Breakfast time in Leon - a traditional Nicaraguan breakfast of Gallo Pinto or Painted Rooster, this is a rice and beans combination available in every local eaterie and all parts of the country. Here it is accompanied by a banana mailkshake which we stirred bran into to help Simon poo.
A plastic bag filled with cebada - a cool milky drink made from barley and flavoured with raspberry. We will be having them again.
A quesilla - a tortilla filled with a white, fresh cheese similar in texture to mozzarella, with cooked onions, sour yoghurt/cream and chile sauce. Bought from a lady making them up fresh to order on the beach.
A terrible photo that doesn't do justice to the deliciousness of this Nicaraguan speciality - the nacatamal. Cooked in banana leaf, this is a hearty, savoury corn dough filled with rice, beef, onion, peppers, chile, a herb and spicy, fragrant red berries.
Bought from a lovely cheese shop on the outskirts of Leon. The two cubes were toasted, white cheese with a typically sour, tangy flavour found a lot in local cheeses. Like a very strong feta. The two balls were a taste sensation. Pop them in your mouth and kerpow, it's a crazy flavour bomb exploding over your taste buds, of strong, crumbly salty cheese with a powerful smoked flavour and a big chile kick. We hope to try them sometime crumbled over a salad.
The fresh fruit taste of mango. These are green, or unripe, mangoes, still crispy and served up in a bag with salt and chile sauce on many street corners. A great snack.
Carne buho - tender beef, plantain, potato and carrot steam cooked in a big cauldron wrapped in banana leaf and served with shredded cabbage. Accompanied by a very refreshing juice of tamarind and a red berry.
The carne buho cauldron
Eating tasty tacos from a street stall in Leon one evening with fellow Brits, Himalie and Owain. Deep-fried tortillas with cheese or chicken and served with shredded cabbage, sour yoghurt/cream and chile. Excellent street fodder and sure to be visited again.
A cosa de horno or a 'thing from the oven'. A sweet cornbread bought from an old lady selling them from a basket on a street corner. 30p and yummy.
A banana milkshake bought from the local market in Leon. This is how takeaway drinks are served in much of Latin America - plastic bag style.
Further to the El Salvador prickly lychee entry, we have found another sort - this time looking like mini avocadoes but again, with a familiar lychee flavour under the skin. Great flavour but tricky to get off the stone. Good for occupying your mouth on long bus journeys.
Eskimo icecream parlours seem to be everywhere in Nicaragua - we spotted 5 in the relatively small town of Esteli and many more in Leon. Top flavours so far are rum and raisin because it's on offer for around 20p a cone, there's also a good chocolate, and a refreshing purple pitaya or dragonfruit.
Munching on overly chewy steak at a lunchtime buffet in Esteli. As always, accompanied by the option of beans, tortilla and rice.
Another typical Nicaraguan dish, possibly the Nicaraguan version of a shepherd's pie/a traditional, hearty, farmers' favourite. A tomato and onion dish with shredded beef and a sauce thickened with ground corn and flavoured with fresh mint.
A common sight in the streets - locals selling one or two different types of fruit from big baskets. Here it's mangoes and lychees. We only spotted after taking the photo that there are quite a few kids enjoying the shade under the table.
A freshly baked milky cakey cookie sold by a lady walking up and down the buses in Leon with them in a basket, costing around 3p each.
An evening meal in Granada of the standard rice, bean and meat combo, accompanied by plantain crisps and a bargain mojito - 2 for around 80p, so we had 4.
Granada is a tourist town, attracting lots of Americans. We got stuck in to the local cuisine of pancakes with honey and maple syrup.
Breakfast time in Leon - a traditional Nicaraguan breakfast of Gallo Pinto or Painted Rooster, this is a rice and beans combination available in every local eaterie and all parts of the country. Here it is accompanied by a banana mailkshake which we stirred bran into to help Simon poo.
A plastic bag filled with cebada - a cool milky drink made from barley and flavoured with raspberry. We will be having them again.
A quesilla - a tortilla filled with a white, fresh cheese similar in texture to mozzarella, with cooked onions, sour yoghurt/cream and chile sauce. Bought from a lady making them up fresh to order on the beach.
A terrible photo that doesn't do justice to the deliciousness of this Nicaraguan speciality - the nacatamal. Cooked in banana leaf, this is a hearty, savoury corn dough filled with rice, beef, onion, peppers, chile, a herb and spicy, fragrant red berries. 
Bought from a lovely cheese shop on the outskirts of Leon. The two cubes were toasted, white cheese with a typically sour, tangy flavour found a lot in local cheeses. Like a very strong feta. The two balls were a taste sensation. Pop them in your mouth and kerpow, it's a crazy flavour bomb exploding over your taste buds, of strong, crumbly salty cheese with a powerful smoked flavour and a big chile kick. We hope to try them sometime crumbled over a salad.
The fresh fruit taste of mango. These are green, or unripe, mangoes, still crispy and served up in a bag with salt and chile sauce on many street corners. A great snack.
Carne buho - tender beef, plantain, potato and carrot steam cooked in a big cauldron wrapped in banana leaf and served with shredded cabbage. Accompanied by a very refreshing juice of tamarind and a red berry.
The carne buho cauldron
Eating tasty tacos from a street stall in Leon one evening with fellow Brits, Himalie and Owain. Deep-fried tortillas with cheese or chicken and served with shredded cabbage, sour yoghurt/cream and chile. Excellent street fodder and sure to be visited again.
A cosa de horno or a 'thing from the oven'. A sweet cornbread bought from an old lady selling them from a basket on a street corner. 30p and yummy.
A banana milkshake bought from the local market in Leon. This is how takeaway drinks are served in much of Latin America - plastic bag style.
Further to the El Salvador prickly lychee entry, we have found another sort - this time looking like mini avocadoes but again, with a familiar lychee flavour under the skin. Great flavour but tricky to get off the stone. Good for occupying your mouth on long bus journeys.
Eskimo icecream parlours seem to be everywhere in Nicaragua - we spotted 5 in the relatively small town of Esteli and many more in Leon. Top flavours so far are rum and raisin because it's on offer for around 20p a cone, there's also a good chocolate, and a refreshing purple pitaya or dragonfruit. 
Munching on overly chewy steak at a lunchtime buffet in Esteli. As always, accompanied by the option of beans, tortilla and rice.
Another typical Nicaraguan dish, possibly the Nicaraguan version of a shepherd's pie/a traditional, hearty, farmers' favourite. A tomato and onion dish with shredded beef and a sauce thickened with ground corn and flavoured with fresh mint. 
A common sight in the streets - locals selling one or two different types of fruit from big baskets. Here it's mangoes and lychees. We only spotted after taking the photo that there are quite a few kids enjoying the shade under the table.
A freshly baked milky cakey cookie sold by a lady walking up and down the buses in Leon with them in a basket, costing around 3p each.
An evening meal in Granada of the standard rice, bean and meat combo, accompanied by plantain crisps and a bargain mojito - 2 for around 80p, so we had 4.
Granada is a tourist town, attracting lots of Americans. We got stuck in to the local cuisine of pancakes with honey and maple syrup.
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