Yella's Birthday Party

I got up this morning to low clouds, which somehow had a promise of sunshine in them. And sure enough, as I was riding my bicycle into town, the sun came out...this is a thrill in the rainy season!

Breakfast at Olga's with a couple of friends, a short bike ride to Dorado Park Cafe where a plethora of gringos were hanging out, more bullshitting, then on to the gym for a workout. Then a 40 minute ride home.

Whew!!! A great morning...friends, food and exercise...not much beats that! Oh, and sunshine to boot.

Last night we invited 8 people over for dinner to celebrate Yella's birthday. These are our Primo, best friends in Boquete.

In preparation for the party, I went to David with a Spanish speaking friend. I was grilling fish so we headed out to the port of Pedregal, south of David, about 10 minutes from the airport. This little fishing village is quite impressive. We found 3 fresh fish markets and I'm sure there are more.

We learned that Friday is a bad day to buy fish. No fish left. This is a Catholic country and they eat fish on Friday.

No tuna, my favorite...no corvina. But they did have Maro, whatever that is, for $2 a pound for fillets. We passed. Too bad, I should have bought some.

We went into David to Super Baru, a major supermarket. They didn't have tuna or corvina either but they had Maro...for $4 a pound.

Ah, live and learn.

I found out that Maro is grouper.

We shopped at all the local markets for vegetables before we went to Super Baru. The city market, the biggest one, and several road side stands. This takes more time but what fun!

At the party, we roasted vegetables in the oven, Yella made a rice pilaf with peas and butter, and I grilled the fish with ginger, a little garlic and coriander.

I should have bought more fish! It was gone in a flash. I almost didn't get any of it. It was so good!! Indescribable, actually. Maro...I won't pass that up in the future...what an amazing fish. It is firmer than corvina (sea bass) but softer than red snapper. Perfect for grilling. It holds together while cooking but falls apart on your fork.

Wow! Dinner was great!.

We had a rip snorting good time with so many laughs. And the best part, en mass, at 9 pm, everyone got up and left, giving us time to clean up and be in bed by 10.

God, are we getting old or what!