9pm Thursday Jan 13th
Today Susanna flew home, leaving me to get up to all kinds of trouble on my own!! After seeing her off at the airport, I grabbed a city bus for a trip across Managua to the Mercado Roberto Huembes. The trip cost twelve and a half cents and took me across the northern part of the city, through some neighbourhoods that are apparently dangerous and some less so. All in all an interesting ride, especially as I was the only “gringo” on the bus. Halfway to the market a hawker got on the bus and proceeded with a close to 10 minute “infomercial” extolling the values and benefits of a vitamin product he was trying to sell. All in Spanish but very understandable, this pill did everything but top up your gas tank!! Somehow the Spanish word for Bullshit has escaped me but it would have come in handy.
Getting off at the market, I hoofed around for a while looking for food that would nourish rather than kill me. Settling on a small stall with quite a lot of business I decided my safest bet was Sopa (soup) The choices were seafood, mondongo [you really don’t want to know!] and pollo y vegetales. Settling on the latter I was directed to a large communal table. They put down a bowl in front of me that would typically be a bowl for 6 or more at a Chinese restaurant. By the time I had consumed a little less than half I was more than stuffed. Right then a man offering shoeshines asked me a) if I wanted a shoeshine and b) would I let him have the rest. I answered no to #1 and yes to #2. Wasting no more time on me he settled in to a really hearty feast while I paid the bill -$2.50.
After that I hopped a bus back to Granada, which, it turns out, only stops at the edge of the city rather than the regular bus station. So needless to say, I got enough exercise for the day, plus the chance to explore some areas of the city that were previously unknown to me.
After a well-needed shower and a change of clothing I found myself at a bar/restaurant that had been recommended but never seemed to be open. Offering a Nicaraguan take on Mexican food it hit the spot without being overfilling.
Surprisingly, the waitress was from the USA and as such seemed to be a magnet for what are termed “expats” This is a generic term for what are typically a bunch of US citizens, typically male, typically middle aged and often (sadly) cruising for “companionship” from the locals. The two at the bar tonight had they’re heads so close together that it looked like they were sharing a comb over. As well they were splitting a magnum sized bottle of Toña ( the local beer) One or other was supplying the waitress with drinks as she went back and forth between showing people tables and adding up dinner tabs. A blue haze of smoke drifted over their heads while they swapped (I am guessing) fishing stories.
“What a piece of work is man, how noble in reason….. And then on the other hand!!!!
Yes Granada does have its seedier side.
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