COLOMBIA.

As soon as we got into Colombia we experienced the food and I started our recollection of memories.
$1 USD equivalent to approximately $1,800 Colombian pesos.


Hit Juice.
Simple bottled juice, not too sweet and for $1,200 Colombian pesos this will take your thirst away.

Pizza in Cartagena.
I did not write the name of the place but Ludwig from Stahlratte is well known there. We had dinner with him and his wife, the German couple we met in the hotel where we stayed who are travelling on a motorcycle with a side car around South America and other folks. This place was able to provide us with a delicious pizza “Todas Carnes” (All Meats) for $15,000 Colombian pesos, not bad… the company we had made it worth it!!!

Jota’s fish.
A little bit about Casa Grande before I introduce you to some of Jota’s creations. Casa Grande used to be the main stop out of many vacationing fincas, restaurants and a discotheque around 1983 in Colombia. For a little while the operation of Casa Grande was not the same due to the safety issues Colombia had to go through. Now days, Casa Grande welcomes local and international tourism again at a reasonable price and with wonderful service. This place has eight cabins ($60,000 Colombian pesos/night/cabin for 4 people), camping area ($12,000 Colombian pesos/night/person) or simply the opportunity to spend the day here for $5,000 Colombian pesos/person (access to the beach, showers and toilets). The personnel in the restaurant of Casa Grande is always willing to prepare fresh food made with local ingredients; the most popular and well known dish is “curvinata” fish in a coconut sauce.
Casa Grande is a tranquil and safe place, near a river that flows into the ocean at just few minutes from here. Casa Grande is easy to locate in Mendihuaca at five minutes from Tayrona Park and ten minutes from Guachaca (by vehicle), a place where you can get basic items for cooking or snacks if you prefer to prepare your own meals.
Jota, Jorge Mendoza, the owner of this place is dedicated to his business and to the customers; by looking at his smile you can tell what his forte is, people. Born Colombia and Canadian by destiny, Jota is again in the land that gave him birth in order to support his community and grow with his people.
How do we know Jota? Through Rigoberto, a great friend who we will never forget. Rigoberto is basically hosting us here and ensuring we find out more about Colombian culture; even from Canada he still takes care of us very well… Thanks Rigoberto.
If you are in Colombia do not forget to stop by Casa Grande (www.casagrandesurf.com) anytime of the year except for January (1-20) or Semana Santa (Spring Break) because according to Jota Junior you cannot even walk around here due to the huge increase in tourism, 600 people per day… He says this area becomes a “despelote” (busy busy).
Now I can tell you what we had the first day we arrived here. We had some delicious fish on a coconut sauce with coconut rice, salad and patacones (fried compressed plantains). This would normally cost $15,000 Colombian pesos.

Jota’s empanadas.
Three delicious Colombian empanadas, fried with cheese inside; this makes for a full meal. Cost=$1,500 Colombian pesos/each.

Tuna Creations.
This wonderful well packed tuna can be used in any dish. We just made a sandwich and the best part of it is the light weight of the packaging. It is a product of Ecuador, purchased in Panama and packed by an American company… but we cannot find this anywhere else… weird…
The package costs between $0.9-1.3 USD

Colombian beer.
One of them named Club Colombia, strong enough and tasty. Cost at a restaurant $3,000 Colombian pesos

Jota’s beef.
Another dish at Casa Grande. The same kind of presentation than the fish but with beef. Cost=$15,000 Colombian pesos.

Parasites lentils soup.
An awesome creation, a variation of what I would normally make at home with spinach and potatoes. The only other variation is that it contains a lot of dead parasites that we spotted in the water, it sounds horrible but it is the truth; while taking a closer look of the water of the area where we were we found lots of little animals in the water and even though we tried to get them out we could only hope they die with boiling water. We will have to improve our technique of dealing with water in Colombia because we have met a few sick travellers who have ended up in the hospital. We drink bottled water or filter and boil it before use.

Ingredients:
1 Package of dried lentils
1 Small onion
1/2 Red bell pepper or “Chile dulce”
Garlic
Potatoes
Pepper
Salt

Preparation:
1) Cook the lentils with water for about 10 minutes. Add the potatoes.
2) Watch for the potatoes until they become soft and then add the rest of the ingredients.
3) Once they are all cooked, add salt and pepper to taste. You could also add some Knorr chicken broth if you want to have the extra flavour.
4) Enjoy this delicious meal full of protein for a minimum cost.

Cost=$1.5 USD for about 4 people…

Water.
Yes water. You can find water in Colombia in bags. Take a look.
300 ml=$500 Colombian pesos. 600 ml, take a guess? 1,000 Colombian pesos.

Jota’s Arepas de huevo.
Arepas is almost like a tortilla but ticker. They can be simple arepas, just the tick-non fried tortilla or it can be fried with an egg inside. The simple arepa is probably Brian’s favourite Colombian dish. The prices are:
Simple arepa: $1000 Colombian pesos each.
Arepa de huevo: $3000 Colombian pesos each.

OFI Beach Bread.
What is that? It is an Opportunity For Improvement… yes. Brian, as usual, comes up with great ideas and when possible we try to give a step forward to materialize them.
In this case, while at the beach, not being able to take more sun because we had enough in San Blas Islands and our bodies were cooked, we decided to make a little oven in the beach. It needs to be improved but the bread we got was just fine. Some of my beautician skills came in handy…

Here is the recipe:
Ingredients:
4 Cups of flour
1 Tbsp. Sugar
¾ Tbsp. Baking soda
1 ½ Cups water
2 Tsp. vinegar (to activate baking soda)

Preparation:
1) Mix all ingredients well together and kneed for two minutes.
2) Let it sit for at least ½ hour.
3) Cut an “X” on top of the bread loaf.
4) Bake at 200oC if possible. In our case we were not able to measure the temperature in our rustic beach oven, but it worked!!!

Cost=$0.50 USD and a bit of muscle… Brian’s muscle.

Palm tree leaves are awesome!!!

Jota’s chicken.
I love chicken and I had a wonderful piece of chicken with boiled potatoes, salad and coconut rice. Price is normally $15,000 Colombian pesos. Simple and tasty…

Jota’s fish soup.
This tasty soup is made out of different types of fish from the area; they don’t waste anything here so the heads of the fish are the main component. Regular price: $4,000 Colombian pesos and as a combo $7,000 Colombian pesos which includes coconut rice, patacones and salad.

PANAMA.

Ice cream.
Guau, really really tasty and economical. We enjoyed a big cup of ice cream for just $1 American dollar. Two important pieces of information: the national currency in Panama is called Balboa but they use American dollars and they are equivalent to their Balboas that means you see American bills circulating as well as Balboas and American coins, they do not have Balboa bills and you cannot use the Balboas anywhere else but in Panama.
The second piece of information is that there are lots of Europeans in Panama, specifically Swiss people in the North therefore you can actually find good milk products, like ice cream.

Cerveza Panama.
It is a light and tasty beer and when it is enjoyed by the beach is even tastier. We stayed at “Cabañas Carrera” in Las Lajas for $10.0 a night with all basic services needed. The price of a Panama beer is $0.75/each, a Corona is $2.0/each.
Along with a beer some fish is just perfect. A regular dish of meat, fried plantains or potatoes and salad is about $4.0-$5.0 American dollars. Not bad and well done.

Con la Tia.
We discovered I have an aunt in Panama City and her family hosted us for a good amount of time. My aunt and uncle made us feel like at home, my aunt cooked a lot of delicious Mexican food that I have been honestly missing, also Panamanian meals. She cooked some “Crema de Habas” (creamy soup), habas is a type of a broad bean (according to a website) but I am not sure of the exact translation. Very tasty, almost like chickpeas.

My uncle in the other hand took us to have some Pozole at Sanborns and that was very thoughtful. Pozole is a Mexican traditional pre-Columbian soup cooked with dried maize and meat mainly, it is really tasty and spicy.

We cooked crepes at my aunt’s home with Brian’s simple recipe but this time our cousin Daniel was in charged. He made the crepes and we just observed and ate. We all had different designs and really enjoyed using our imagination. Food brings people together for sure…

Tortilla Panameña is something typical in the country and it can be made at home or found in the grocery stores already made and frozen. It is a ticker tortilla and it is very tasty, a little bit greasy since it is fried but tasty!!!

Sancocho is another typical Panamanian dish, it is a thick soup made with chicken and veggies; new to us a veggie called otoe, similar to yuca but not quite yuca; this veggie is purple and delicious. My aunt said she had spent about $8-9 dollars for a big pot that would feed 8-10 people, so basically about $1 USD per person for a full meal.

Thanks to both of you for taking care of us.


El Rincón Suizo, en la cava.
This was a total new experience for us, not just the Swiss dishes but the Cava (cellar) as the area to have our meal. It was fantastic… A friend on my aunt and uncle, Ricardo, included us in his list of invitees to this dinner. We were able to enjoy amazing dishes and desserts, as well as wine.
Some of the dishes we had (in Spanish with a rough translation):
-Lengua de res a la vinagreta. Beef tongue vinaigrette style.
-Risoto con calamares y langosta. Risotto with calamari and lobster.
-Pulpo al aguardiente. Octopus.
-Ternera con rosti. Beef with Panamanian potatoes.
-Plato Suizo. Swiss plate.
-More… I can simply show you the pictures but pictures do not make justice of this feast.

I cannot speak about the prices because we did not pay but I can only tell you that Panama has everything you can wish for. I felt like in Vancouver B.C. where you find several options.
Thanks Ricardo for the experience…

Delicioso!!!

Uno de los platillos favoritos de Brian: Risoto.

Pulpo Ummm...

Rico!!!

Plato Suizo.

La Cava.

Gracias a todos por la experiencia. Gracias Ricardo.

Swiss pizza.
Just because this pizza was made by a Swiss couple in Panama. While in Panama Passage, a hotel/camping area, we met a Swiss couple who invited us to have pizza with them, made by them with a little bit of our help. I am glad that the Argentinean fellow who was there and who was also invited declined the invitation; his response in Spanish was that he could not eat such a fatty thing but the next day he was eating pancakes with a lot of corn syrup. Something does not make sense but it does not matter because we had a fantastic meal. The pizza had cheese, tomatoes and eggplant and a variety of secret spices… Delicious… Thanks guys.

Kuna Yala meal.
The Kuna Yala Comarca cooked this meal for us, the passengers of Stahlratte while in San Blas Islands. This native group, one out of the seven tribes in Panama, is well organized and out of the ordinary. People live close to each other in these islands and happy to preserve their heritage. We really enjoyed this BBQ chicken.

Members of Kuna Yala Comarca dancing...

Stahlratte style.
Ludwig, the Captain of Stahlratte (the sailboat we took from Panama to Colombia) knows how to keep people happy on board. Here are some of the various dishes we enjoyed in this journey, some of them we were unable to enjoy due to sea sickness, but one day when our legs grow stronger we will come back to meet Ludwig again for a one good reason… take a guess…
German bread, Ahrr Rum & Coke with a squeeze of lime, lobster on the grill while in a Virgin Island, pasta, Semmel Knődel with beef stew; the Semmel Knődel was new to us but it is basically a German version of meat balls without meat but do not call them meat balls or Germans will get angry, they are actually made with bread and bacon in this case… isn’t bacon meat?

On the Stahlratte, sharing a meal prepared by Ludwig...

Captain Ludwig: Rum & Coke.

Thanks to the Stahlratte crew for this...

Awesome lobster!!!

No meatballs...Semmel Knődel with beef stew.

COSTA RICA-4a. Parte.

LAST ONE…

This is the last blog for Costa Rica. Coffee… How hard can that be or easy? As easy as a piece of equipment like the one show in the picture and some coffee. You can buy one of those “coffee makers” for as little as $3.0 dollars
One of those is called “Chorreador” and the cloth filter is called “media”.

Coffee is pretty tasty but Brian prefers the French press ;)

Thanks Hannah for making some coffee for us in our last night in San Vito.

COSTA RICA-3ra. Parte.

MORE… I did mention that Costa Rica lacks of good food, that does not mean Costa Rica does not have good food, it does but the general “Cultural attitude” is very simple and without much flavour, the good thing is that there are lots of Europeans and they contribute to the simplicity of the meals but with a lot of flavour. Costa Rica does have great fruit and great pizza in many places. However, we were really fortunate to have Luis’ family teaching us about Costa Rica’s cuisine.

Here we go…

Arepas.
These are almost like hot cakes and most Costa Ricans use sour cream, jam or cream cheese on top. Very, very tasty but what made them great is that they were prepared by Luis’ aunt.

Snug Harbor Seafoods Pasta.
This is a great memory of our 1st. Anniversary on the Road… Thanks Megon and Kevin for providing us with this wonderful can of salmon prepared precisely by Megon’s family business.
The recipe costs (including the can of salmon) $3.5 dollars and it is prepared as follows.

Ingredients:
1 Can of King Wild Alaskan Salmon
Pasta
Sour cream from Costa Rica (Natilla)
6 Cloves of garlic
1 Small onion
1 Red bell pepper or “Chile dulce”
Olive oil
Salt
Pepper

Preparation:
1) Open the can and enjoy the smell while you cook the rest of the ingredients. Tourists were gathering around at this point, locals were evacuating.
2) Cook pasta al dente, my favourite method as it keeps the taste of the pasta.
3) Dice 6 cloves of garlic as well as a small onion and a red bell pepper. Fry all the ingredients with some olive oil and add them to the cooked pasta.
4) At the end add the can of salmon along with the sour cream (Ticos call it Natilla) and slowly enjoy this wonderful salmon… of course with the addition of salt and pepper to taste.
5) If you do not know Megon and Kevin you can substitute the salmon for something else of your preference.
6) Good luck!!!

Thanks Megon and Kevin, we really enjoy the salmon!!!

Casado Mahi Mahi.
This was the typical casado from Costa Rica but including Mahi Mahi. We were staying at Hotel Verde Mar in Manuel Antonio and had Chef Oman Ramon Gomez Vargas producing this delicious dish for us.

A little bit of background to all this.
Chef Omar took some courses through INA and other Institutions in Costa Rica. Since 1956 he has been practicing the art of cooking and throughout his career he has participated in different activities and festivals, one of them was the IV Festival Gastronomico Internacional in San Jose, Costa Rica. His life has been dedicated to improving himself and staying updated by reading books like “Mi Cocina” by Auguste Escoffier and attending cooking courses constantly.
For Omar, Costa Rican cuisine is nutritious and rich; however the common Costa Rican tends to put together lots of starches in the same plate. For him it is easy to make perfect combinations since he appreciates the variety of fruits and veggies that Costa Rica owns.
He prepared this Casado that is generally found in a popular restaurant or “soda”; this same dish is found in first class restaurants with the name of Platillo Tipico Costarricense: rice, beans, fried or boiled plantains, salad, and meat.
Our Casado was composed of: Mahi Mahi or Pez dorado found in the Pacific Coast of Costa Rica perfectly prepared and juicy, rice, some veggies (chayote and corn), fried plantains, beans and Turrialba cheese. Fish was prepared with a simple recipe of Salsa Lizano, lemon juice and pepper.
This dish normally cost 3500 Colones, Omar made a bigger plate for us for 5000 Colones.
Omar says that his speciality is Gastronomy in general because everything he prepares tastes delicious… he is right!!!
If you are in Manuel Antonio or Quepos don’t forget to stop by Hotel Verde Mar which is located at 200 metres before the heart of Manuel Antonio, Omar will be waiting for you with proper parking and with enough speed to ensure he satisfies your appetite. He is able to prepare a typical Costa Rican dish as well as an International request.
verdermar@racsa.co.cr

Flor @ San Vito.
Bread is something we enjoy very much. We found a bakery in San Vito, in the South of Costa Rica, that had some spicy tasty baked goods and some sweet queques (cakes). The prices range between 300-1500 Colones depending on size and complexity. The owner and the staff are very friendly and helpful; don’t hesitate to make a stop here since they also have coffee… Enjoy!!!

Liliana’s Pizzeria y Restaurant @ San Vito.
This pizzeria is famous in the country. We were here in 2005 and really enjoy the food and Italian accent. This time we could not forgive ourselves if we missed the excellent service and products they offer while being in San Vito. We had a large pizza (14 pieces) of De La Casa Pizza (meat and tomato sauce, cheese, bacon and mushrooms) and a Bavaria beer from Costa Rica. Pizza was 6700 Colones and beer 1200 Colones. These prices are plus 13% sales tax and 10% service tax. Worth it? Absolutely…

Rainy San Vito.
Yes it is rainy, really rainy but cooking is always a pleasure especially when nothing else can be done. Pasta is a staple but there are always variations to cooking pasta; we recently found this tomatoe sauce that is very convenient because it comes in a small plastic package and it is not heavy. Remember, when on bikes, the lighter the better. I have to say that in Costa Rica we are fortunate to find products in small sizes and light containers, I love it!!!

Ingredients:
Pasta
Salchichon ahumado (kind of sausage)
Salsa de tomate Ranchera Maggi
Cloves of garlic
1 Small onion
Broccoli
Turrialba cheese
Olive oil
Salt
Pepper

Preparation:
1) Cook the pasta al dente and use the hot water to simmer the broccoli.
2) Dice the onion and garlic and with a little bit of olive oil cook these ingredients, add the salchichon (cut in pieces of the size of your preference). Once all these are cooked add the tomato sauce.
3) Add this mix to the pasta.
4) Add broccoli in the side. Brian does not like to mix his pasta with broccoli, that is why is better just to place it in the side. I was really happy to finally find good broccoli.
5) Add cheese to this combination, salt and pepper to taste and enjoy!!!