Our First Taste of Columbian Food

Aloha Everyone,

This evening, J.J. and I had dinner at El Balcon De Las Americas, a Columbian restaurant in Boca Raton, Florida. 

The restaurant was selected by Norman (on the right) who felt that this was one of the best South American restaurants in the area. Norman is establishing a market for overseas retirement in Latin American countries. www.retirementlivingabroad.com  J.J and I wanted to hear more about his project as well as to get to know Norman personally. Norman is a Honduran native, but grew up and was educated in the United States.  As a result Norman is fluent in English and Spanish.

Mario, (left) is Norman's good friend who was visiting from Littleton, Colorado. Single, tall (6'2") and handsome and also well-mannered, Mario shared with us stories related to his love of outdoors and extreme sports.

The main conversation, of course, centered around food, I had sampling platter while J.J. enjoyed a seafood casserole.

Norman is explaining to us about Arepa which is maize meal (tortilla). The Columbian version is much thicker and taste neutral.

Living in an RV home, I practice yoga wherever and whenever I can. This morning, we did five loads of laundry. While waiting for washer and dryer cycles, I had a lots of time to practice my yoga and meditation.

We drove on I-1, an old road that runs along the coastline. We observed noticeable changes in economic diversity of the communities we passed from Fort St Lucie to Jensen Beach, Jupiter then through North Palm Beach, West Palm Beach, Boynton Beach, Boca Raton to our destination, Fort Lauderdale.

While some blocks are beautiful and comparable to any luxury beach resort developments around the world, just a few blocks away on the same highway were lined with shabby looking homes, old cars and boarded up business establishments.

Bike lane and pedestrian lanes along I-1.

"Perhaps travel cannot prevent bigotry but by demonstrating that all people cry, laugh, eat, worry and die it can introduce the idea that if we try and understand each other, we may even become friends.
--Maya Angelou

Aloha -- Cathi