We are staying in Laureles, one of the two on the upper end of the scale, but the quieter, nicer one. Although there is a bar here, which was rather loud. I woke up early despite my tiredness and then went out to find myself breakfast and to look around a little, though I didn’t have a great deal of time since I have a deadline tomorrow. It looks very pleasant, rather like Bangsar back in KL. The streets green, the construction inoffensive, and there are many small restaurants and cafes. I chose a small neighbourhood dive and had my first ever Colombian meal, scrambled eggs with an arepa. Surprisingly tasty, all in all as I had heard that this is not a place that is renowned for its cuisine. Well, it’s no Mexico, that is for sure, but the arepa was not unlike the makai ki roti that our Kashmiri cook’s wife makes for me sometimes back in Lahore, and the eggs had tomatoes and some chili to perk them up. Then I got some supplies from one of the inferior supermarkets (but a close one).
Later, lunch was at a Venezuelan cafe nearby and again, it was surprisingly tasty. I had a cachapa, which turned out to be a sweetcorn pancake, very soft and delicious. It was filled with a fresh white cheese like a slightly meltier paneer, and soft pulled beef. With it, an excellent maracuya juice.
Every local name for passionfruit seems to me better than ‘passionfruit’. In Hawaii they are called lilikoi, in Spanish maracuya. I am torn as to which I prefer and would like to use. Perhaps lilikoi for the yellow kind and maracuya for the purple???
Other than that, I’m afraid the day was spent at work. As is the foreseeable future unfortunately.