BLACK AND WHITE BEACHES AND EL VALLE

Malibu

Long weekend in Panama for Dia de los Martires!  My friend Michelle invited us to her wonderful home in El Valle, a quaint town in the mountains. Her house is called Sans Souci, which roughly translates to "No Worries" in English, and that's exactly how you feel when you are there.  We were greeted by champagne in the jacuzzi, if that's any indication of how our weekend went.  The house is built on a hill, with a gorgeous terraced garden and an infinity pool trickling over a petrified wood waterfall, overlooking the tree tops.  Every morning, we enjoyed organic eggs from the coop on the property for breakfast.  We ventured to town to explore the farmer and artisan market and got a few things to take home to my kitchen. The clouds hang very low here and always give the place a mystical sort of quality.

We stopped at the beach on the way up and back into town, first at Malibu, and then Tits beach on the way back (that's right, Tits, the river there is called Rio Teta. Teta=Tits.)  On the Pacific side all the beaches have both black and white sand that create the most beautiful patterns when they mix together.

This is the India Dormida.  Legend has it, the chieftain's daughter fell in love with a Spanish conquistador, and as punishment she was sent up to the mountains, where she fell asleep and the mountain grew over her.

No trip to the beach is complete without a stop at Quesos Chela in Capira. This place is ALWAYS packed, and when you taste the empanadas de queso you'll understand.

heavenly, fluffy, crusty, melty, cheesy goodness...

Tits Beach