The Most Refreshing Part (Update III)

It´s hot here. And when you live in hot places, frequently you crave a cool drink. Luckily, Nicaragua comes through on this account. The frescoes (or refrescoes) are fruit juices that are ubiquitous throughout the country. Many people make these in their homes daily. And in the market there is a long row of fresco stalls, and each lady prepares a half dozen buckets of juice a day. It´s only 5 cordobas (25 cents) for a big glass in the market or 3 cordobas for a take-away plastic bag with a straw in it. I generally drink frescoes three times a day, if not more.

The beauty of this idea is derived from its simplicity: Natural fruit juice served with lots of ice. They are so refreshing.

And the proliferation of flavors makes this an exciting endeavor: We´re talking orange, lemon, cocoa, manderine, carrot, pineapple, melon,watermelon, guava, mango, ensalada (as in fruit salad), and the combinations of virtually all of the above. Ensalada is a real speciality as it comes with huge chunks of possibly six fruits: banana, papaya, orange, mango, melon, and watermelon mixed into the juice.

Update:

With my favorite fresco vendor Veronica, I´ve been working up a complete list of 26 fresco flavors in Spanish. Check it out:

naranja, piña, ensalada, mandarina, guayaba, mango, zanahorria, remolacha, melón, cacoa, grenadia, chia, linasa, tamarin, calala, papaya con naranja, arroz con piña, pitahaya, limonada, mamonada, cebada, chicha, tiste, pazol, pinol

Update II:

I´ve been thinking a little bit about my favorite flavors. And here´s the order for the top seven that I´ve come up with*: sandía, zanahorria, melón, piña, naranja, mango, ensalada

*This list is subject to change without notice.

Update III:

Traveling around Nicaragua, I spend my days wandering through cities, looking for frescoes.