Sorry it has been a while on the posts folks. Life on the Little Corn Island was tough. Not really, of course, but it's all relative, right. I ended up being on the Corn Islands for 18 nights!
My plan was to be there for 7 days-ish but I was having so much fun reading books, swinging in hammocks and swimming in the blue waters that I decided to stay a little longer. As the weekend approached, also came Samana Santa which is a national holiday in most Central American countries. Thursday and Friday before Easter is when Nicaragua celebrates it and the country literally shuts down. There is no bank or ATM on Little Corn so I had to take a panga (small boat) to Big Corn to hit up the ATM for more cash, as I was nearly out. Of course the one ATM was out of cash and the bank was closed for the holiday. I literally had only enough money for the ride back to Little Corn and that was it! Luckily, my hotel runs on a credit system, where you can pay for all you accomodation, food, beer (very important) at the time of check out, so I was not in danger of starving or going thirsty. Luckily the hotel also sold rum by the bottle so there was no need to panic. In addition, there were 3 Swiss folks whom I had been hanging out with a lot in the previous few weeks. Olaf offered to lend me some cash until the ATM was filled up, which was extremely nice. I tried to go as long as I could on the hotel food, but finally had to give in and borrow a few dollars from Christophe on Sunday. On Monday morning I made my way back to Big Corn and was relieved to see the ATM was filled up! Whew! It was a helpless feeling not having any access to money, but it was a perfect experience for down here. Things just don't run like you would expect them too (ie: A cash machine with cash in it) but that is what makes it so great!
The next problem was that everyone wanted to leave right after Semana Santa. By the time I tried to book a flight out, everything was booked up solid for 3 days but I was able to get out on Wednesday morning, so it only meant an extra few days on the island. Alas, back to my time on the island and not trying to get off it. The weather ended up being kinda crappy for my last few days, but I did manage to get out fishing with Jather and Felipe again. The day I got back from Big Corn cashless, I met up with Jather and we decided to go out on the boat that morning. The seas were a little rough due to some nasty wind, but it was nice and sunny so we went out. Another local named William went out with us as well.
William was rather dark skinned and he was called as such in the Carribean slang, and they called me Chele, much to my happiness (see previous posts). The first thing ol' Whitey here did was fall over in the boat. Man, it was like a beached whale, stuck on my back, embarrased, trying to get up, not able to and everybody laughing at me. Luckily I did not get any hooks stuck in myself and it served as a great ice breaker and we all left the bay laughing (at me). We headed south to the deepest water near the island, about 3-4 miles off shore, and tried to put our lines in the water, looking for big Pargo Rojo (Red Snapper) or Yellow Tail. The currents were strong so we moved in closer to shore, slowly circling the island. Everybody but me had caught a few fish, but the currents were still very strong making fishing difficult so we kept moving. As we got about 3/4 of the way around the island we went further out into the flats (only 50 feet deep or so) and continued to have sporadic luck. After our 6 hour fishing trip I only caught about 4 fish, but the fellas had caught quite a few so it wasn't a total loss. Jather's wife made me fish in coconut curry sauce with some Spanish Mackeral that was caught 3 hours before. It was delicious and he and his wife offered me a tab until I was able to withdrawal money from the ATM after the weekend. I was stunned at their generosity but they isisted that it would be their pleasure. My pride kept me from taking them up on the offer except for once, just to let them know how much i appreciated the thought. Every time my faith in humanity is about to diminish, a few simple acts bring it back up above the surface... for a moment at least. Amazingly kind people I have found here. Wednesday came quickly and I made my way back to Managua and quickly to Masaya which was a quick 15 miles south of the cesspool that is Managua. My time on Corn Island had come to an end, but as with most places on my travels where I have had the opportunity to hang with the locals for more than a few days I found some great characters and some extremely generous and cool people. If anyone ever has the opportuniy to come here, doesn't mind not having electricity from 5am until 3pm, doesn't mind not having any cars or roads (this is the main drag),
doesn't mind being hit upside the head with a tree trunk if you are caught stealing (see previous posts), but loves palm trees, hammocks, crystal clear waters, snorkleing with rays and sharks and fishing with some extremely nice people, then come down to Little Corn for some rest and relaxation. It is a truely unique place.
