Day Three

Day three started off with having coffee for breakfast in the backyard and talking with Tania's grandma. We walked around the backyard, and took some pictures of the fruits in trees, and I tried some "mamones", a fruit which can only be described as pink gummy grape. That's deep, I know, but that's the only way I can describe it. For those of you who have encountered the word "mamon" in the various Spanish dialects you have been exposed to, you would think that it has some relation to homosexuals. Yet it's quite a tasty fruit, not the homo kind.

We drove up to the "real" Nicaraguan markets in a town called Leon (Lion) and we stumbled upon some more interesting things. We made a stop along the way to eat "quesillo", basically some stringy cheese and onions wrapped in two tortillas dipped in cream. When we got to Leon, the "real" market was definitely real with its screaming babies, filthy little boys riding around on bikes, and men offering to "watch" your car for you. This is also known as "give me money or I'll fuck up your car."

The market was otherworldly. There were lizards (iguanas) being sold for food with their mouths tied shut. All kinds of fruits, any kind of merchandise you can think of, from machetes to flip-flops. Yes, that's right my friends, a machete...and I will acquire one before I leave this country! After the market we went to an art museum that had various types of artwork ranging from colonial art to contemporary art. We also visited Ruben Dario's house. He was a famous poet in Nicaragua, also considered a child prodigy because he published his first book of poetry at the age of 12. He died at the age of 49 from pneumonia.

We drove to the old city of Leon (basically the ruins of Leon before it was hit by a volcano eruption). The dirt roads led to the ruins of a city that would be lost in time if it weren't for the efforts of the Nicaraguan government to increase the tourism. We saw the stone walls of the first cathedrals and the "royal" road, where enslaved Indians would be dragged by their feet if they disobeyed the laws of the Spaniards. The tomb of Francisco de Cordova, the founder of cities such as Leon and Granada, was in the plaza. He was a bastard and was decapitated when the Indians revolted against his rule. From the cite of the old fortress, you could see the Momotombo volcano and lake Managua.

On the way back we stopped again to pick up some more quesillos and some more goodies which we will have tomorrow morning with some coffee. Yum.

Hasta manana companeros.