Thursday night Dad was asked to drive President Riquelme (counselor in the temple presidency) to an appreciation dinner for the bishops and their wives of one of the local stakes. He said he could do it if I could go also. It was held at the Marriott Hotel in downtown Panama City. We had a lovely dinner of food typical to Panama. It was a buffet and so we could sample everything that was there.

We had exotic vegetables and fruits like: hearts of palm, artichoke hearts, cold but cooked cauliflower and broccoli, pineapple, papaya, etc. Then we had the local chicken soup that I wrote about in my last post. After that we tasted pork, shrimp, beef, chicken, and sea bass--all cooked in local style sauces. Then we had rice with vegetables, plantain (or bananas) cooked in a glaze,and potatoes. For dessert we had tastes of banana pudding, nance pudding, a delicious berry concoction, and pineapple cake. Yummy!

While we were eating we were entertained by a troupe of four men and four women dressed in the lovely costumes of this country. They danced traditional folk dances of Panama. I felt very fortunate to be included in such a lovely evening.