Adventures on the Corn Islands (Nicaragua)
(by Aaron Wentzell)
Who knew what to really expect from the Corn Islands? We have heard some rumors of deserted white sand beaches and a very chill Caribbean vibe but none of that prepared us for what was really there!!!
Taking off from Managua in a 10 seater place is where the adventure started. The first indication that I had of the adventure I was setting off on was when I was sitting right behind the pilot; so close that I could even see the pilot operating the controls. In a little over an hour, my feet were firmly planted on Big Corn Island.
Immediately, I notice that Spanish was replaced with Creole English (a funky mix of English and Caribbean…close to Rasta Jamaican talk). Once I had found a place to stay at a place called “Anastasia’s By The Sea”, I opened the doors to my balcony to see a paradise of turquoise blue water and a warm breeze coming off the ocean. At that time, it felt like I had arrived at a true paradise however, 5 days later, my expectations were blown away again.
After a few delays getting to Little Corn Island due to a freak storm, I could finally get a boat to take me to Little Corn Island. At that point, I was no complaining about where I was but was excited to hear about the paradise that was a mere 30 minute boat ride away.
After an interesting boat ride to Little Corn, the first thing that I noticed is that where there were cars and roads on Big Corn, there were just walking paths on Little Corn. From where the boat dropped us off, we were tipped that the far side of the island was amazing. So we trekked over. After walking through the village, we took a dirt path that lead us inland. The walk across the island was short (about 10 minutes) but equally exciting as a random path through the jungle made us feel like true explorers.
We arrived on the other side of the island at sunset but wow, we were not prepared for what we got to. A DESERTED WHITE SAND BEACH with nothing more than a “path” down the beach. Not really knowing where to go, we just continued down the path and soon we started seeing a few faint lights and some sweet sweet reggae playing in the distance. On this beach, there are 3 sets of bungalows and we ended up staying at the set at the end of the path…a place called “Carlito’s”. If we were to compare Big Corn Island to Haad Rin, this was for sure Haad Yuan however, take off 10 years of development. As far as the eye could see both ways, there were deserted, undeveloped white sand beaches with the most amazing water on both sides. What else do we need in a Free & Easy destination?
