As the cooler weather has been creeping in at home, Mark and I were excited for the opportunity to get back the Central America. We flew into the country’s capital, Managua, last night and grabbed a hotel close by so we could catch the earliest flight out to the Corn Islands.
When we arrive at the national airport, they actually weigh us on the same scale they use for the luggage. (Good thing I hadn’t had breakfast yet) Right away I suspected we would be on a smaller plane, but I had no idea it would be this small… 
Seats all of 12 people packed like sardines and two pilots. One. tiny. propeller.
Oh why, hello, pilot. No need for a loud speaker.
Mark can fill you in more on the details of the flight. I just put my headphones in and tried not to think too hard about the chances of death. And to my surprise, the view from this plane was absolutely spectacular and I soon forgot any anxiety. If given the opportunity, it’s worth the experience to view the world a little bit differently.
After about an hour+ later, we get our first glimpse of Big Corn Island.
The “big” island is only about 11 kilometers around, so it’s pretty fast and easy to get anywhere on the island on the main road. A taxi cost about $2 (54 cordobas) to get anywhere you’d like.
We check into the Sea Spa and are greeting by the owner, a Canadian blonde lady with her hair pulled back in a pony tail, Darce. Who quickly introduces us to Carol, our local host and chef extraordinaire. Everyone makes us feel very welcomed. Darci leads us to a balcony with a view of the beach while we wait a few minutes for our room. Carol whips us up some omelettes (tomato, onion and green peppers) with a side of coconut bread while we wait. If you recall, we did not have breakfast yet, so these omelettes tasted pretty amazing.
We check into our room, which has a pretty great view. The waves are much larger than expected but the sound is pretty incredible.
But we decide we need to check out the rest of the island. Darcie has a scooter we can rent for the day, so even though the recent rain has left sections of the road pretty swampy, we go for it!
Big Corn Island is pretty underdeveloped. Which is part of its charm. There is only one bank /ATM on the island that apparently works sometimes (it’s a good idea to bring cash. No ATM on the little island) We also find lots of people walking around, hanging out in large groups at someone’s house or a local store, and even people sitting on the runway at the airport…clearly not a lot of planes come in during the day.
We stop at a little beach front restaurant just as the rain comes in. Perfect time for a beer and snack.
Homemade Fish Toquitos
Mark finds out there is a good wifi connection at a local dive shop, so we head there. He’s interested in checking in on the football games going on at home. While I don’t understand this need, I go along because there is a good beach view at least there too. Again though, it’s starts to pour rain.
As the rain lets up, we decide to head back to the Sea Spa. But now due to the two rain showers, the once swampy roads have turned into full on rivers! Imagine an 8 foot wide by probably 25 feet long section with the ocean on one side and trees on the other, and we are on a tiny scooter. Mark revs up our little scooter and makes a run for it riding along the edge closest to the trees. Eventually it’s more like we have a jetski as we hear the muffler gurgle through the water while we laugh and scream at the idea we could get stuck in middle of this with a water-logged scooter. As we make it through and up the muddy hill, the people at Sea Star give us a little cheer. It must have been a sight to see.
Back to relaxing at the beach, while Carol whips us up a lobster dinner. Lobster is very popular here because the locals catch it daily. As are green peppers, tomato, and onion as we once again find them on our plate.
We sleep to the sound of the ocean and wake up to Carol bring us fresh fruit, coconut water, coffee and omelettes.
After a quick morning walk on the beach we have all to ourselves, we say our goodbyes and are ready to catch the boat to Little Corn Island!
