Calle La Calzada is one of the main tourist streets in the heart of Granada. It is very wide and in the evening the restaurants pull tables and chairs out onto the walkway and the streets come alive with locals and tourists as well as several touring groups of young boys giving street performances in between the passing cars. Sadly there are also a lot of street kids that roam the boulevard at night looking for a handout or selling some of trinket or food (cashews are a big item here along with the infamous chicklets and cigarettes)
This young boy who was selling cashew nuts hung out at our table for awhile checking out our pictures and making small talk (in Spanish). Another night I had tried a traditional meal of Nacatamales which is a type of tamale wrapped in banana leaves. Turns out the banana leaves make a great take-away dish and one young boy scored big when he noticed I wasn't finishing my meal. He scooped up the remains of my meal in the banana leaves and went running - a few other boys following close behind him. It is not unusual to see a street kid (or adult) sit down at a table, usually while the guests are still there, and quickly finish the scraps left behind on the plates.
Speaking of traditional meals or tipico comida - check this one out - chancho con yuca which is pork with boiled yucca and is a specialty in Granada. John laughs at me every time I order something new but you gotta try the typical food right? And you have a 50-50 chance of liking it. This one was a thumbs up.
Another truly entertaining part of the evening is when the local boys come out in the street to strut their stuff - old school break dancing. Several of them were really quite good. They would take turns in the middle of the street with their crew standing in the background, clapping and cheering them on. Every once in a while a car would come down the street - but they would just keep performing until the sequence was over.
Check out the flexibility of this guy.
