Malik Watkins's Bloglines

Obviously, Panama is known throughout the world for the Canal.  However, an absolutely delightful characteristic of the city is the outrageous abundance of fresh ocean fare.  Thus, a frequent stop for many Panamanians and visitors is the Mercado de Marisco: the City Fish Market.  Open nearly every day, local fishermen gather to process their catch and many others line up to participating in the unloading.  On any given day, you will see many colorful boats lined up as people from all walks of life fish to ‘make their own way’.  The market sits adjacent to the world renowned Casco Viejo – the Historic District (Old City Panama).  You can see parts of it in the background…more on that later!

Inside the market, you can see the vast array of seafood available: squid, octopus, corvina, tuna, snapper, langostino’s and countless other varieties.  Now, I’ve been in my share of fish markets around the world…this one ranks high!  I mean clean, fresh…

Makes you want to not just eat…but, makes the idea of cooking quite enjoyable…this is food that you want to put love into making…

Right outside the main market building are lines of vendors selling multiple varieties of seafood.  Here you find all walks of life…this is where all classes of people come together….it is amazing!  On any given day, you have to be mindful of when you come to the market for you may not even be able to get into the parking lot!  But, if you can make it…trust…it is well worth it!  Many of the vendors are selling Ceviche!  My mouth waters just saying the name.

Now, I only learned recently about Ceviche….and just recently learned that by exposing seafood to citrus juice (e.g. lemon juice) over a certain period of time it renders it ready to eat 🙂 … add in some of your favorite seasons such as onion, peppers, cilantro…it varies and you’ve got one serious dish.  Considering the abundance of fresh fish here in Panama, well, your intuition can fill in the rest 🙂  This is one of the many vendors, as you can see the Ceviche is in jars in the cart…take your pic:

For a very affordable price, you get quite a delight.  This is the langostino ceviche….can your hear me say ‘RIDICULOUS’…. I mean, ‘DELICIOUS’ 🙂  I also tried the Corvina ceviche…very good as well…

Friday is also Fish Day…fresh off of the Boat!

Don’t make the mistake of getting in between a man and his fish…they have treated me very well since I’ve been here, but don’t let the smoothness fool you…’Jaime’ doesn’t play 🙂

Definitely, one of my favorite places…delicious, the environment is alive, and it is culturally eclectic…

On our way over to the Old City now…that is Casco Viejo….A Must See!

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