Photographs taken while in Somoto, Nicaragua No. 1

The first picture is of the "guard" dog at the hotel I am staying at, the Hotel el Rosario.

Standing about 2 feet high, he does not come across as much of a threat, but I thought it was a great picture.

The next one shown is that of a girl by the name of Marlyn. She comes with her mother about once every two days. They come from Honduras to sell oranges and grapefruit in the town of Somoto, Nicaragua.

As poor as poor can be, but you can tell by her beautiful smile, she does not seem to mind. A child, usually, has such a great outlook on life.

I chat with her and her mother at the hotel owners farm, which is also the bus stop.

The next picture is that of a cowboy I noticed as I was having a smoke. The hotel owner and I were visiting his brother in Totogalpa, about 30 minutes east of Somoto, Nicaragua.

He just looked like the classic Nicaraguan cowboy.

His name is Arturo and he was thrilled that I had asked his permission to take his picture.

Most Nicaraguans are very hospitable. He invited me in to his home for a cup of coffee.

He's lived in Totogalpa al his life.

He's never been outside of Nicaragua.

The woman at the restaurant looks like she's not having a great day.

I do not know why, but it is not normal for the average person to smile when having their picture taken in Nicaragua.

She actually was a very nice woman, full of vim, vigour and had a quick smile.

The smile disappeared when I took the photograph.

Taken at a restaurant at the local bus station.

Panorama of the City of Somoto, Nicaragua. The town has about 15,000 people. With the local population in the area, it's about 28,000 people.

The fire-breathing mound is an oven used to bake Rosquillas in Somoto, Nicaragua.

The town is known for the cookie like product. Made out of corn, it's like a hard gingersnap cookie.

A cup of coffee and a few rosquillas is a favourite afternoon snack for the locals.

All the rosquillas made are done by hand. The corn is ground at the places that make the rosquilla. Then woman workers form the cookie using baggies so the corn concoction will not stick to their hands.

There are about 10 companies that make rosquillas in Somoto, Nicaragua.

I noticed one was shipping them out of the country, probably to the United States and Europe.

Not much to the rosquilla. Ground corn, a little salt and formed. Then placed in the oven to bake.

You notice that there is no smoke stack on the oven. Te smoke comes out of the oven through the fire opening that you see, or an opening on the side that the workers remove the wood ashes from.

All ovens used to make rosquillas, that I visited, use wood for the fuel for baking.

The last photograph is Mary Vasquez and the grinder that she uses in her rosquilla store.

This is an electric grinder that's used to grind all the corn that the women use to make the rosquillas.

It looks like it's been used for decades.

One thing I've noticed in my travels in Central America is how the people repair blenders, sewing machines and every other small appliance you can think of . People do not throw things away if they stop working, they fix them.

Hope you enjoyed the tour of some of the place I visited in Somoto, Nicaragua and the surrounding area.

Recipe from http://globalcookies.blogspot.com/2007/10/nicaragua-rosquillas.html

3 lbs. queso seco or Mexican Cotija cheese
3 lbs. masa
4 Tbs. butter
4 Tbs. lard from beef
2 Tbs. lard from pork
2 eggs

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Grate the cheese finely. Mix it with the masa. Add the rest of the ingredients, mixing until combined.

Shape into small donut shapes, about 1 to 1-1/4 inch in diameter. Place on cookie sheets.

Bake until they get a little color. Take them out of the oven and cool.

Heat oven to 200 degrees F. Return cookies to the oven and bake until they are crispy. (Can dust with confectioners sugar if desired.)

Yield: 100 rosquillas