Taxi, bus, very small plane and the most bumpy Panga (boat) ride I arrived on the tiny island of Little Corn of the Caribbean coast of Nicaragua. Twenty minutes walk through to the other side of the island and along a beach to find a very basic cabin for 20$ a night. (No dorm rooms..just cabins, traveling solo can be expensive!) I just had time to have a swim in the balmy ocean before darkness….a just reward for another hot day of travel! And after a quick shower and change I headed back along the deserted beach under the moonlight before cutting back through the island on its only paved path to meet a friend who was all ready on the island for dinner. There are no cars, motorbikes, scooters or golf carts on the island….the place is chilled to the max! My friend had advised me stay on the other side of the island which receives the breeze, and all though not stifling hot after dinner and heading back to my side of the island the cooling breeze was a welcome relief!

I was more than a little stupid that night, as to get the breeze bowing into my cabin/shack I slept with the door open, at three in the morning awake blowing my nose I had an unwelcome visit from a passing very wasted local who tried to start chatting and sat on my bed, after getting him to leave I obviously locked my door and promptly changed dwellings the next morning. Plus it was quite a bit nicer, with better ablution facilities and cheaper, and literally twenty metres from the turquoise ocean. Floating out at sea looking back at the shore line…..I just kept saying to myself “this is ridiculous! When am I ever going to be anywhere like this again?!” I spent the afternoon exploring the northern side of the island with my friend, just a few tracks through the Island and round the coast, some of the most beautiful and remote beaches I’ve ever seen. Her last night, three of us shared the local dish of lobster, fish, plantain and coconut….fairly nice but pretty heavy. Little corn is pretty famous for its lobster, but I was there out of season so anything we had was coming out of the freezer!

That night I didn’t have any unwelcome guests….aside from ants! I was woken all the time with them nibbling and biting…a little distracting!

The following day I risked a dive with my pesky cold at a decent level of decline. I was a bit nervous heading out for the first time since leaving Utila, and I still had a bit of trouble equalising with snot problems, but luckily it was a pretty shallow dive. We saw so many nurse sharks amongst other things and it was great to be diving for fun so soon after getting the certificate. That evening I ate a great place up the beach from my hut, it was getting to full moon and walking back in the breaking waves under the light is up on there on my perfectly happy and content moments of my trip!

That day I mentioned the ant problem and they really sprayed the room and bed…..but somehow they all came back in the night!

I dived again the following day and this site was called locally “caves and tunnels”…. For my second real dive it was technically somewhat challenging navigating through fairly narrow spaces, but exhilarating and was unlike anything I could see or do snorkelling. That night it was another friend’s final night and we watched the sunset from very basic tiki bar full of locals. We then enjoyed the best ceviche I’ve had since I left Peru!

That day I asked for a mosquito net and I was protected from the ants that night…yippee!!

My final day I couldn’t dive as I flew the next day, so it was a full day of R&R! Sun, sand, sea, swimming, sleeping……ending with another great dinner at the joint up the beach and the BEST EVER piña coladas I’ve had…huge chunks of toasted coconut on top, and just the right amount of loads of rum! That night the moon was at its brightest, and walking back on the beach dodging huge crabs I was so glad I decided on the splurge and effort of coming.

Of the four Caribbean islands I’ve been to…Isla Mujeres, Caye Caulker, Utila and Little Corn…this was hands down the winner! I hope they can keep the traffic off the island, as that’s really an important part of what makes it so special. On speaking with quite a few locals they seem adamant on that remaining the case. The people are very friendly and rightly proud of their paradise. If you are round about that neck of the wood….in my book its more than worth it.