Panama

7 posts

An Epic Journey to the Darien Gap, the End of the Road

IMG_3830The Darien Gap, a roadless swath of jungle, separates Panama from Colombia, North America from South America. Panama does not want the two countries and continents connected because of leftist rebels in Colombia, cocaine trafficking, human smuggling, and foot-and-mouth disease.

This month, I took a 2,500 kilometer bus trip from Guatemala to the Darien Gap. Yaviza, population 6,000, marks the southern terminus of the Pan-American Highway and the beginning of the Gap. No matter where you live in North America– Toronto, DC, Dallas, Atlanta, LA– if you kept driving south, you would end up in Yaviza. Continue reading

Recipe Sunday: Panamanian Ceviche

Recipe Sunday: Panamanian Ceviche

A few weeks ago I shared with you a recipe for corvina. In keeping with the theme, this week I decided to share a recipe for ceviche, which is a dish that features fish that has been cooked not by heat, but by the acidity of limes. My mom spent this past week with us, and we made this together last Monday. We bought the fish and prepared the ceviche on the same day, since you want the fish to stay as fresh as possible. Be careful when cutting up the scotch bonnet peppers, as the heat from the pepper will stay on your fingers and can cause a lot of pain if you touch your eyes. Continue reading

Recipe Sunday: Bamby’s Corvina

Bamby's Corvina
I recently started shopping at my local fish market (Lombardi’s, HOLLA!) and was amazed at the variety compared to the grocery store, and at a similar price point. The best part about shopping at Lombardi’s is that they have corvina. For those of you not familiar with it, corvina is a mild white saltwater fish, and it’s mainly consumed in Latin America. Continue reading

Recipe Sunday: Tres Leches


I recently returned from a nice long vacation in my hometown of Panama. There was a LOT of eating, especially desserts. My favorite dessert of the whole trip was the Tres Leches. I had several variations, but my favorite was the one at this great restaurant called Market. The key to this dessert is giving the yellow cake enough time to absorb the cream, and serving it chilled. Continue reading