Full of delicious.

Having spent only a day in Granada during our first visit to Nicaragua, we were stoked to see what else this beautiful city had to offer. After endless hostel searching we ended up finding a cheap place located on the main pedestrian strip downtown; the prime location for any tourist. It was funny for us to be in the middle of it all, as typically the budget accommodation is a fair distance from all action. The reason it was so cheap, we quickly realized, was because it was located behind the kitchen of a restaurant; so we had the noise of the guests, fryers, and loud pots smashing into the late evening. However, the bonus was that it smelled really good all day long.

Besides eating, we find for us, there is not a whole lot to do in Granada itself, which was fine by us. There are a few activities, including volcano hikes and lake tours, but we’d just returned from a lake of volcanoes so we had that covered. Instead, we ate. One morning we ventured out to explore the amazing local market, and then ate some more. I have to say that checking out a market is one of our favourite things to do in ANY city. The good smells, the bad smalls, the odd smell of meat sitting not refrigerated, and in the heat - I’m not sure if I like this one or not but it brings happy memories, so I’ll say yes. Giant sacs of rice and chilies, large chunks of cheese, meat and fish alongside fruits and vegetables. Cooked meat beside raw meat, massive pots of hot oil for frying, and different mixtures of ferments and pickles… It’s an amazing place to spend some time.

The breakfast at our hostel was delicious as well. Gallo Pinto, a mixture of beans and rice that somehow tastes different everywhere you go, scrambled eggs with veggies, fried plantain, fried cheese and a side of pickled onions. I am glad we didn’t stay here too long because if food is the only thing to do, we would never stop eating! After a couple days we were full with Grenada and its provisions, and it was time to set off once more, to San Jose, Costa Rica.