and watching someone drink snake’s blood!!  I passed on the purchase. I remember thinking, “how cool is this!  A little more than 24 hours before, I was sitting in Will Rogers Airport in Oklahoma City”.    

Next-Is there enough time to buy a t-shirt?

                 The street surrounding the market of San Juan de Chamula

                   The Market of San Juan de Chamula

Teresa introduced me to one of her personal friends who ran a small food stand. The lady was interested in my life in the U.S. I told her about my vegetable garden that I tended as a hobby.

                                            Check out the fresh vegetables of the San Juan de Chamula market

Soon, other vendors began to gather around evesdropping on my story, until there was an audience of (9) nine vendors encircling me listening intently to my description of my garden. Of course, this was all in Spanish.

We suddenly were no longer tourists in their market, but had evolved into their friends sharing information about our life in the U.S.

Teresa finally told us it was time to go. One of the vendors, a woman,  followed us to the car. She spoke to me very quickly in a Mayan dialect. Since I don’t speak Mayan I asked Teresa to translate. She said the woman was intrigued by my garden stories and wanted to come to the U.S. with us and work beside me in my vegetable garden!

It was at this time that Carol gently whispered into my ear “your stories of your vegetable garden are over lover-boy—you are not bringing  any strange women back with you to help in the garden.  No new wives!”.  With that, we hurredly left San Juan de Chamula. It was a fun day.

Next-A special visit to a school on the outskirts of San Cristobal de las Casas

If you want some great Mexican food holiday recipes I notice that Dave Cathey, The Oklahoman’s food editor has some great recipes on his web site. You can find it here: http://blog.newsok.com/fooddude/category/mexican-food/

BTW-If you want to check out some really neat stuff about what is happening on the redesigned Newsok.com then you need to check out Alan Herzberger’s update here

View my other travel blogs on NewsOk.com:                                            Colombia:                                                                   http://blog.newsok.com/thewanderer/category/colombia/

Mexico:                                                                          http://blog.newsok.com/thewanderer/category/mexico/

Caribbean island of Barbuda:                           http://blog.newsok.com/thewanderer/category/barbuda/       

San Juan with a 5 hour layover:                                  http://blog.newsok.com/thewanderer/category/san-juan-puerto-rico/     

Fly around the U.S. for the day:                                    http://blog.newsok.com/thewanderer/category/day-trip/

                                                This is the entrance to the kitchen                                                        

      Preparing the tortillas from scratch

               Time to throw more tortillas on the fire

              Carol throwing down some tortillas-notice how stuffed her cheeks are–Hey, save some for me!!

I wasn’t sure the health department would approve of our dining situation, but it is one of those experiences you cannot afford to pass up and we were better for it.  We probably ate 20 tortillas.                                                                 Some of the helpers with the dishes                                                                                                                                                                                                       We were leaving the house when I saw the above photo opp which I thought was interesting.  I turned around and quickly captured it. 

In SJC there is a very interesting church with an incredible religious history that is much too complicated to go into on a blog, so you will just have to go yourself. Don’t miss it! I will tease you with a photo of the doors of the church.                                                                After the church tour we went out into the plaza and were in the middle of a huge market.     

Next- The Market of San Juan de Chamula and an opportunity for a new wife!

If you want some great Mexican food holiday recipes I notice that Dave Cathey, The Oklahoman’s food editor has some great recipes on his web site. You can find it here: http://blog.newsok.com/fooddude/category/mexican-food/ 

BTW-If you want to check out some really neat stuff about what is happening on the redesigned Newsok.com then you need to check out Alan Herzberger’s update here

View my other travel blogs on NewsOk.com:                             Colombia:                                                                          http://blog.newsok.com/thewanderer/category/colombia/ Mexico:                                                                       http://blog.newsok.com/thewanderer/category/mexico/                                                                       Caribbean island of Barbuda:                             http://blog.newsok.com/thewanderer/category/barbuda/                                                                         San Juan with a 5 hour layover:                                    http://blog.newsok.com/thewanderer/category/san-juan-puerto-rico/       

Fly around the U.S. for the day:                                      http://blog.newsok.com/thewanderer/category/day-trip/

If you liked these street scenes then check out my next blog with some shots of the buildings of     San Cristóbal de las Casas.

If you want some great Mexican food holiday recipes I notice that Dave Cathey, The Oklahoman’s food editor has some great recipes on his web site. You can find it here: http://blog.newsok.com/fooddude/category/mexican-food/ 

BTW-If you want to check out some really neat stuff about what is happening on the redesigned Newsok.com then you need to check out Alan Herzberger’s update here

View my other travel blogs on NewsOk.com:                       Colombia:                                                                  http://blog.newsok.com/thewanderer/category/colombia/

So there you have it.  We found the food in San Cristobal de las Casas to be of excellent quality and quite reasonable.

If you want some great Mexican food holiday recipes I notice that Dave Cathey, The Oklahoman’s food editor has some great recipes on his web site.  You can find it here: http://blog.newsok.com/fooddude/category/mexican-food/

 Next-Instituto Jovel-Our Spanish language immersion program in San Cristóbal. 

 BTW-If you want to check out some really neat stuff about what is happening on the redesigned Newsok.com then you need to check out Alan Herzberger’s update here

View my other travel blogs on NewsOk.com:

Colombia:                                                                              http://blog.newsok.com/thewanderer/category/colombia/

Mexico:                                                                                 http://blog.newsok.com/thewanderer/category/mexico/  

Caribbean island of Barbuda:                                           http://blog.newsok.com/thewanderer/category/barbuda/  

San Juan with a 5 hour layover:                                                   http://blog.newsok.com/thewanderer/category/san-juan-puerto-rico/

Fly around the U.S. for the day:                                                       http://blog.newsok.com/thewanderer/category/day-trip/

Bela is an extremely warm and friendly hostess, and an American if you need someone who speaks English. Included in the price is a great breakfast every morning where you get to meet the other guests from around the world that are staying with her. During our 6 days there, we met people from Spain, Chile, Panama, Canada, and France. Everyone took time to introduce themselves. I believe this part of travel is the best…….meeting other people who share their travel experiences. You become instant friends.  

 Bela has two great cooks that really know how to prepare fantastic meals.  Take a look at this photo of the kitchen below.  Can you imagine the delicious food that is prepared there?

                 The Kitchen where the great meals were prepared

We had the blue room at the top of the house (pictured below) that had a beautiful view of the city and the surrounding mountains.

                 The view from the window of our room

The rooms were extremely well decorated and spic and span clean.

                 Our Bedroom

Even though only breakfast was included in our price, Bela invited all of her guests for a special lunch one day. Her cook, Manuela, prepared absolutely the best chile rellenos I have ever eaten in the world. The 8 guests at the luncheon table all shared their own stories of their journeys through Mexico.

                                                  The dining room:  breakfast is almost ready

                      A typical, very healthy breakfast at Bela’s

                                                 The cozy fire in the corner of the dining room

                                                 The sitting area in the other corner of the dining room at Bela’s

                                                Bela (Left), chatting with Carol (right).  The dog  could care less about the conversation.

Bottom line: If you plan to visit San Cristóbal de las Casas in Chiapas, Mexico you need to consider Bela’s. It is a very reasonable place to stay. Here is the link to her web site for more information:

www.belasbandb.com

I have some interesting photos coming up in the next few posts giving you good idea of what the town looks like and the language school we attended

 Next-The food photos of San Cristóbal de las Casas, Chiapas, Mexico

 BTW-If you want to check out some really neat stuff about what is happening on the redesigned Newsok.com then you need to check out Alan Herzberger’s update here

View my other travel blogs on NewsOk.com:

Colombia:                                                                            

http://blog.newsok.com/thewanderer/category/colombia/

Mexico:                                                                                 

http://blog.newsok.com/thewanderer/category/mexico/  

Caribbean island of Barbuda:                                            http://blog.newsok.com/thewanderer/category/barbuda/  

San Juan with a 5 hour layover:                                                    http://blog.newsok.com/thewanderer/category/san-juan-puerto-rico/

Fly around the U.S. for the day:                                                        http://blog.newsok.com/thewanderer/category/day-trip/

Once we were in town, we walked around for 6-7 blocks until we finally found an ATM where we got some Pesos to buy dinner. The town of Palenque is pretty bland, sort of a hodge-podge of buildings. Ok, it’s a little dodgy! Seemed like an assembly place for backpackers who are heading off for other parts of Mexico. It reminded me a lot of Tena, Ecuador that sits at the bottom on the east side of the Andes.

Saturday night  downtown in Palenque, Chiapas, Mexico

Using our trusty Lonely Planet guide book we headed for the best restaurant in town, a beautiful open air place named Restaurant Maya Cañada. The service was great. We both had steak for around $10 USD each. Before we left, the restaurant had filled to capacity. We knew we had made the right choice.

Steak Dinner

The dessert was the best part. Check this out:

Half a coconut shell filled with coconut ice cream topped off with a chocolate bar.

After dinner, we walked to the bus station to pick up our tickets for the bus the next day to San Cristobal de las Casas. Since I had originally purchased them on line before leaving the states it was just a matter of getting our boarding passes printed. I didn’t want to chance having to stand in a long line the next day.  We would spend the next a.m. visiting the musuem at the ruins before leaving for San Cristobal in the afternoon.

Next-A brief visit to the Musuem of the Ruins in Palenque

View my other travel blogs on NewsOk.com

Colombia:                                                                http://blog.newsok.com/thewanderer/category/colombia/ 

Mexico:                                                                  http://blog.newsok.com/thewanderer/category/mexico/

Caribbean island of Barbuda                          http://blog.newsok.com/thewanderer/category/barbuda/

San Juan with a 5 hour layover                                    http://blog.newsok.com/thewanderer/category/san-juan-puerto-rico/

Fly around the U.S. for the day:                                                                 http://blog.newsok.com/thewanderer/category/day-trip/