Back to the puns - Vicki could get a job at The Star if she keeps it up. Anyway, Little Corn...
As our 21-seater plane left the Nicaraguan mainland and headed out over the Caribbean to the Corn Islands, the beauty of the water and reefs below finally took our mind off the size of the plane. And as the sand-ringed islands approached, we knew we'd come to a very special place.
Before we set out on our trip, we quizzed anyone we knew who had been to Latin America about highlights they'd recommend. A friend in Hong Kong was adamant that we should visit the Corn Islands, and even though the flight made a dent in our budget, the recommendation was too good to ignore.
After flying through a small storm, and being slightly freaked by the proximity of the pilot (we could have tapped him on the shoulder he was so close), arriving on Big Corn was a relief. We went straight to the harbour and took a boat on to Little Corn, the more untouched and (surprise, surprise) smaller of the two.
Little Corn really was everything we hoped for, and we spent a great week diving and relaxing. We stayed a a small eco-lodge (Casa Iguana - US$25 for an economy cabin) where the staff were friendly and the family-style dinners delicious. The island (which would take about and hour or two to walk around) had a few little restaurants and shops, fabulous beaches, warm clear waters, and cool breezes. We dived every day with Dive Little Corn, a professional and friendly outfit. The coral is fantastic, quite untouched as the dive industry here is minimal (only two dive shops on Little Corn). As with elsewhere in the Caribbean, not an abundance of fish, but certainly enough of everything to hold our interest. In six dives we saw nurse sharks, reef sharks, puffer fish, pipe fish, moray eels, etc.
After about three months on the road, this week in paradise was a really welcome pit-stop, and we recharged our batteries for the next part of our trip in Nicaragua, Costa Rica, and Panama.
If you haven´t already seen them, check out our photos of Little Corn.
Ok, most important question first - how did you manage to do all this travelling?. I want to travel as a lifestyle and I am still trying to work out how to finance it. I lived in Hawaii this past year (work-trade on an organic lettuce farm) and it was great, but if I spend a year in every place I go I will never see enough, you know? Please get in touch with me if you come across this comment as I would be very grateful for any advice or tips you could pass on. Much luck in your adventures, thank you for sharing them with the world. Oh, and why is the red lake red (bolivia)?
Many blessings,
Lorin
Posted by: Lorin Leigh Beatty | 04 January 2007 at 01:37
Beautiful shots - I am heading down to Little Corn in May and am most likely staying at Iguana - not sure whether to do the Economy or the Deluxe Casita - which did you stay in?
Thanks!
Melissa
Posted by: Melissa | 19 January 2007 at 00:09
Yes, I would love to know how you are able to travel to so many places. I would love to be able to do that. Right now I'm earning my BS in Biology at the University of Houston, US, but I don't want to settle down right away, because then I don't know if I'll ever get to travel anywhere. How do you do it? And is it truly that safe to travel to all these remote villages and Antarctica?
Broke Student-Candace
Posted by: Candace | 01 February 2008 at 09:53
Well, we didn't decide to do this until our thirties so had plenty of time to save enough cash to do it. We'd love to do it all over again now, and are mulling over another trip later in 2008.
As for the safety issue, we travelled through all the countries you see on the site without any problems, including Colombia, Nicaragua, and Bolivia. We very rarely felt unsafe. Of course there are dangers but with common sense, and listening to local advice, we were fine.
As for Antarctica, the ship we sailed on sank last year, although no-one was badly hurt. We felt very safe on this trip too.
Posted by: Adam | 14 February 2008 at 15:47
How can I contact Casa Iguana, I have sent them emails and I haven´t recieve any answer, do you have any information that may help me!!. Thanks a lot
Posted by: Erika | 27 January 2010 at 23:10