M for marvelously marvelous and marvelously relaxing

Since it seems that most of our boat rides have given us exciting (yet terrifying) memories so far, I didn’t expect anything less from our boat ride to Little Corn island. We had reached Big Corn Island by plane as the road plus boat option was too time consuming and we were eager to get on with our boat ride to Little Corn! And the least I can say is that this ride didn’t disappoint us. Imagine our surprise (not) when it turned out to be pretty… full on! In order for you to comprehend our experience, you need to:

1. Picture a boat made for 30(ish) people traveling with nearly 50 passengers plus luggage. Safety first! 
2. Remember the feeling you got if you ever went on a roller coaster, your stomach going up and down! You gotta love those 3-meter waves!
3. Close your eyes and be ready to get buckets of salty water thrown to your faces. Make sure to close your mouth tho as salty water is not pleasant to drink! 

For once, I wasn’t particularly scared (say whaaaat?!), ok maybe a little worried (ahhh) but to be fair, maybe I should have been more scared. Considering that a boat capsized in January, that I can barely swim (doggy paddle still doesn’t count as a swimming technic) and the life jackets wouldn’t have done a good job keeping us afloat, I would have had every right to be! But hey as one of our tripmates put it: there was no way we would drown (no?! Thank god! Feeling optimistic for the first time for a boat ride!). No… The sharks would feast on us first… Baaaaaaaaaaa, smart ass! I was happy to make it safe and sound to, what we were soon to discover, our piece of heaven on Earth. 

Little corn island was not as small as we pictured it to be but this was the perfect place to spend a few days away from backpacking, riding chicken buses and away from the big cities’ hustle and bustle. During our 5-day stay, we found beautiful beaches to relax on (the northern part of the island was just wonderful), paths leading through the island’s jungle and along the coast and cool bars for an ice coffee or a cold cerveza! Our time on the island was fabulous and mostly because we decided to treat ourselves to a stay at Yemaya! This was undeniably a decadent splurge, a stretch from our 30$ budget but we felt like it was the right time to be nice with ourselves. Yes, we could have stayed at Carlito’s where we stayed the first night on the island. It was clean, cheap and the staff was friendly. If you are on a backpacker budget and cannot afford a stay at Yemaya, then we would recommend Carlito’s, located 20 minutes from the pier, offering cabanas with ocean view at an affordable price! 

M and I somehow needed more. Have you ever felt that way? You are in heaven but you deep down know, feel that this heaven could be even greater with a bit more luxury? We are fully aware of the meaning of this moment of insanity. Yes, we will have to skip a few activities along the way, walk even more (as if this is seriously possible?!) and find even cheaper food / accommodation (pfff) but even with the shadows of those unpleasant sacrifices to come, I have no regret. I know I would make the same choice again in a heartbeat as this was one of my happiest memories on this Latin American trip! Leaving this heaven this morning was a heartache and while we were excited to hit the road again after indulging ourselves with beach and relaxing times the past week, we knew we would deeply miss Litte Corn Island. 

Now lying on my dorm bed in Managua, in this hot town where the air is scarce, I am already missing the sound of the waves crashing on the shore and the wind in my hair while strolling on the sandy beach with M! Cheesy but true! Luckily we have many more adventures waiting around the corner. So better get some sleep! Next stop: Granada! 

Happy trails and remember: Carpe Diem!