No Bagels at Panama Canal, Panama hat myth again

[Bapopik at AOL.COM]

NO BAGELS AT PANAMA CANAL

   Today was the day for Panama locks.  But there were no bagels in the Canal Zone--none at all.  Just locks.  Go figure.

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PANAMA HAT MYTH AGAIN

   My local tour guide said that Teddy Roosevelt tried on a hat, and that was how the "Panama hat" (really from Ecuador) got its name.
   I had heard the same story in Ecuador.
   Maybe the OED online has to be cheaper?

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MISC.

   Carnival starts this week...Panama`s 100th anniversary celebration was a month ago.

RED DEVIL--The name of the local buses.  They`re American school buses, now painted (usually) red.  The drivers need lots of passengers to make money, so they drive like devils.

NIKOS CAFE--Our lunch spot and a big cafeteria chain here, since 1955.  See www.nikoscafe.com.

MIDNIGHT CHOCOLATE--An ice cream dish served at Nikos.  There are about 700 Google hits.  I couldn't order "midnight chocolate" because our lunch stop was at noon.

OREJA (EARS), CANONES (CANNONS), JOSEFINA, DIPLOMATICO--Some pastries served at Nikos.  The cannons are loaded with guava jelly.  Josphines were sold, but I didn't see Napoleons.

POTABLE WATER--Everyone here mentions "portable water."

RASPADO (SHAVED ICE)--The local name for a snow cone.  It's served with concentrated milk on top.

MOLA--I'll beat OED`s 1941 date when I return.

TRES LECHES--I had a fabulous one yesterday.  Unfortunately, I don't know when I'll have national library time to check local cookbooks.