Retire Early
Lifestyle
Retirement; like your parents, but way cooler
In 1991 Billy and Akaisha Kaderli retired at the age
of 38. Now, into their 4th decade of this
financially independent lifestyle, they invite you
to take advantage of their wisdom and experience. |
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PandeBono
Cafe
Cartagena, Colombia
Billy and Akaisha Kaderli
As you know, we enjoy coffee and
coffee
houses. In
Cartagena, we quickly found this corner cafe that served up various
coffee drinks, fresh juice smoothies and sweet and savory pastries.

Pan de Bono Cafe underneath Hotel Casa
Acqua Because
our hotel was centrally located in the
Walled
City of Cartagena, "everything" was conveniently located. Just up the
street and on the corner, we quickly discovered this tiny but busy coffee
house.

A peek inside Cafe de Bono
Every day, between 10 am and 11 am we'd
hit up this coffee shop for a cup of Joe and share a pan de chocolate. Billy
would have his cappuccino and I'd go for a fresh Mango smoothie.
The place was always busy.
Sometimes at early evening, we might stop
by and get a savory pastry (spinach and cheese or a Cubano) for dinner or
something sweet for breakfast (Guayaba and cheese).

The menu displayed on the wall at Pan
de Bono
If you wanted to order
a pastry, that began with the women on the right. The drinks were ordered
through the man on the left, and then payment was made.
One young woman
couldn't take more than one order of something at a time: "I'll take a
pastel de chocolate for here." "Ok, now I'll take a spinach and cheese
to go. Ok, now I'll take a Cubano to go." If I said those three items
together, she simply crumbled.
Another young woman who
worked there was a wiz. I could give her 5 items including our drinks and
what were to go and what was for eating / drinking here and she had it all
together.
Without a flinch.

La Esquina del Pandebono
The sign reads: The Corner of Good Bread.
Apparently, there are several cafes called Pandebono around the city.

Women at the baking ovens
This photo gives you a clearer look of
the baking ovens and the trays of popular breads served here.
If you ordered something to go, they'd
put it into a bag for you. If you ordered something to eat in the shop,
they'd heat it up a bit and serve it in a small basket.

Right out of the oven!
These pastries are right out of the oven.
The ones in front are the Cubanos, with ham and cheese, and the round ones
in the back have a cheese center.

A closer look at the menu offerings
We were in
Cartagena eleven nights.
The first two times we
visited Pan de Bono the line moved so quickly I ordered from habit, not even
reading the menu. I felt a bit rushed. But by the third morning, and after
seeing what others ordered, I was able to navigate the offerings and prices
(with all those zeros) much better.
When I looked at the
juices, I had no idea what a Borejo was or a Cunba or a Lulo. I saw people
ordering a cold Avena drink, and since it was so very popular, one morning I
tried it. I knew
it was an oatmeal drink, but I envisioned it differently; Ice cold, a bit
chewy and with cinnamon and honey... I could go for that. Instead it was a
thin, cool (not cold) a bit slippery (a nicer word to use rather than "slimey")
drink with no cinnamon or natural sweetener.
It was "one and out" for me, but I was
glad I tried it. We have a saying:
Order
what you want, eat what you get.
I stuck with the mango smoothie after
that, which was heavenly.

Various goodies for sale
The top left bread is filled with
chicken, bacon, ham, cheese and mushrooms.
The top right is filled with tender corn,
sausage and mozzarella cheese.
The bottom left is a snack with cheese,
and the bottom right is stuffed with a caramelized milk sweet.

American coffee, cappuccino, and
pastel de chocolate
Our first day we had two coffees and a
delicious, flakey and sugar-crunchy bread stuffed with chocolate that was
warmed for a moment in the oven.
Gosh, it was good!

Mango smoothie and Guayaba and cheese
pastry
Do you like guava fruit?
It's a perfumed-tasting fruit that is a
bit of a "high note" on the flavor scale. Light, delicate, refreshing and
almost not there when you have it as a drink. Mixed with a cheese filling it
is a really good contrast.
Having been born in the Midwest, having
mango (like my smoothie here) available so readily is a "10" on a choice
option.
Just. Love. The. Tropics.
Hey, if you get to Cartagena, I'm sure
you'll find lots of bakeries and coffee shops. We sure did. But this one is
pleasant, affordable, quick and popular.
Try it out!
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About the Authors



Retire
Early Lifestyle appeals to a different
kind of person – the person who prizes their
independence, values their time, and who doesn’t
want to mindlessly follow the crowd.
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