Little Corn Island to Managua, Nicaragua, el 21-25 Febrero, 2017

Little Corn is pretty laid back-

but sometimes there is work to do.  Paving stones are brought to the island in boats and men haul them on carts to build walking paths.  It's hot, hard work-

Lobster fishing season has ended so all the traps are coming in.  They too are hauled on carts and stored until next season-

There is one sidewalk that makes up Main Street and almost everything is along this street.  Homes-

Shops-

 the police station-

and the school-

are along the street.  There's a lot of garbage, mainly empty pop bottles and junk food wrappers that eventually get raked into piles and burned.  The garbage is supposed to be hauled off the island but rumour has it that it's just thrown into the water a few miles from shore.

Laundry is done by hand and most homes appear to have a well so at least they aren't just relying on rainwater-

Food includes bruschetta, sopa maruchin and huevo tacos-

I only dove three times: 2 day dives and a night dive.  I was really lazy and maybe should have done a bit more, but there is still a lot of diving ahead.  I wasn't that impressed with my first dive but the second one was better because we dove through some canyons.  I liked that.  The night dive was good but there were 7 of us with one master.  He would show us something by drawing circles around it with his flashlight and by the time I got there, he was long gone and so was the fish!  I did see lots of plankton, huge lobster, 2 turtles, an octopus, a large grouper, sea cucumber, a snake and millions of orange eyes staring out from holes in the coral.  We shut off our lights and saw strings of Pearl - it looked like small Christmas lights hanging vertically.  I don't like night diving, mainly because there is absolutely no communication.  Before I knew it, the group appeared above me and they were already finishing the 3 minute safety stop!  I think it will be quite a while before I do another night dive.

This morning we took a 20 minute boat ride to Big Corn Island, then flew 55 minutes to Managua.  On the way to our hostel, we passed this revolution statue.  His right foot was blown apart with a bomb-

Large metal trees are along the main boulevards.  They are lit up in the night for 3 hours-

9 heroes are honoured in this park with their pictures on large banners-

One of the many traffic circles with an image of Chavez and more metal trees-

We're staying close to the Tica bus terminal because we have to be there by 4:30 to catch our 5 am bus to San Pedro Sula, Honduras.  We paid an extra $10 US for air conditionning in our room and it is soooo sweet!  Should get a great sleep tonight!

Granada to Managua to Little Corn, Nicaragua, el 17 al 18 Febrero, 2017

Over 140 poets from Asia, the Americas, Europe and Africa are in Granada for a week.  This year's theme was world unification and peace.  This poet said something in Portuguese.  Everyone clapped, either politely or comprehending???  Not me!

Cameron Heaps, a Canadian and co-owner of Steam Whistle Brewing, bought the former mansion of Mario Favilli, an Italian architect who built many notable structures throughout Granada in the early 20th century.  He combined Art Deco and colonial styles.  Heaps turned it into Mombocho Cigars-

All cigars are rolled by hand in climate controlled rooms-

I treated myself to an hour massage, 30 minutes of reflexology and 30 minutes of acupuncture.  The resident turtle at Pure Spa is old and gigantic-

Vigeron is the "Nica" speciality:  coleslaw, boiled yucca and chicharrón which is deep fried pork rinds. It's very good-

I drove back to Managua to my dental appointment.  My new crown is perfect and I can't even tell which tooth it is!  

Decorations on the boulevards are large metal trees that are lit up at night-

Carolyn arrived safely and after a short night's sleep we were on our way to Big Corn Island.  It's a short 55 minute flight.  Managua is on the far left and Big Corn Island is the blue circle on the right-

We bought our lancha tickets and had half an hour to kill.  Here's to a great 3 weeks-

The port is very busy-

We left an hour early, something unheard of in Nicaragua-

Little Corn is truly little, only 2.9 square kilometers-

We're staying at Las Palmeras Boutique Hotel.  A worker was at the port with a sign with my name on it, ready to wheelbarrow our stuff to the hotel-

Our room is nice.  I'm going to try sleeping on the futon-

We walked around the island investigating.  The paths are simply paths-

There are no vehicles: no tuk tuks, no golf carts, only a few bicycles.  That's really nice!

Lunch was ceviche-

Interesting English-

Looking forward to a few days of diving and doing nothing!  Doing nothing?  What else is new?