This morning Chuck and I went to one of the many mercados in Managua. Imagine a huge series of buildings -- open air with 40 foot ceilings, narrow winding aisles, and indvidual merchants packed in so tightly it is impossible to walk 2 abreast! This is Huembes Mercado -- where you can find anything and everything. 
Top left: The back entrance to Huembes Mercado -- where there is no charge for parking! This is where I always park. At this entrance all the fresh produce in the market is unloaded and delivered to individual vendors. I've watched deliveries made by small pick-up trucks, human powered carts, and men with heavy loads on their backs.
Above left: In the artisan and tourist area of the Mercado, furniture of all kinds of cedar are offered for sale. We purchased one of these rocking chairs which are common in almost every Nicaraguan home, even the very poorest families seem to have at least one of these ubiquitous rockers!
Top right: A quick glance through the used clothes mercado where it is possible to find name brand clothing, fancy gowns, costums and just plain junky used stuff!
Above: In the florist section of the Mercado, an absolute pandemonium of flowers awaits! From exotic tropicals to the most common daisy, these florists have it all!
Upper and center right: At my favorite grocer's stall I always buy dog and cat food and staples such as soap, cooking oil and vinegar. El Senor Joaquin Sanchez and his son Miguel always gave me a good price with a smile.
Lower right and below right: The Huembes Mercado is stuffed with everything -- these two views show the crowded aisles where merchanise is even displayed overhead. The interiors of the kiosks are even more densely packed with products for locals and for tourists!
At the far side of the Mercado, the produce and staples section of the market is punctuated by small cafetins and large cafeteria type public eating areas. Steaming kettles of soup bubble away on buckets of hot coals. Stews of meat, chicken, vegetables spread aromas throughout the area. If hot tortillas are your weakness (yum, these are the best!), you are in luck -- at Huembes Mercado there is a special section of the hot food area where lines of stout Nicaraguan ladies are mixing the masa, patting the tortillas into their round essences, and then grilling them right there, to be eaten hot and fresh!
We spent about an hour at a key maker's kiosk -- getting keys to our new house (again!), and then had a leisurely stroll through the miles and miles of kiosks of the Mercado. We bought another delightful clay pot by the artist Juan Sanchez, after searching through several merchants displays. It was very educational -- all levels of craftsmanship and creativity are available. Unfortunately, some of the most beautiful work is not signed! Juan Sanchez DOES sign his work, so he is special. We saw a variety of shapes and designs, some just two to three inches in diameter and three inches tall. Others were 12 to 18 inches tall, with a few large enough to stand on their own as floor scuptures. Not all the work at the Mercado is exceptional -- but the search for the best is always an intriguing and sometimes rewarding adventure!
It's a trip not to miss -- a search for the exceptional work of the best artisan, plus hot tortillas and full bodied Nicaraguan "sopa"!
Right: Small cafetins abound -- this one played up its obvious theme of red!
Below: A sumptuous array of Nicaraguan delicacies -- rice, various types of stews and soups, plantain chips, fried fish and "platano maduro".
Above right: Beef ready to be cut and sold. Raw meat and poultry hangs unprotected from flies and unrefrigerated till it is sold.
Above three photos on left: Stirring the soup, a rich beef stew, and a golden fish chowder.
At left and below: The ladies who stand all day long making fresh tortillas, hands constantly moving, generate a pile of tortillas to be cooled and bagged.
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