Nicaragua: The Corn Islands

A tropical vacation in March provides relief from the all-too-long-by-now New Mexico winter plus a dodge for the spring juniper allergies. So on Feb. 28, it was off to Managua, where we spent a night before taking a La Costena Airlines ATR-72 to Big Corn Island in the Caribbean. The next day, we caught the 30-minute water taxi to Little Corn Island.

Little Corn is just 1200 people on one square mile and really laid back--no motor vehicles are allowed, so you get around on sidewalks and dirt paths. Everything, including rocks, comes from Big Corn or mainland Nicaragua.

Rock hauler ship

The Corn Islands' names have nothing to do with corn. The English pirates who frequented the Miskito Coast got their beef here, and turned "carne" into "corn." The islands and the east coast of Nicaragua were once a British protectorate, so you hear English as well as Spanish and the local native Miskito.

From the pier it was a short walk to the modest but very pleasant Hotel Los Delfines. Thanks to Judy asking, we got the best room in the place, with a second floor ocean view. Yes to shorts, bare feet, and air conditioning!

Things are so laid back here that one of the attractions is the weekly arrival of two cargo ships that supply the island with everything from furniture and lumber to soda and beer. Since there are no trucks, everything is moved by hand cart. Laundry is a home business.

The food is down-home good and reminded me of Costa Rica with its pinto gallo rice and beans staple. A lobster dinner can be had for $7, a deal we took advantage of many times. We liked to frequent family-owned places like El Bosque, where the owner showed us her ducks, chickens, and vegetable plantings. She keeps the birds for their eggs, and only harvests meat if the ducks don't get along.

A main reason for coming to Little Corn was the diving. However, our first dive was to a barren underseascape. The attraction there was hammerhead sharks, who didn't show, so we were concerned that the diving would be a bust. And unfortunately, Judy's ear was traumatized on the dive so it was her one and only one. Fortunately for me, my 14 dives thereafter revealed a splendid variety of multicolored coral, sharks, rays, many-hued fish and other creatures that did not fail to delight. Judy opted for a massage and a snorkeling trip and lots of hikes around the island, not a bad deal.

Dolphin Dive Shop

Hauling a tank back to the dive shop after an invigorating dive.

On a night dive, I kneeled on the sandy bottom with fellow divers and we turned out our lights. In a few moments we were surrounded in the blackness, most astonishingly, by constellations of bioluminescent plankton that gave the sensation of immersion in a living, moving starfield. Lots of other things appeared at night that you don't see in daytime: sleeping parrotfish, lobsters, and a huge and very creepy worm of some kind on the bottom. Also two large remoras, several stingrays, a turtle, and other creatures. And on the return boat ride, we found ourselves under a canopy of stars so thick that Orion nearly melted into the sparkling background. A night to remember.

About to embark on a night dive

We took a few hikes to the other side of the island and on one planted ourselves near the $400-800/night Yemaya Resort. At the other end of the spectrum, we lunched the following day at an open-air wooden shack with great fish tacos. All is beautiful.

A walk to the south end of the island took us by the house of Katy Gomez, a grandmother who inherited several acres from her dad and planted them with papaya, banana, pear, apple, and neatly manicured flower gardens. She took to us like old friends and we spent over an hour talking about her life, family, and her "delicious" Little Corn. We bought a bunch of tasty little bananas and a papaya for about 30 cents.

She told us that putting noni leaves under your hat will keep your head cool. I gave it a try, but haven't decided if it works.

Past Katy's we came to a cliff overlooking roiling surf and followed a narrow winding trail along the south end of the island. It snaked over to the east side and a couple of unoccupied beaches where we stopped and watched the sea.

After 11 days on Little Corn, we took the boat ride back to Big Corn, hoping that Judy could get some more snorkeling in. We took a taxi to the north side of the island and gave it a try, but the water was rough and there really wasn't much to see. It was nice hanging out by the beach, though, and our hotel, run by an Italian couple, served gourmet-level seafood.