With the waves softly rolling in and all the fasting moving things slowing to a casual walking pace, Little Corn Island is a secluded gem tucked close to the Central Americans Mainland.

Once morning broke in Managua, and our breakfast smorgasbord was consumed, we hopped in the unexpected hotel shuttle for our short drive to the airport. Not sure if it was the non-shalont airport screening or the fact that we never actually received a boarding pass but right then and there we knew that we were in for a relaxing getaway.

We had to make our way back to the international terminal in order to grab a bit of lunch before paying our tourist fee departure tax and proceed to the waiting room. From here they called the passengers out by name in order for us to board the plane, and we chose whatever seat we cared for on the 40ish passenger prop plane. The one and a half hour La Costeña flight cruised by as we all peered out the windows watching as the green waters shifted to emerald blue. Once touching down on Big Corn Island we waited in a locked room until our bags arrived where we were then released to the public. A short $1 per person taxi ride to anywhere on the island left us at the boat harbour just five minutes down the road. Catching the $10 per person over the age of four, 4:45 afternoon boat, also known as a Panga, has us bobbing over tall swells for the entire 60 minute journey to Little Corn Island.

We were greeted by a hotel worker from Dolphin Dive Hotel with a sign and a rustic wooden wheelbarrow to make our way down the shoreline to where we would be resting for the continuing 10 days. The lack of roads on the island could force even the most stressed out businessman to relax. Not to mention the morning power outages and two for one happy hours at every establishment. Our room was up on the top and second floor of a concrete building, where we immediately dropped our bags and sat on the deck. We could see the palm trees swaying with the gentle breeze. Dive boats were just returning and we knew instantly this is exactly where we wanted to be.

For dinner we retraced our steps back 100 yards to a wooden post and beam restaurant called “Tranquilos”. With revolving daily specials and live entertainment we all knew that we would be spending a good majority of our time here in the near future. The Corn Islands are famous for their lobster, and they sure have a lot of it. Basically any dish on the menu had an option to be created or have lobster added. Shannon quickly took advantage of this and ordered herself up a trio of lobster tacos. Once our bellies were full we sauntered our way back down the beach and into comforts of our air-conditioned room. The daily temperature on the island was dropping from a humid high of 32 degrees to a humid low of 27 degrees as night fell.

Morning of day two has us in search of our set task for the island, SCUBA diving. As we had planned however our hotel was also a dive shop. Travellers tip: if you book directly through them rather than a third party like “Booking.com” you will receive a deal on the prices. Chatting with the dive staff we had the next handful of days sorted out. Shannon was signed up to take her advanced open water dive course which consisted of five dives, including a flashlight lit night dive and I was penciled in for two sets of two-tank fun dives. The girls however, well they were forced to stick to the sand and snorkel close to shore.

With strong winds picking up off the east coast a number of the dives sites were inaccessible but this still left more than enough reef locations to the west and north of the island. Visibility was still descent at the deeper depths and the marine life including numerous schools of tropical fish, stingrays, turtles and even a few sharks were more than happy to share the 28 degree waters with us. Shannon even got the opportunity to follow a nurse shark and a sting ray hunt along side of each other all under the gentle beam of her flashlight one evening. While one of us was below the waves the other was traditionally laying in the sand, swing in the hammock or swimming to the floating dock just off of Tranquilos deck. The girls had a blast as they endlessly jumped from the dock and splashed in the waves.

Some days we had a schedule of nothing. This resulted in short walks around the island to the east side and usually a stop by the local fruit stand to pick up a pineapple to be carved at a later date.

Our evenings revolved around the Tranquilos entertainment schedule and what sort of mood the girls were in. If the smalls were not to wiped from the days activities we could listen to live music, watch fire spinners or just sit by the bonfire under the stars. This slight side trip to Little Corn, however noticeably more expensive than the mainland, it was a much desired holiday break from all the travelling that we had been doing, and yes there is a difference between the two.

Like it always does, time passes on and soon we had to shift back to the mainland and the hustle and bustle of life in Shoes. A few days out we noticed that the panga was no longer shuttling people back to the other island. Asking around we discovered that the higher ups back in Managua decided that the swells were too tall and deemed it unsafe for the boats to run. Huh, what now. Traditionally they had two crossing in either direction with sailings aligned with the departures and arrivals of the landing airplanes. After gaining some local knowledge we learned that there would now be just one larger fishing vessel making the crossing daily but the departure times were still left unknown. Here we chose to cut our time one day shorter and head back to Big Corn a day early to ensure that we were back to board our flight. With bags packed we then learned that the afternoon boat would not be sailing. Fingers crossed for the morning run as it would be our last chance. Some of the others that we had met on the island managed to hire a private vessel for much higher than desired amount of money as if they missed their flight out that evening they would be forced to miss their flight the following day back to their home country in Europe.

Once again, with bags packed, we were standing on the dock 30 minutes before sunrise but this time with tickets in hand. The $10 US fee per adult had now turned into $20 but that was hardly worth arguing over based on the circumstances. Once loaded aboard with 40 others, there was not a tarp covered lobster cage seat free.

The larger fishing boat made for a much smoother crossing as the swells didn’t actually seem so bad in a boat this size. Now returned to Big Corn by 8:00 am we still had a descent amount of time to kill before our 4:30 flight back to the mainland. With empty tummies and taxis waiting, we got dropped off at Arenas Beach Hotel for a sea side meal and a place to enjoy for the day. The sand here was incredibly soft and the waveless water was perfect for everyone. A few sand sculptures later mixed in with a meal and an undesired sunburn we shifted our directions back to the airports plastic chair waiting for our names to be called to board the plane.

Once back in the hustle and bustle of Nicaraguas capital and most populated city in the country we boarded an accommodation arranged taxi and were escorted through the seemingly not so friendly streets to our hotel, D’La Torre. This unique hotel was actually very impressive boasting unique designs and a pool. Not to mention dinner and breakfast was included in the price to our surprise. After bite to eat, a dip in the pool and a shower to get what ever remaining sand that was stuck between our toes free, we all settled down for the the night with dreams of what was next for us around the corner.

We heard from others that Leon was a fun and entertaining place to visit, I think we will check that out next. However, before this was Granada.