In the lands of the coffee, from the book, Searching for treasures
The streets of La Candelaria, Bogota, Colombia
“They used the oxen for the shorter trips, while they loaded the mules for the longer ones. The mules can stand much more. They are also stronger and, most importantly, they are much faster! The Paisa fondas or inns at that time were something to see, my friend! They were the inns, on the way, where you could rest and sleep at night. Also, they were the place to find the bandeja paisas, chock full of delicious food. Useless to say that you ate like a king! The lunch for the muleteers or bandeja was made with what was available at the time and onsite. That meant that it varied from place to place and time to time, so it was never quite the same. On occasions, it would have some yuccas, fried or boiled, but if what they had was potatoes, then that’s what it would have. Throw them in for they’re not always to be found, you get my meaning? Sometimes they would add beans or cabbage from the orchards on the road. There was often no pork meat to be found, nor could you find the sausages and the blood cakes. So, in those cases, you went with beef tenderloin, nice and fresh, or dried meat, preserved for rainy days. The thing is that bandejas were just as varied as the roads traveled by the muleteers that drove the mule trains through the mountains. A forward-looking Paisa was never going to get stuck on the way for lack of food, no sir! So, in general, a bandeja was a large and filling meal, made with what you had at the moment. And of those things on hand, you usually included good helpings of beans and rice, together with the corn to make the arepas and the mazamorra drinks to freshen up the meal!”
“For breakfast, you always found those chocolate balls made out of cocoa and roasted cornmeal. For a quick lunch, you simply had some reheated beans, yuccas, or meat with a sunny-side-up pair of eggs on the side.” After a pause in the conversation, shared by both of them as they enjoyed the afternoon, Jon Jairo continued to talk.
“You see, at the fondas, the muleteers could sell stuff they carried and buy or trade for things they needed to continue their way on.”