Sweeping Shoreline of Little Corn Island

Nicaragua's Atlantic Coast is a one hour flight from Managua, but culturally worlds away from anything else in the country. The salt-and-sugar white sand beaches and turqouise waters are exactly as you'd expect them, but the mixed Caribbean culture is uniquely Nicaraguan. The two undisputed jewels of Nicaragua's Atlantic coast are Corn Island and Little Corn Island, offering sun, sand, palm trees, and simple living.

Eighty-three kilometers eastward into the Caribbean lies a little island named after the one thing you won't find growing there, surrounded on all sides by turqouise sea and reef, and awash in the fresh breeze of the Caribbean. Corn Island is less Nicaraguan than even the Caribbean coast, bound to Spanish speaking Nicaragua only by history and chance, not by language or culture. Caribbean in theory but wholly Latin American in nature, to the nine thousand people who call Corn Island home, this is a place unique in the world. Corn Island is 10 square kilometers of forested hills, mangrove swamps, and stretches of white coral beaches. The mangrove swamps and estuaries which line several stretches of coastline are crucial to the island's water supply. Three distinct layers of reef, composed of more than 40 species of coral, protect the north side of the island. Of the six sea turtle species swimming off Nicaragua's shores, four live in Caribbean waters.

Relax under the shade of palms

But if you really crave remoteness, take one of the little water taxis across the strait to Little Corn, the more rustic of the pair, where two to four days will provide ample opportunity to dive and explore the reefs, or melt your worries away on the beach. Little Corn is a mere three square kilometers of tropical desert island laced with footpaths and surrounded on three sides by nine kilometers of coral reef burgeoning with marinelife. "La Islita" or "Little Island," as the locals know it, is a delicate paradise, visited by an ever-increasing number of travelers. Although there are accommodations for several ranges of budgets here, the rough ride across 30 kilometers of open ocean should serve to hold destructively large crowds at bay.

Both islands are a great place to get away from it all, although getting there will take a little work. But isn't that the point? Corn Island is better developed and offers a variety of accomodations, while Little Corn Island is less developed and almost rustic by comparison. This is a great place to resist the urge for air conditioning and spend a night in a simple hut, alone with the Caribbean wind and the stars. Don't miss the chance to snorkel or dive along the reef, hike up to the water tower, or just kick back on the miles and miles of sandy beach.