Dinners with friends

Eating out is a way of life here in La Paz. I can - and do  - fix regular on-board meals: full Mexican breakfasts with huevos, tocino, tomates, tortillas y jugo, sandwich lunches and full course dinners. But both Larry and I enjoy not only the great variety of really good local restaurants but the social aspect of getting together with friends.
On Friday we joined a few friends on Eva G to say goodbye to a young waiter from the Dinghy Dock restaurant here in Palmira. I barely knew the fellow but others assured me he was a super young man deserving a great send-off,  and I'll take any excuse available for a get together with good friends. I offered to contribute a cake and a bottle of wine for the occasion.
The designated hour arrived and Larry and I walked down the dock to the Eva G. Margaritas seemed to be the order of the evening but I expected this to be a long night  and, as I am somewhat of a light weight, I opted for a glass of red wine. We waited for the guest of honor to arrive....and waited....and waited. We all continued to enjoy our beverages and at some point our hostess decided to whip out some heavier hors d'oeuvres as stomachs were beginning to rumble. By now we were all devouring everything on the antipasto tray, as well as chips, salsa, peanuts and other goodies.  Still no guest of honor and still no dinner.
Jorge did arrive, much, much later, but by that time the party goers were more than a little tipsy and too full of pre-dinner goodies to eat much else. Jorge's excuse for the tardiness was "a woman friend" had detained him: enough said. Back in Florida we often kidded certain friends, late for nearly every function, for being on "Cuban time." Same principal here I guess...we'll just call it Mexican time. 

Good time!

We had made plans on Saturday to join friends from San Diego who had recently moved their sailboat from La Paz to San Diego. They had flown into La Paz to join other friends of theirs who are renting a house here for several weeks. Susan and Dennis Ross, our aforementioned "tour guides," completed the party. We caravanned down the malecon to La Pazta where it was cool and comfortable inside after a very hot and sticky day. We had a room to ourselves and plenty of elbow room for the eight of us. The service was excellent I ordered gnocci verde (spinich gnocci) with a gorgonzola cream sauce...absolutely scrumptious! I looked up some reviews for this restaurant the next day and saw that one diner had remarked about the gnocci dish, " the sauce was so good I wanted to lick the plate!"  Me too!

Looking down on Marina Palmira

It was a delightful occasion with good conversation and good food, an enjoyable mix of old friends and new acquaintances. We ended the evening driving the vacationing twosome back to their rental digs on one of the hills overlooking Marina Palmira. The view was spectacular and the house, built on the very edge of this hill, most interesting. Altogether another wonderful evening in paradise.