Arright! Please allow me to break the silence down here, the last couple days have been sort of disconnected, if not hectic, if not both. Anyway, after two earlier intentions (aka semi-attempts) to go to the Corn Islands, I finally managed to get there! You know what they say - third time lucky ;)

The entire story on the subject is quite extensive, so bearing in mind the majority of visitors prefer a short story (and lots of pics ;)) you´ll find the “director´s cut” below. The full monte can be found by clicking on “read more” at the bottom of this article. Sounds fair, doesn´t it? :)

So here we go… As the islands are pretty isolated (70km off Nicaragua´s east coast), there´s basically two options to get there: by air (aka recommended and preferred) and by bus and boat (aka adventurous and dodgy). This makes for an easy choice: let´s take the latter!

That morning I got away from Lago de Apoyo by throwing both myself and my backpack over the fence. A quick busride took me to Masaya, famous for its “artesanias” - this is where I decided to buy a hammock, bearing in mind the large number of uncomfortable journeys I still had ahead of me (trust me, there´s more to come after this one!). Been there, done that and another busride took me to Managua. Three hours (and three attempts of theft, all unsuccessful) later I was on the bus to El Rama … what is it with Central American capitals!? One I got there all hotels appeared to be full so I spent the night sleeping in the bus - the hammock instantly came to good use :)

After being kicked out of the bus by its personnel (sorry, I have a hard time waking up!) I took the fast boat to Bluefields, and I mean F-A-S-T - the scenery was lovely though I didn`t get to see much as our boat hung almost vertical with speed :) Down in Bluefields I met up with some people (hello Rita and Mario) and together we learnt we missed the ferry to the Corn Islands by about an hour - bummer! Speaking to locals appeared to help though and we learnt a fishing boat would be leaving for the islands from El Bluff, a key just 1km off the coast. Friendly locals and even friendlier fishermen (yah man) allowed us to hitchhike and we got to Big Corn that same day.  We spent Saturday night on Big Corn (Reggae Palaca was nice!) and I left for Little Corn the next morning. I fell in love with the place as soon as I set foot on the dock - once again the pics should speak for themselves! Spent the next days enjoying perfect weather and, more importantly, went scuba-diing! You read that right: I CAN DIVE AGAIN! It was well worth it too; swimming among sharks and stingraysis quite an experience!

Unfortunately all good things come to an end eventually, and I now find myself in Cancun after spending 4 days on boats and buses, ready for the next journey. YAH MAN!

[Show as slideshow]

Sunrise on Rio Escondido ... on the way to Bluefields

More Rio Escondido sightseeing

Our ride to Big Corn!

So you have about half an hour more to spare? Good for you! ;)

… so as said, being in an isolated corner of the Caribbean, gettnig there can be quite an adventure, provided you decide not to take an airlpane. Here`s a few considerations:

• Guaranteed uncomfortable journey? Check!
• Severe risk of getting stuck on the way? Check!
• Little (or no) chance to sleep? Check!
• Decent chance of getting seasick? Check!

What was I still waiting for - let`s go by land and sea!

So off I went, adventure started that morning at 6.30am as nobody was present to open the gate and I launched both my backpack and myself over it. A quick chicken-bus ride (highly impossible combination!) took me to Masaya, where I spent some time on the market buying all kinds of souvernirs stuff I needed. This trip was not the only long and uncomfortable one I`d be making so a hammock should be useful!

Another busride took me to Managua, where I had to spend three hours before catching the east-bound bus to El Rama. I consider this amount of time 2 hours and 55 minutes too long; tens of aggravations and three attempts of theft (one of which was by street kids!) only just confirmed the opinion I already had on Central-American capitals. Guess there`s no need to explain further!

As expected, the 6-hour ride to El Rama was not the prettiest I made so far, though it could have been a lot worse. One things that becomes instantly noticeable is the fact that the further east you go, more things seem to be changing rapidly - I`m talking people, language, style of construction, in fact it`s like an entire shift in culture towards whatever the Caribbean is known for. Anyway, once I got to El Rama (around 1am), all hotels appeaed to be full but fortunately bus personnel allowed me to sleep in the bus - and I was glad I had my hammock! :) Ended up having a discussion on whether or not I could leave the windows open during the night; I was being stubborn but had to quickly admit beign wrong as soon as I heard someone walking on top of the bus in the middle of the night. Freaky, especially if there`s no response once you start yelling at them…

So the next morning it was time to board the panga to Bluefields - a really nice, 2-hour river trip and it was even nicer to experience what the world looks like in a 90-degree angle as we practically hung vertial due to our speed :) In Bluefields I hooked up with a Mexican couple (hello Rita and Mario!) and at the same time learnt we missed the twice-weekly ferry by an hour - bummer! Asking locals initially didn`t help much; most of you know the drill - you ask five people and get ten different stories :) though eventually some of them seemed to make some sense as they mentioned a fishing boat leaving for Big Corn from El Rama (a key 1km off the coast) on the same day. A short trip later, we ended up in a small community where friendly and helpful locals (and fishermen alike) helped us on board of a fishing boat (thank you captain Carlos). The customs check took ages but went smoothly, although a lot of small, suspicious-looking packages popped up once the officials left the ship. However, pretending not to have seen anything does seem to help…

Six hours, two decent lobster meals, a quick lesson in local language and not the slightest feeling of seasickness later we arrived on Big Corn Island. Decided to spend saturday night there a Little Corn, having only 600 inhabitants, seemed rather quiet. After a night out got to Little Corn the next morning, and it is every bit as beautiful and paradise-like as one could possibly imagine! I instantly fell in love with the place as soon as I set foot no the dock. Went wandering around and found a pretty and isolated place (30-minute walk through the jungle) on the north-side of the island - no doubt this is the nicest spot I`ve been to so far! Spent the first night in a beachside cabaña, the following night  was invited to share a house - aka Casa Tranquila - with two others (thanks Melissa and Dominik).

The days merely consisted of chilling out, meeting people, going to the beach, snorkeling and… scuba-diving! YES - All systems go - I CAN DIVE AGAIN! Been divign on beautiful reefs, along loads of fish, lobter, rays and sharks! It may not sound like much, but still it is like a perfect way to relax; Little Corn is the kind of place where it`s really easy to fill days with emptiness. It`s the kindof place where you walk out to get a bottle of water at 6pm… and return 2am the next morning! ;) Love it… YAH MAN!