Iguana y pino and mango madness
Trip Start
Feb 01, 2006
1
24
33
Trip End
May 01, 2006
San Juan del Sur,
Nicaragua
Saturday, March 18, 2006
Having said that, we are taking a few days to see the beach which is quite big with very fine sand. We have walked to where it arcs around to some rocks at the north end, which is quieter. There are quite a few pelicans flying around and it is great fun watching them crash land into the water as they try to catch fish.
We plan to spend just a couple of lazy days here enjoying the sunshine and beach.
One interesting food fact: We had some good discussion with our guide back on Ometepe about local food. One of the things we had asked about was the number of mango trees and the number of mango pits strewn all over the ground everywhere. We started to discuss food and got a fabulous lesson in Spanish on frutas etc. When we got to Rivas, the first thing we did was to buy a dozen mangos from a little old lady at a road side stand. Precio: 5 cordobas for twelve...about 2 or 3 cents each! That explains the number of pits.
The other cool thing was to learn about the true national food of Nicaragua which is Iguana and pinol. Our guide seemed excited that we had any interest in what the average (read, poor) people would eat.
When we stopped for lumch in Santo Domingo he went out of our way to get Paul and I some iguana y pinol. You know what iguana is and pinol is really just a type of corn meal mash, maybe with some tomatoes and onions. It had a rather bland taste and a strange porridge like texture. The iguana meat was just like chicken.
To make it more special for the gringos, they included two iguana eggs, which Paul ate (God bless him) because they he says they had no affinity to a poultry egg and seemed to be very rubbery! Just the same, a very fascinating experience that shows the generosity and the pride of the Nicaraguan people.
