Fun in the Sun......

As the sun rose high above the Campana mountains we made our way out of bed to begin yet another day in paradise. After our morning ritual of tea, coffee, oatmeal and blogging, we headed to the gym to pump some iron.

 A while later our friends joined us pool side for some time to chill in the hot sun.  Since my friendly husband is a stranger to no one, he quickly made friends with some tourists from Alabama visiting the resort.  As the time melted away like beads of sweat on our bodies, it was two in the afternoon before we realized we needed some lunch.  The four of us decided to get dressed and find a place for lunch,  and we invited the couple from Alabama to join us,  We stopped at a nearby roadside bistro to introduce the tourists to "typical" Panamanian fare.  Once inside they had a chance to experience fried yucca as part of their entree.  Yucca root is peeled, boiled, and cut into strips that resemble french fries, then deep fried for a local side dish.  Another favorite local side is plantain cut into pieces smashed down and fried, then smashed again and fried until they're crispy chips. Both are commonly served in place of french fries, although those are common here too. 

By the time we finished lunch it was 4pm and Clyde and I needed a few things from the grocery store.  After a brief stop in Coronado he wanted to take a detour into Gorgona beach to find the fish market.  After asking a few locals, we found the fish market but were told to come back early tomorrow for some fresh catch.  We sunk our toes into the mixture of black and white sand that lined the shore as we walked the beach.  Fishing boats were perched along the left side while the break of the surf tickled our feet to the right.  After our walk a local fisherman approached Clyde trying to sell his catch.  After checking it out for freshness, we bought a tuna that weighed six pounds at $2 a pound, it came to $12 and the young man cut it up for us too.  Stray cats watched with drooling tongues just waiting for something to be dropped. 

Back at the casa we showered off the sand, had a snack and bagged the fish for a later time.  Clyde is a happy camper now since he'd been wanting to buy some fresh fish.  Tomorrow we might have to fire up our new gas grill and cook up some tuna.  It might make for a fishy day here along the gringo trail.