July 14- Hostel Mamallena

After returning from Taboga, we spent the night in the very cool Hostel Mamallena in Panama City.  Dan had stayed there his first night in Panama, and knew that it had a dog and free pancakes in the morning- that was enough to convince us that it was an establishment more than worthy of our patronage.  It was a really beautiful place.  There were interesting paintings and tilework, and a fun back garden.  I had never been to a hostel before, and it was also super fun to get to experience the sense of community among the guests.

We ate at a little restaurant near the hostel (between eleven interns and two other guests from the hostel, we pretty much took the place over).  I finally tried ceviche, a very popular Panamanian dish.  It's made by curing raw fish in citrus juice, and mixing it with onions, cilantro, and salt.  In Panama, it's often served in cocktail cups and eaten on either crackers or plantain chips.  It tastes incredible!  Most restaurants I've been to in Panama City have it- I'll have to have some again soon!  Later that night, we went to a bar/restaurant in Casco Viejo.  It must often cater to tourists, because they had red, white, and blue balloons up for the Fourth of July.  A great night!  The next day we had REU project meetings in Panama City, a professional development seminar, a talk to attend on the history of malaria, and then a trip to the fish market restaurant that the REUs all visited back in June.  It was a fantastic few days.