Próspero Año Nuevo

I assumed that the faint knock on our slightly ajar door was from the housekeeping lady. It was a man's voice I heard however, and he only spoke Spanish to Shervin. I was able to make out a few words which included "señor" and "comida". The mere mention of comida, the Spanish word for lunch and also food, made me jump off the bed.

The invitation was timely. We were just about to head out for a meal.

The owner did not speak a single English word. While Shervin could only say gracias.
The owner of Hotel Regional in Palenque led us to a long table temporarily set up at the hall just across our room. He asked Shervin and me to sit while he served us a meal of chicken and (to my delight) rice. He and his wife laid food portions for the other people as well, who I mostly recognized as the hostel staff. Such kind gesture to serve the workers who serve them.

Top: Dessert #2, a whole peach swimming in what seems to be unsweetened condensed milk. Left: Chicken dish that resembles the Filipino afritada Right: Dessert #1, a moist flan-ish cake.
Like in my home country Philippines, a prayer was a prelude to our home-cooked feast. The comida was fantastic, though could have been more wonderful had there been actual conversations as opposed to an exchange of lone words such as:

Shervin: Familia (pertaining to the group)?
Owner: Trabajo.

We excused ourselves with our sincerest muchas gracias when the chatter dropped its merriness and picked up a business tone.

Win these! Left: Shot glass from Puebla, Puebla. Beside it is our New Year eve drink, a cappuccino-flavored mezcal. Right: Leather bookmark from Palenque, Chipas. Pardon me, but I just gotta show one of the fake nails I bought here. First time I ever wore those stick-ons and I feel like a cougar in a Mexican telenovela.
Six hours later, we had dinner at Lonely Planet recommended Mara's (which didn't disappoint) and went back straight to our hostel after. We decided to spend the last night of the year low-key. It's an hour into 2012 right now and I could still hear the noise of the owner's family celebrating the New Year from the hall. Though I'm slightly tempted to take a peek at their shindig, I chose to stay in bed and do some blonking (blogging while drinking). Beside my slumbering Luna. And my husband who's watching a Naruto episode.

An epic ender for 2011, I must say.

And oh, 2012 kicks off awesomely with a giveaway! I got a shot glass and a leather bookmark (yah know, lightweight stuff I could easily carry around a few more countries before flying back home) up for grabs. Joining is uber easy! Simply post your fave Pinay Travel Junkie 2011 blog post's title and URL on your wall. Don't forget to tag Pinay Travel Junkie so I'd be notified of your entry.

Nope, it doesn't have to be verbatim.
Luna will pick the winner via rolled up bits of paper with the contestants' names. We're old school like that. Note: Prizes will be sent when we've arrived in the Philippines (yes, contest open to Philippine residents only) after our trip, roughly half a year from now. If for some reason your prize gets lost/stolen/destroyed, I'll search for another cool souvenir from some other country as replacement. Winners will be announced on January 15.

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