Tonight we hit the big city of La Chorrera for some culture at the annual International Fair. Clyde splurged a whole $1.00 each for tickets prior to entering the fairgrounds. There were TWO seperate entrances....one for
damas and another for
caballeros (or ladies and gentlemen). Women had to open their purses so the police could look inside. This is a common practice whenever a women enters a bank in Panamá also. And the men were frisked by guards before being allowed to enter the fair. I was hoping that the hunky uniformed police would have frisked me, but they just stood there holding their rifles.
A cute litte Panamanian boy
Some native little dancers posed for the camera
Yes, those are real Panamá hats and they are commonly worn here
The hats are worn flipped up in the front
Our nostrils filled with the smell of grilled and fried foods immediately. A sign for 25 cent hotdogs caught my attention, since a hotdog in the U.S. at a fair sells for about $2.00. A
hamburgesa or hamburgesa con queso sold for a mere $1.00 and $1.50. We were hungry but I had reservations about eating the food since it was all pre-cooked with flies hovering over it all. My eye caught some kabobs with chicken, bell peppers and onion that looked safe enough and tasted pretty good. Still hungry I opted for a cheeseburger since they were wrapped in paper. Not a good choice since cows in Panamá are skinny and ground beef here has a stretchy, dense texture with little to no fat. It wasn't too good but something to eat. Clyde ordered a tamale which usually has meat in the middle but this one was just cornmeal. It looked more like a banana and I thought he ordered plaintain by mistake.
Tons of pre-cooked food everywhere, and the flies were enjoying it too
Don't know what was in this sausage, but it was speckled
A Panamanian tamale
My sad looking hamburguesa con queso
Wow, they even make cotton candy here!
And she didn't give us one in the bag she made us a fresh one
This little thing only cost $1.25
The fair was huge with a wide assortment of foods, vendors, rides for the kids, music, dancing and more. There was also the agricultural part where local farms showed off their prized cows, and horses for the kids to ride.
Moo...
Only $1.25 for ALL the rides in the kiddie section
No seat belts or safety harnesses even on the big adult rides
It's been many years since I'd been to a good ole' fashioned country fair and I had no idea that I'd find such a thing here in Panamá. The fair for the locals is a great place to take the family for some good clean fun at reasonable prices. For us it's just another adventure, another first here in Panamá along the gringo trail.
Sugar Cane Juice...We just had to try it but we didn't like it
Sugar Cane, they grow it here in Panamá
Sugar Cane Press to make syrup
Model of some type of indigenous dancer in costume
That was not a tamale, it is called bollo "boyo" . A tamale from Panama is square and flat and wrapped in a green plaintain leaf, and it will have meat and spices inside. However, it does not taste anything like tamales from Mexico. The bollo will be covered in sugar cane leaves. Now, bollo preñao (it's pronounced kinda like 'pregnow') will have meat and spices inside. The last picture is a Diablos or Diablicos. And, I happen to LOVE jugo de caña! Some of my other favorites that you should try are arroz con piña or chicha de papaya, you can get them at the Chichemito in Chorrera, a very popular fonda there. Chichime is very popular drink but was not one of my favorites, it's made from corn.
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