Corn Islands

At 7:00am we boarded the chicken bus for Managua which took 3 hours from SJDS, grabbed a cab to Managua airport, flew 1.5 hr in the tiny plane to Big Corn, taxi to the dock, took the 1 hour ass-numbing panga ride to Little Corn and finally we arrived on Little Corn, our main reason for coming to Nicaragua.

After speaking to the people at Dive Little Corn we were told to get moving on the hike to Derek’s Place, as the accommodation we booked in advance was on the other side of the island and the sun was beginning to set. With backpacks and all we navigated through the village of Little Corn using the small glow of a shit flashlight bought in San Juan. Some locals finally steered us in the right direction and once in the dark jungle I breathed a sigh of relief to not be walking around a slummy area in the dark, unfortunately this is when Lianna’s anxiety began to kick in. It took us an hour and a half of wondering around in the jungle and defending Lianna from the giant crabs which were everywhere, to finally reach the beach on the far side where we found the hostel En Suenos. Once we found this landmark we knew to walk down the beach a kilometer and were grateful to finally find arrive at Derek’s Place. Waking up the next morning we were reminded of why we choose such a hard-to-get-to accommodation. We stayed our 6 nights there and enjoyed the pristine beach, hammocks and rum. The fact that there were no fans wasn’t a problem because we were on the windy side of the island. One night, however, there was torrential downpour along with ear splitting thunder and no wind, which brought a number of cockroaches and their friends to our usually spotless room. Needless to say we got about an hour of sleep that night.

Lianna was still getting over a head cold she picked up along the way, so we decided it would be best for her to obtain her PADI certification at the end of our time on Little Corn. The next two days were spent swimming, eating lobster, drinking rum and watching sunsets…it was very stressful. After a conversation with Chris, a fishing guide hired through Dive Little Corn, we decided to do some inshore fishing for Kingfish and Dorado (Mahi-Mahi) a few kilometers from the harbour. Our first hour was fish-less as the Kingfish didn’t seem to want to cooperate but Chris assured us our chances were still good. Chris had 25 years fishing experience and had worked all over from Alaska to Hawaii and had been working in Corn Islands for the last 6 months, we had a lot of confidence in him. With the sight of birds chasing down bait he told us to hang on tight because it was the Dorado pushing the baitfish towards the surface in reach of the diving birds. As promised, when we trolled past, the line went tight and the Dorado was on. After some large runs and huge leaps I landed my first Dorado ever which was estimated around 10 lbs. With the adrenaline going it was time to get back in there and after another pass by the birds I hooked another Dorado this time a small male. Next was Lianna’s turn. She found it difficult to land such a strong fish but after some strong runs the fish began to tire and she began to gain some line. A few minutes later and the fish was in the boat. Lianna was thrilled to release the beautiful fish back as we had kept the others to eat. By the end of it all Lianna landed 2 Dorado, and I landed 4 Dorado and a Jack including one large 15lb female Dorado. Despite some sea sickness Lianna experienced half way into the trip it very successful and completely worthwhile endeavor.

While Lianna was busy with her PADI course I did some spectacular dives around Corn Islands, the highlight being a trip to Blowing Rock, a rocky outcrop in the middle of nowhere. On our way to the dive site we were treated to a rare site, two huge loggerhead turtles mating at the surface! These turtles were massive and caused quite a stir on the surface, not wanting to disturb them we were shortly on our way again. I shared the boat with a couple from Texas, their three boys and their Catholic priest who were all diving together! Once we checked our gear and geared up it was time to descend. Our first dive was amazing with some close encounters with eagle rays, nurse sharks and a moray eel. The highlight of the dive was not necessarily the large things but the amazing rock formations which are up and down and a diver could easily become lost. The coral was also the healthiest I’ve seen and huge areas of elkhorn coral hid all kinds of little marine life. After an hour surface interval we were back in there swimming with the sharks and rays again. We saw some more gorgeous fish as well as a spiny lobster and some barracuda. On our way back I couldn’t believe our luck, a whole pod of dolphins began to jump around the bow of the boat for about 15 mins. It was something I will not soon forget. Another can’t miss dive, is to do one at night. Nothing is like the feeling of jumping into the water in the pitch black with just a flashlight. There were only 3 of us and the whole ocean. We spotted some HUGE barracuda and also a bonus spanish lobster, not to mention the bioluminescence was in full bloom which lit up the entire reef. After we surfaced it was smiles all around. The dives around Little Corn are not technical but the sheer health of the reef and small number of divers makes it worth a trip.

Lianna – First let me get it out there that I was pretty terrified of diving and the ocean in general. I had done my classroom portion of my open water at Mississauga Diving, which I do not recommend to anyone. These people were not very happy to be teaching in a landlocked Canadian city during winter and it came through in their teaching. Which brings me back to my terror of diving and Mississauga Diving helping to intensify that fear. When I first got to Dive Little Corn I was slightly put at ease when I met everyone there and realized how nice they all were. The ease was gone once we went in the ocean to begin going over some skills, and I was reintroduced to the world of breathing under water. I was still nervous when we finally went on my first open water dive to a coral reef 20 minutes off shore, and on the second dive I wasn’t feeling much better. When I got back to shore and told Nick I was enjoying myself he could tell I was still jumpy with the whole thing. The next day I went on my third and fourth (final) dives and got hooked once I started swimming alongside hundreds of bright fish, eagle rays, lobsters, and nurse sharks. It’s a completely different experience when you are drifting along the coral watching sea life happen all around you. The highlight of my dive experience, though, was seeing a turtle swimming only a meter or two from me, which made the whole thing seem that much more surreal.

I would recommend Dive Little Corn to anyone. They were truly one of the nicest group of people we’ve met, and my dive instructor Clint really made me feel comfortable and safe – something that all instructors should do.
Now that I’ve gotten a taste of real diving I can’t wait to see new and exciting things this coming year in Asia. It’s all Nick’s fault that I enjoy these new expensive things such as lobster and diving. He shouldn’t have introduced me to island life because I am already craving it again.

Our trip through Nicaragua has only worsened our intesifying travel bug that seems to have a stronghold on our lives right now.