Got lost for the first time. Had great Salsa lessson. Had my first horrible meal/service at In-Fusion Restaurant.
Tomorrow I’m gonna have an early day for sure…My days start out pretty late because the roads are crowded and the heat is stifling. I lnow i’ve talked about the heat a lot. I actually like it and want to get as much of it in my body before I get to Toronto. I’ve been hearing the reports of how friggin cold it is there. So at 3:30pm I was attempting to find something to eat for lunch. I went in the restaurant at the hotel, they had advertise this lentil soup the day before and I so thought I’d go for that, but they didn’t have it anymore-I think it was yesterday’s meal. I then went across the street to In-Fusion and they were closed. I looked over the menu and thought maybe I’d venture back there later. I got directions to the supermarket. I have a little fridge in my room and thought it would be great to get some fruit and some water and snacks. I got directions from the front desk and some how I passed the market completely and ended up at a park. It was across from the Intercontinental Hotel. I want to go there one night-they have music and shows and that also where the two bajan-panamanian guys work.
It was quittin’ time for most people so lots of hustle and bustle. A few homeless people in the park, high school lovebirds and seniors with nurses. I was right beside that main street again-the one that has like 10 lanes to cross. All the buses stopped at this park as well. I am not sure that I am so adventurous as to hop on a bus in Panama. The buses are old school buses and it just doesn’t seem that easy to figure out what the system is. I had a thought of taking the bus to Metro Mall-but I just don’t know. The language barrier is what holds me back the most here. I need to continue to study spanish. SO when I headed back up the street I found the supermarket and wonder to myself how did I miss this? I loved Riba Smith Supermarket. Very modern and lots of organic food and cheap fruit. I bought a container of mixed cut fruit for $1. I bought some soy cheese and crackers, oranges and watermelon, a knife and a spoon and some plantain chips and a hazlenut bar. I thought I had mentally placed markers in my brain to retrace my path back to the hotel, but I got lost! I stopped 3 people “Donde esta…” thing is I knew I was really close but once I got turned around I was very turned around. So the easiest thing to do is to hop in a cab. Like I said before rides in the city are no more than $2. So I tried to haggle with my driver to make it a $1 and I did a horrible job, but I made it back to the hotel. Around 7 or 8pm the music started playing at In-Fusion restaurant across the street. It was great I was dancing in my room and the music actually sounded like it was live music-but I could tell that it was dance lessons the way the people were lined up. So I took my time and got myself ready and headed over around 9:30pm. The Salsa teacher was the same guy that I had spoken with earlier that day. The lesson was so much fun! Reminds of the days back at Mr. E’s in Berkeley. I learned some new steps, sweat poured from my body, the music was great!
Then it went down hill from there. I very much believe that what gets reflected back to me is what I think about is what I hold deeply in consciousness and some times in my subconscious. First the bad food and bad service. I think the place was a Jewish Establishment and I have nothing against Jews, some of my very good friends are Jewish and my Mom says my great great grandfather was Jewish (FYI,Barbados has the first synagogue in the western hemisphere). THere were a lot of Jewish kids and family members or friends of the owner(s) that seemed to be here tonight.
I orderded a combo appetizer dish. Mushroom dumplings, Tuna Curry Crepes and Chicken Quesidila with Dijon. The waitress was actually nice, but there were some things that were beyond her control that lead to the bad service. I’m pretty sure that my food came out in about 15 minutes but it was given to some family sitting at the bar. So it ended up taking 45 minutes to get 8 appetizers.
So that was disheartning. Then, this is probably TMI There were these two young couples that had been dancing and they were more Metizo (which means mixed with spanish, black, white and what ever else). The guys were at least and the girls looked black. I’m like seeing this just through half a window. This white girl comes up to one of the guys (I have no offense against white people-some of my good friends are white) and talks with him directly while he is sitting there while not acknowledge any of the other 3 people including the girl he is with for about 20 minutes and her friend joins her and I could just see the black girl’s face and I just felt for her. The guy didn’t do anything to cut the conversation short, he was enjoying the admiration. I just wish I could stepped in and accidently tripped and thrown some water on the girls. I’m still upset about the Tiger Woods scandal-but I digress. (prayer partner-please pray for me!!!)
So the food comes out 45 minutes later for what I believe was the second time and its horrible. Everything is super hot (caliente) and I am having problems digesting it. You guys have seen my reviews on food so far ( think it might have new profession coming up soon). I learned a long time ago that when food crosses your palate and it just doesn’t seem right, you do not continue to eat it. THe only thing I could eat where the mushrooms and not without an extra glass of water. So the food sucked and I left most of it on the plate. I waited 45 mintutes for crap. And I guess to make matters worse and not even better is that the co-owner who was manning the bar came up to me after the waitress to may plate and was condescending to say the least. He was like aren’t you going to have any food any drinks, you’re here by yourself. Why are you sitting in here by yourself etc etc. So I was explaining to him that I had just eaten and he asked me how it was and I just kind of made a face and told him everything was super hot and not too edible. He was still trying to defend his restaurant by asking where I was from. I told him Toronto, he thought NYC. I told him that I had live there too. He started saying your from Toronto you don’t like hot food etc etc. I told him I lived in Montreal and SF as well. So he didn’t think he was talking to a country bumpkin. He started to apologize and wanted to offer me Kaluha or something or more food. IT was too late to make it up at this point. He suggested I come back tomorrow for the live jazz band it is going to be there 2nd performance on stage. But you know what, I can listend just as well from my room, if I am around.
You know I’m not the kind of person to spend so much time on negative things. So I am going to work on letting it go.
Tomorrow I do my tour with Manuel his number is 66-46-15-40 here in Panama (outside of Panama it is dialed differently I think). I am headed to Old Town, Amador Causeway, maybe the Metromall or the Rainforest in the middle of the city and I’m gonna try and find the street that my Dad was born on or at least go to the area. La Boca , Balboa, Panama Canal Zone. Hey and whatever you do, do not worry about me. I have a very good sense of people, good intuition.
Tags: bad food, getting lost, In Fusion, In-Fusion Restaurant Panama, Infusionm, Riba Smith Supermarket, Salsa lessons
