On June the 7th of 2004 I set out for my meeting with my son. My son Joe, who was working in Nicaragua, had called me and asked if I could come down while he was there. Joe had some work but also had some time to play. We had settled on going over to Little Corn Island, and we would to stay at Casa Iguana on the island. We were armed with all we could find out about the island from the net but were not ready really for the relaxing way things were on the island. From the net we were told that there were about 800 people that lived on this island but in fact the number is much smaller. This was the off season and with the local school only going up to the 6th grade children had to go off island to school and many people at this time were working on the large island.

I landed in Managua the capital of Nicaragua, Joe was there to meet me and already had the tickets for the plane trip from Managua to Big Corn Island, so we had a little while to kill. We mailed some post cards and I got my first taste of local food, fried Pockets, rice and some chicken inside what looks like a pop tart. I was to learn that rice was used in just about every meal, and Red Beans and Rice was served with every thing. We got on our plane to Big Corn , Joe wanted to sit behind the pilots. I have flown small planes so we sat there and I explained what was going on as we flew through the rain clouds. The flight took about 1 hour and 25 minutes. We landed on this very long run way and taxed up to the gate in the fence we had to walk across the street to pick up our bags in the air termial. , We took a taxi from there to the port on Big Corn, here we were to wait on the water taxi that makes the trip from Big Corn over to Little Corn Island which he made 2 times a day. At the port we went under a porch and waited. A man was there selling a fruit that was much like our wild grapes which we tried, they were good. It came time for us to go we were pointed to a long open boat which had 2 very large outboard motors on it. The young man who was our captain welcomed us with a big toothy smile. He informed us that we did not pay until we got to the other end of our ride, if we did not get to Little Corn we did not have to pay. We placed all our bags in the front of the boat then climbed into the back as this was the best place to ride, Ha Ha. Joe was sitting behind me on a bench seat just in front of the captain. The lady sitting next to me was ringing her hands as we started out. I soon found out why she looked so worryed. We passed out of the port and into the open sea of 4 to 6 foot waves with both engines pushing as hard as they could. The boat would leap into the air and down into the valleys between the waves and each time the captain would let out a cry of delight. Joe was sitting next to an older island lady who would cry out just as loud in English and then in Spanish curses. This went on for about 35 minutes till we finely reach the other side. As we were getting out of the boat the Nicaragua Coast Guard, who were pulled up there, asked to see the 2 gringos Passports. I set my dive bag down and reached for my small dry bag . As I was getting my papers out a dog came up and hiked his leg and sprayed my bags. I had to make a quick decision to chase the dog off or give my papers to the Coast Guard officer who had a machine gun over his back and a vest full of replacement clips. The Guard got my papers!!!!

Little Corn was a lovely place even in the rain. The only side walk runs down the beach., The side walk had speed bumps on it that we were to learn were there to slow down bike riders on Friday and Saturday nights after visiting one of the local bars. We had landed in front of the Little Corn Dive shop, one of only 2 dive shops in Nicaragua. We asked in the shop where Casa Iguana was and how we could get there. We were informed to take the path, also known on the island as a road, next to the shop to the other side of the island and if we need help with our bags to take the wheel barrow and put the bags in it. This picture was taken from the top of the light house and you can see just about the whole island here. The walk was not long but with the slick mud it took a little longer then the 6 to 8 minutes to get to the office,, The gate had a bell made up of a old dive tank and a stick, here we were met by Cathy. Cathy is a very pleasant lady who along with her husband, Grant, own and run Casa Iguana, she showed us to our cabin.

Our cabin was wood framed and painted purple with gold trim,;The front of our cabin had a porch with 2 hammocks and over looked the beach. The door lock was a pad lock. Cathy led us in and showed where we would be living for the next 6 days. We had one big room with a bathroom off to the side and a shower outside next to the cabin. All was very clean and nice. Our cabin had windows with screens on it, some of the cheaper cabins did not have screens but had mosquito netting over the beds. With the windows open at night a very cool breeze would blow through the cabin. The Delux Cabin was larger, and had more windows to let the air flow throught. ,The path up to the cabins from the beach was marked with some local art work ,

Down the path was the lodge that was a common meeting place where meals and drinks were served. The view from the top of the hill where the lodge was was great over the beach where our cabin was. Meal times were for breakfast and supper with you having to find a meal of lunch from one of other small places on the island. There were many nice places to eat. Most lunches were running about $5 with a beer. Beer was about $1.50 as was soft drinks. Meals mostly came from the Sea; fish, shrimp, lobster or sometimes chicken, with a side of rice and beans. At the lodge the food was great and a surprise each night. Cathy is a great cook and most of the food came from Grant’s garden. Grant spent most of his time maintaining Casa Iguana and working a garden you would not believe. Grant had beans, peas, bananas, pineapples, eggplant, lettuce, and much more all of which was raised for the kitten there at Casa Iguana.

Our time was spent exploring the island, diving, reading and relaxing. With only one phone on the island and no access to a TV or radio, we were in bliss of not knowing what was going on in the world for our 6 days in paradise. We went to use the one phone to call the air port at Big Corn and was informed that it was close for a few days as the operator was gone and would be back in a few days.

Scuba diving was out of a small boat, with no more than 8 divers in for the most part shallow, water 10 to 60 feet deep. The crew at the dive shop did everything they could to make each dive a good dive. The dive shop managers Bryce and Catherine, from New Zealand. The cheif dive master was Jake who learned to dive in Australia, back up by Bob from Texas here in the USA. While we were at Casa Iguana we met people from all over the world and the United States. Some of other visters to this wonderful place were from England, Germany, Denmark, Sweden, and Australia.

I had gotten a e-mail telling me that scuba rental was only $5 a day for everything, well you can understand me not believing that, but it was true I did not need to bring anything with me. I could have left most of my things at home. We did need a flash light because when the sun goes down in the afternoon there are very few light on the island as electricity had to come from generators or batteries, that were charged when the generators were running.

The people of the island were great, most spoke some english. While walking around the island I was ask many time to take a picture by the kids of the island. The wanted me to take a picture and show it to them right then. This was hard for me to do as I am still taking pictures on film. The locals mostly make a living from vistors and the lobster fishing which was about to get started on the island. Many traps were being repaired or replaced for the up coming season.