Little Corn Island

Once a haven for buccaneers,Little Corn Island is a little piece of heaven in an isolated corner of the Caribbean. Our journey to Little Corn took us from Granada to Managua by chicken bus, then a small two prop plane dropped us on Big Corn Island, and finally a spine crunching speed boat ride deleiverd us on Islas De Maiz (Little Corn Island.) The island is surrounded by turquiose water and white sandy beaches fringed with coconut trees. We arrived on the island as the sun dropped below the waters edge and we were imediatly struck by the unique people we encountered. The culture of the Caribbean is totaly different from the Pasfic side of Central America. The people are black skinned and speak english with a Jamaican accent.

The island has no roads so we hiked on a trail through the emerald green jungle to a place called Elsa's, where we hoped to spend the night. Elsa's place consisted of several crude stick huts with sand floors and no electricity. Sensing our uncertianity, Elsa said,

\168Well if you like I have a room in my house you can rent.\168 After a short walk on another trail we arrived at Elsa's home. Her daughter turned down the island Regae music and greeted us at the door. We spent the night at Elsa's home and learned about how the people lived; they used a well for water, buckets inside a tin shack were used for the bathroom\ \shower, a gas power generater supplied power during the evenings.

The next day while hiking through the jungle we stumbled upon the perfect spot. Nestled among the coconut trees were ten grass huts over looking the Caribbean Sea. Derek, a hippie from DC, built this little village paradise. The grass hut had a sand floor, a comfortable bed and a candle for light. This was the perfect spot to spend the next four nights. We layed on the white sand beach and snorkled in the crystal clear water. At night we would walk on the jungle trails under the blue beams of the full moon

(fortunatley for the full moon, because Jon dropped the flashlight into the septic tank at the outhouse!!) At dinner every night we would have our most favorite of foods, lobster. It was hard to say goodbye to our island paradise but there are other places to see and we're sure we will return someday.