What's to do and Eat in Boquete?

We have friends visiting from Arkansas.  This blog is our culinary progression through the last 2 days with a little activity thrown in.

After picking them up at the airport in David--early--we stopped for breakfast at Olga's.  This Panamanian restaurant is on the side of a house.  Olga greets each person with a big, warm open hug.  It is hard to imagine a better way to start breakfast.  She serves traditional USA food like eggs, oat meal, pancakes and french toast as well as a very Latin juevos rancheros which does not resemble anything in the USA.  These eggs are served over tostados smothered in a sweet tomato sauce with a little bit of bite.  Delicious if you are in the mood.  Breakfast including a dish of fruit, eggs, toast and coffee is $5.45 with tip.

We then visited the fish monger and asked for ceviche which is raw fish marinated in lime juice and spices.  He didn't have any so we decided to make our own.  We purchased 2 pounds of Dorado, Mahi Mahi, for $5 and 2 dozen limes, onions etc for $2.40.  Squeezing 2 dozen lime takes some doing!  But, the result was really good.  We have enough ceviche for an army.

We ate lunch at Sobrason, another Panamanian restaurant that is cafeteria line style.  I normally get fried rice, baked chicken, salad and blackberry juice for $2.75.  Our guests were very pleased with the food.  

We then went to a garden that is on the grounds of a private residence.  This is a 20 acre or so estate with at least 10 acres in garden.  The owner keeps it open to the public which is a remarkable service.  The grounds are nothing less than spectacular.  I included some pictures of a minuscule portion of the garden above.  Note the flower within a flower.  

The next day we ate lunch at Tammy's, an Israeli lady and her American husband run the place.  She specializes in wood roasted chicken and middle eastern dishes.  Her chicken is to die for!  We ordered a variety of dishes, most of them I can't spell, but one thing was for sure, we all had the wood roasted chicken.  She also specializes in fresh fruit drinks which we all had.  In the end, we spent about $7 per head with tip.  Once again, everyone was very pleased.

We have yet to take our guests to a higher end, "good" restaurant!  They are going to be blown away by what is in store for them in the next few days.  

Showing our friends Boquete and Panama is a real treat!