Little Corn Island 2

Once we realized how awesome the view and breeze were from our casita, the lodge and the adjoining beach, we made a mutual, subconscious decision not to venture to the other side of the island for 3 days. It was a great idea and made us ever so grateful to have 2 full weeks in paradise to relax and explore at our leisure.  This is a photo heavy series so I won't try and post them any bigger for fear my posts will never load. Feel free to click on any photo to enlarge it (Auntie Shirley, that means left click).

I swam in the Caribbean Sea,

drank water from a freshly cut coconut,

read in my hammock,

experimented with macro photos,

went exploring,

followed signs to hidden beaches,

and enjoyed my new found beach all to myself....

I collected sea shells, a rare find on this island.

We met new people at the family style dinner served in the lodge and finally were lured out of our hammocks to cross over to the other side on the promise of an evening pub quiz.

We came in second place and won that bottle of rum.

The next day, we were back to our local beaches. I could not tire of the colors in the sky and in the sea. The rocks in the sand and even the driftwood. 

If there was a way this could have come home with me, I would have a great coffee table.

Even dead brain coral is pretty.

Finally, we decided to venture across the island again to catch a sunset.

The sunset was somehow nonexistent.

We enjoyed a rum punch at happy hour and then headed to what quickly became our favorite restaurant on the island, Little Habana. Where I had my first Caribbean lobster (they don't have claws).

 Despite high expectations, LCI did not leave me wanting for beaches, sunshine or delicious food.

Little Corn Island - 1

I'm back and I don't even know where to begin. Little Corn Island (LCI) was everything I hoped it would be plus ice and electricity. I mean I was prepared for warm beverages and flashlights but the upgrade was welcome. Since the information I found to prepare for this trip was mostly from blogs via Google, I intend to write a few detailed recap posts in order to provide an up to date resource for anyone who finds this via Google. To start, let's talk about travel.

The time and modes of transportation necessary to reach the island from Europe is what kept us away when I first found out about LCI in 2009. This time we were already in the US and could even book a flight on Delta from PVD so travel time was more manageable. Modes of transportation were still diverse as we had to take a normal flight into Managua followed the next morning by an early morning flight on tiny 12 seat plane operated by La Costena, the only airline serving the island. This is actually not the only option but size of plane depends on demand and we were there on a high demand day when the little and big planes both covered the route. On the way home we flew on the "big" plane which could seat about 50 people. It was interesting booking a flight on an airline that is the only carrier for  a route and supplies planes on demand. A ticket costs the same price all the time and people just show up an hour or so before departure and buy tickets.Clearly, we did not depart on time but it was interesting to see an airline operate like a bus service. I imagine this is how early air travel functioned in the US and Europe as well.

Back to our arrival, once the little plane landed at Big Corn Island, we had no problem to make eye contact and reserve a taxi driver outside the door of the shoe box airport. As a side note, the airport on Big corn is so small, they don't have metal detectors so everyone's luggage is searched by hand as well as sniffed by dogs (yellow labs) which may be more intense than metal detectors. The "taxi" was a beater and a half and the driver wanted to fill the car so we ended up in close quarters with 3 Brits we met on the tiny plane. You may be wondering how 5 people plus luggage could fit into this beater cab when cabbies in Boston won't even take 5 girls on a cold night. The simple answer is we didn't fit. We rode with the front door open, the guy sitting on the outside passenger's place holding it shut (I wish I had a photo but I was too busy laughing). The trunk was also wide open, backpacks hanging out. The windshield was also cracked but that had nothing to do with us. We had to travel the one road on Big Corn to get to the harbor. Along the way there were large speed bumps which our driver had to come to a near stop and take at just the right angle in order to pass. Even then, he could not avoid scraping the under carriage of his car on every. single. bump. It was an interesting ride that lasted about 5 minutes. We each paid our $1 USD for the transport and entered the port where we paid a tax that was something like $.50 p.p. While the taxes are rather insignificant, pay attention and bring small bills which don't have tears or markings on them. This is important because no one wants to make change for anything over a $10 and most just don't have the cash on them when a taxi fare is $1. I think the airport arrivals tax is $10 p.p. in Managua and then we paid another $6 on Big Corn. LCI has a departure tax of $3 if I remember correctly. The panga ferry (photos below) costs $6 p.p. as well so you see why you need small bills to make it through this part of the journey.

That's right, the boat needs a guide because the nose is so high out of the water, the driver can't see in front of him.

Since it was a popular time for day trippers, there were 2 boats, we had a race at one point. These are not racing boats.

Just as the island appeared into view, the skies opened up and greeted us with a nice downpour which lasted all of 5 minutes. It was just long enough for us to arrive, disembark, meet the guy from our lodge and walk off the pier to stand under a tree. 

Sufficiently wet, we are on vacation and still happy. After all, we stood in snow only a few days prior.

We walked through the island with the Doug who quickly became my best source of information on the island. He took us to the dive shack where we confirmed our reservation and also confirmed that it is literally a wooden shack. I was giddy with excitement and full of questions. those who know me would not be surprised, Doug did not know me but he did answer all the questions I could throw at him. I learned about work visas in Nicaragua (you must exit the country after 6 months), his hometown (Philly), the downed website for Casa Iguana (I didn't link for just this reason but find them on Facebook), Happy Hour on the island and some other less interesting bits I have forgotten. None of it really mattered when we got to Casa Iguana, removed our shoes to climb the deck stairs and saw the view from the lodge deck....

 Made me forget all about waking up at 4am and the insanity of racing pangas.

I would be happy to live here. 

Then we met Meg who took us to our Casita (cabin) and promptly noticed we were low on hammocks so she scurried off and returned with 2 hammocks for us. She pointed out that we have hooks on our porch and can find other hooks on the beach. I'm really not sure why other hotels don't provide guests with hammocks upon check in and hooks at various places to hang out. It was such a small luxury that we used daily. Once we hung our hammocks, we didn't want to leave this..

View from my hammock hung in the palm trees.

Quite possibly my favorite place on the island.

Our home away from home for 2 weeks.

As we were instantly falling in love with the island, I did the math. We could rent this casita for about the same monthly rent as our 2 bedroom apartment, less in the off season. By the end of the second week, we were, however, happy to have an indoor shower waiting for us on the mainland. But seriously, this is my paradise, I could get over the rain barrel shower if need be. Turns out the series on LCI may end up longer than I had planned, I will attempt to tell my story with less words in the coming entries. Here are a few gratuitous photos as a reward for making it to the end of this entry.

The Europe Packing List - The Carry-on

Maybe I want more American visitors or maybe it's because I've been asked this question several times in 2010, but I decided to dedicate some time to useful posts starting with packing. While everyone loves a good rant, I think it's about time to focus on writing style and get out of my stream of thought rut. So, packing seemed like a great place to start. For the last 4 years I've been living in Germany and since I spent most of the first 2 years traveling around Germany for my job, I learned how to pack useful and light things. There are a lot of dos and don't for packing floating around the Internets but I often disagree with some common points. So, here's my go at a Europe an packing list. Please feel free to add to it in the comments suggestion. This first installment of The Europe Packing List outlines my suggestions for a carry-on. The next installment will cover checked baggage and then there will be a final installment of what to leave at home. 2010 was a monumental year for losing my luggage so I've learned the importance of a carry-on. I really love my Very Bradley large duffel and it took me awhile to admit that I was a fan of the often motherly bags but it really is the perfect size for an international flight carry-on. Just be careful not to overstuff or you'll exceed the weight limit. In heindsight, white is not the best color for something that spends so much time on the floor but at least it's washable and has a huge pattern to hide the dirt. Carryon Necessities

• Underwear (2 pairs) - If your luggage is lost or the flight is delayed once you've checked in your suitcase you'll really thank me.
• Toothbrush - To brush on the flight, if you want to bring liquids bring the paste, if not you'll survive with wate
• Headphones - Some airlines provide them for your use, others rent or sell them but save yourself the trouble and pack your own airbuds. You may only be able to hear in one ear but it's sure better than nothing.
• Eye mask - you'll want to sleep and there are a lot of lights and moving around on a plane, there is a reason these are provided in business class.
• Cardigan/small hoodie - Temperatures vary in planes and I tend to find them cold over the Atlantic. There's usually a standard issue blanket but it's always helpful to have layers and a soft sweater can double as a pillow if you're warm and tired.
• Large scarf - For the same reasons as above and specifically it's pillow potential.
• Chapstick and Lotion (if you're packing liquids)- Simple really, recycled air lacks moisture.
• Cash - The correct currency for where you will land is best but if not, use an ATM once you arrive and avoid those currency exchange booths charging large commissions. Tip: My US credit union, Navigant CU does not charge me fees to use foreign ATMs up to 4 times per month which is amazing when traveling.

Don't forget most airlines allow 1 carry-on AND 1 personal item such as a purse which also applies to men. Therefore, if you want to travel light and skip checked bags, take advantage of this and use your carry-on to hold your clothes and put these things in your purse (or messenger bag if you're a man). I am a fan of large lightweight purses that can easily fold up and often travel with my Longchamp shopper folded in my carry-on in case I need to carry additional items on the way home. Also, learn from my mistake better than I did, don't buy a white Longchamp bag (even if it'S summer and you are in the Flagship store in Paris) if you're going to use it to travel and don't think lt. grey (see link above) will be any better, mine is so gross I stopped using it and it's only 6 months old. They are spot clean only so stick to dark colors like navy and black for international travel and daily use.

Oslo

Did you miss me? I haven't posted in awhile because it was finally time for our trip to Oslo, aka my first real vacation that did not involve the US. The trip was delightful and ended up with a serious boat theme. We started out our vacation with a quick visit to Braunschweig where Patrick attended a Bachelor party for one of his college friends and I hung out with a bunch of my English teaching colleagues and SingStar. It was really nice to see "old" friends. We had a lazy morning at the local breakfast buffet and then I met up with Patrick for our drive onto Kiel where we would spend the night with his parents and hop on the Color Magic to Oslo the next afternoon. This cruise is not your typical cruise, it's a cruiseferry, it only takes a night to get to Oslo and that is the only destination so you can do a 2 night cruise and have 4 hours in port or, like we did, you can choose to stay longer in a hotel and return on a later voyage. We stayed 4 nights, the first two were spent at a B&B called MS Innvik or as i like to call it our boat hotel. It was actually pleasantly suprising despite the fact that we slept in bunk beds. The beds were comfortable, the location was great (right across from the train station) and the view was amazing (all we saw was the new oper house right out of our port hole). To top it off, breakfast was included and involved make your own heart shaped waffles. So we disembarked from the Color Magic, dropped our suitcase - yes we both packed all we needed for 6 days into one communial suitcase - at the Innvik and then set off to explore Oslo. Day 1 involved loosely following an urban hike I found on the internet which was great if not a bit too ambitious. Unfortunately I didn't save the link so I can't share it but I'm sure Googling Urban Hike Oslo would be a good place to start if you're interested. We saw a lot of the sights along the main street and spent some time at the fortress. One of the first stops on this hike was the cathedral which was, unfortunately, under construction so it looked like a huge box. By the end of day 1 we were tired from walking and excited for Day 2 which could appropriatly be titled Boat day... Below are a few photos of us and/on the Color Magic