Food Glorious Food!

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K- There has been a lot of rice in Nicaragua. One day I realized that we had eaten rice with every meal for six days, including breakfast (Gallo Pinto (rice & beans) with eggs, cheese and tortilla is a breakfast staple here). For variety I therefore ordered a dinner with mashed potatoes. They were great – but were accompanied with a side of rice! We remarked on this to our hotel owner in Managua and he told us that he once ordered spaghetti and got a side of rice with it so it seems that our experience is the norm. Fortunately we like rice.

I mention food, and the slight repetitive nature of it so far on our trip because our visit to Little Corn, a tiny island (1 mile square) off the East coast of Nicaragua has been a highlight not just because of its pristine white beaches, blue seas and beautiful diving (all of which are here in abundance) but because of the excellent food. The influences here are Caribbean and Creole and we have enjoyed lots of fresh fish and lobster cooked with garlic or curry, home-made spicy beef patties and Nicatamales (rice, potato, cornmeal, pork or chicken, wrapped and steamed in plantain leaves). The island has no cars and the infrastructure is still basic so the locals basically cook up what they like to cook and walk along the beach selling it to tourists - this is my idea of food heaven!

Although the succulent lobster in garlic butter at Miss Bridgets will be remembered for some time (lobster season began July 1 and we arrived July 2!) the highlight of our visit, culinary and otherwise, was last night when we went to a local lady’s house for a dinner of Ron Dan, a Corn Island specialty made from coconut milk, breadfruit, plantain and fish. I met Angela whilst waiting on shore for Mark to return from his hammerhead shark snorkel trip (about which he will doubtless blog). She was selling Nicatamales and as I ate she entertained me with stories of her life. She spoke the local patois so I think I grasped about 75% of it – but we moved quickly on from Tamale recipes to wastrel brothers (hers not mine!) and hysterectomies (ditto).

We ate at Angela’s home with her husband Jose who is a Pastor. They are Evangelical Christians who run their own church (in their back garden). They were very genuine and welcoming and although we don’t necessarily share their beliefs, we elected not to discuss any differences, and enjoyed our first taste of “real life” in Nicaragua. Their home had a packed mud floor and an outside kitchen which was immaculate. We ate in the garden under the mango tree (unfortunately out of season) and the food was delicious. Angela cooked enough for a football team (see picture) and we did our best to do it justice. It was one of the rare occasions when I was kicking Mark under the table to make him eat more not less!

At the end of the meal they both gave separate prayers for our safe journey back to England – this took about 10 minutes with them both talking loudly over each other at full volume in Spanish and was so genuine and passionate that I was close to tears. The evening as a whole was one we will never forget.

Most people we met on Little Corn have delayed their departures by days if not weeks and we were certainly tempted to join them not least because I have finally mastered the art of getting in and out of a hammock without injury. I cant actually read or drink whilst in the hammock but that's OK because I have been so knackered after diving that only the very real threat of visits by the local tarantulas (a genuine local "pest") managed to move me in to our cabin at night. However we only have 10 days left in Central America and we really want to explore Honduras and Guatemala so we dragged ourselves back to Managua. It started raining as we landed and by the time we got into town the streets were flooding and the storm canal to the side of the flooded road was literally a raging torrent. We have no photos but I was seriously scared by this thing (and even Mark admitted he would have been nervous had the rain not stopped) and we were very glad our hotel owner was driving us and we weren’t in a random taxi!

Scroll down for more pictures!

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Photos

Ron Dan / Ran Don / Wrong Dan / Run Down
Names courtesy of the local menu boards! Really delicious whatever it was really called!

Little Corn Dawn
The view from our bed (my side!)

View in the shower
You vote on which is the best view!