Little Corn Island 3 - SCUBA

The island won us over immediately but we came here with a goal beyond relaxation and exploration, SCUBA diving. For the past 2ish years we talked about getting SCUBA certified. We considered starting the course in a pool, I talked to a friend who started in a pool and never finished, it discouraged me. We considered doing it while on vacation a few times but it always seemed like it would take over the vacation. So this time, we made it the point of our vacation. We signed up at Dive Little Corn when we booked our lodge and even got a small discount for extra motivation. Our plan was arrive and start the course the following day. This is what really happened.

A week before the trip, I got a sinus infection and cough. The cough lingered, I postponed our diving to the second half of our trip. Checked in at the dive shop and picked up our books so we could get some of the classroom work out of the way and avoid sitting in a classroom. We packed our books and grabbed a new friend and hiked across the island for a day of reading on the north beach.

I am sure my dissertation would have been way less stressful if I worked on it here.

Taking a study break to enjoy the view. 

We swam, read, did most of our chapters and then got on with our day. 

We were having fun waiting for our course and calculating how many dives we could fit in before flying home. It was nice to start our vacation without a schedule. We showed up for our first day in the dive shop to watch videos. Sadly, there was no way to do it outside so we plopped down in some plastic charis by the fan and watched the material. We learned that the PADI organization  has an odd, extremely cheesy sense of humor. We also learned that divers have more fun than regular people. After days of videos and exams it was time to get in the water for confined dives. Now this is the part that you do in a pool or still water. Unfortunately the water was not being still, even close to shore where they typically have pool like conditions. Soon, we were out of the water without having checked off any of our confines. We left for the day.

It was hard to get turned away but we could see the wind was not dying down. We hoped for better conditions the following day.

The wind kept up, dives were canceled for 2 days. Not just ours, both dive shops on the island were stuck on land. We kept ourselves occupied. 

We found the harse.

We enjoyed the waves even though they were the enemy.

Then Sunday came and we realized our return flight was looming. We looked at the situation logically and discussed options. There was a real chance we would not make it to certification if we couldn't get back in the water soon. We took the theoretical exam then sat outside the dive shop and watched the Cargo ship unload while waiting for the results. We both passed. Then it became time to face the fact that we may need to finish our dives elsewhere. I did not like that plan at all. I wanted ocean dives, spent time preparing myself for ocean dives and did not want to return to my land locked home without seeing a clawless Caribbean lobster in its natural habitat. 

History and Life

In preparing for a visit to the beaches of Normandy, I headed to NY Times Travel for recommendations. I found an article from 2000, "A Place of Death, A Place of Play." I read each sentence closely with the mind of a person about to engulf upon a similar trip. I thought about my grandmother and her sisters and her brothers that fought in WWII. I thought about what I wanted to get out of this trip, I thought about my first visit to an American military cemetary in Europe. I drifted off into my thoughts and got slightly annoyed at the author's continuous mention of telling her children to be respectful. Then I reached the end. I read the last line,

"But if he could see my sons, free, and unburdened, and ignorant of war, I hope he would say that their very innocence was what the fight was for."

As I finished the article my thoughts shifted from past wars to present day. In November of 2000, I too was a child of sorts having turned 18 a few months prior. With the exception of Desert Storm, I did did not know war at that time. Now, I feel like so much has changed. I know I have grown and experienced the world but I mean the innocence. For practically all of my adult life there has been a war. America has been at war. I know people who are my age who have fought in wars. It's not just something to learn about in books, museums and movies. War is real right now. Does this mean there is no innocence for children? At first it seemed like no war could be as all encompassing as WWII, and maybe that is true but there is a impact on the homefront from any war. The propaganda may have changed but it's there. Most visable in the budget, in injured young men and women trying to live a civilian life after fighting in a foreign land, young widows and widowers, and children with the word deployment in their vocabulary. I never wanted to be able to say I lived during wartime but don't see an end in sight. Oddly, this article has made me very understanding of the Swiss stance on foreign wars.

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.

30 Countries

While I was in the US, one of my mom's cousins was talking about how her niece made a goal of visiting 30 countries before she turned 30 years old. She met the goal and continued to travel. This particular conversation revolved around her preparations for a solo trip to Colombia. While I am not yet ambitious enough to take on a Colombian vacation by myself, I am also not yet 30. In doing my 30 before 30, I wonder if I have made it to 30 countries yet. So I decided to compile a list, in no particular order, with a few photos thrown in for fun.

1. USA (does that count?)

2. Canada - Montreal, Niagra Falls

3. England - Lived for 5 months, visited London

4. Spain - Barcelona, Madrid, Conil de la Fontera (below), etc.

5. Netherlands/Holland - Amsterdam, Nordwik am Zee

6. Germany - Lived for 5+ years (Mannheim below)

7. Portugal - Algarve, Lisbon

8. Belgium - Brussels

9. Gibralta (below)

10. France - Paris, Marsellie

11. Italy - Rome, Florence, Pisa, Milan, Venice, Varenna (Lake Como below)

12. Finland - Helsinki

13. Denmark - Skagen, southern boarder towns

14. Norway - Oslo (below), Bergen

15. Czech Republic - Prague (below)

16. Malta - Malta, Gozo
17. Nicaragua - Managua, Little Corn Island

18. Japan - Tokyo (below), Kyoto, etc.

19. Bahamas - Nassau

20. St. Lucia (below)

21. Jamaica - Negril (below), Montego Bay, Ocho Rios (forthcoming)

22. Austria - skiing, Salzburg (below)

23. Switzerland - Zurich, Basel (living here)

24. Vatican - Vatican City

25. Lichtenstein - drove through

26. Luxembourg

27. China - Airport only - not sure this really counts (below)

Looks like I am not going to make it. From now until my birthday, I have one country in the works but that will only give me 27 total, 28 if China counts ;) Although there is a possibility I will remember a place I have forgotten. Either way, I'm quite happy with the places I've been and hope to continue to add countries and photos and experiences to my list.

Next up LCI Part 2.

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.