I LEFT MY HEART IN LITTLE CORN

I claim the seat with the coconut next to it!  The little one is saved for Brenda :)

I've been waiting for May so I could finally post about my F.A.B.U.L.O.U.S. trip to Corn Islands, Nicaragua.  Look, I don't mean to brag, but....ok, I'm bragging...it's fabulous and I feel fabulous for going there!  If you are as obsessed with beaches as I am, you have to get yourself there RIGHT NOW!  I'm going to go through my trip a bit so you can see what's to do there and how much it might cost you.  (If you want to skip all this and go straight to the photos, click here.)  I went with my friend Miia (Finnish) who currently lives in Belen around Rivas.  She's going back to Finland in July to get married and said before leaving Nicaragua she just HAD so see Corn Islands; and guess who she invited to join her?!  Moi!

We left about 6am from Managua on La Costena airline.  Their costs never change; roundtrip to Corn Islands is always $160 + tax and you travel on a small 40 passenger plane.  They make a brief stop in Bluefields to drop off and pick up and then travel another half hour to Big Corn Island.  Funny story....the majority of our 40 passengers got off in Bluefields leaving about 8 of on the last leg of the flight.  Of us 8, 5 of us had no luggage when we landed.  Sooooo Nica!  Anyways, absolutely everyone from the airline employees to the port authority to our hotel said they constantly lose luggage and not to worry, it always comes on the afternoon plane 4pm.  And it did!

So anyway, after we landed on Big Corn, we took a $1 taxi ride to the port where we booked a 140cordoba ($5.71) panga ride to Little Corn Island.  The panga is a small, open-air boat which takes about a 15 minute ride to the smaller island twice a day.

Little Corn was amazing.  There's about 1500 permanent residents on the island which are a mix of foreigners who've started hotels, local blacks, and Miskitos.  I absolutely loved seeing black people again!  And then having them open their mouth to hear that amazing singsong Creole English!  The island allows no motorized transport so it's really calming and small.  We checked into Carlito's Place ($30/night) to see our little cabin on stilts.  We had 2 beds with mosquito nets and fans and a private, basic bathroom.  We were literally 20 steps from the ocean!

All the websites are correct in the fact that almost every day the electricity goes off and you REALLY have to watch your freshwater consumption but really, when you're frolicking in the surf, does all that matter?!  You also DEFINITELY need to bring a flashlight because there are no lights at night other than stars.

The water is turquoise and crystal clear.  And who knew there was a living reef RIGHT off the coast?  We paid $15 apiece and got 2 hours of snorkeling at 4 dive sights.  I wish I had had an underwater camera because it was amazing!  I saw literally every type of coral I'd ever heard of PLUS nurse sharks PLUS angels rays.  They really do look like angels when they swim.  Click here for more information on snorkeling/diving options on the island and to see some great underwater videos.

We also hiked around the island one afternoon.  It turned into quite an adventure when we figured out the beach doesn't go all the way around.  That would've been ok if maybe we had decided to wear shoes on our hike and not do it at 3pm.  Let's just say being on the uninhabited side of the island crossing a mountain in bare feet while the sun sets and I have no flashlight was NOT my idea of vacation.

Did I mention we ate a ton of seafood?  Shrimp or lobster or fish EVERY DAY!  And the prices were really reasonable for them....maybe $5-15 a plate.  We also had coconut something with every dish...either fresh at breakfast, coconut bread for snacks, or shrimp cooked in the milk.  Soooo good.

Four days was definitely not enough time there.  I really couldn't get enough of that beautiful surf and water.  And I was really happy with our lodgings.  Although the Little Corn Beach & Bungalows are more popular and a little more refined, you're still essentially in a stilt house with just the basics just paying $50 more a night to do it.  All I can say is that if you can get there, do it!  Soon!

Oh, and I almost forgot to mention the best part.  There's no JWs on Little Corn right now.  No KH no nothing!  We were able to do a lot of informal witnessing because when we mentioned we were Witnesses they asked, "What's that?".  So if you're looking to serve as a need greater in a virtual paradise, here's your chance.

ISLETAS

I is for Las Isletas  or the islands.  Yes, that counts...las is just an article like a, an, the.

Las Isletas are a grouping of islands, some inhabited some vacant, that sit on Lake Cocibolca--the largest lake in Central America.  It's a beautiful lake full of wildlife including some amazing water fowl like pelicans.  It supposedly also has fresh water sharks although one hasn't been spotted in decades.  It's so nice to take a sunset cruise on the lake with a couple of Tona beers.  Ahhhh!  You can see homes of the who's who of Nicaragua and even visit a monkey island.  Yep, live monkeys who live on an island reserve will come up to your boat and eat.  Fun!  I highly recommend it.

RECIPE INSPIRATIONS

While we were at Rancho Santana resort in Las Salinas (southwestern coast), we ate a lot at their on-site restaurant, La Finca y El Mar (Surf and Turf).  It's a great restaurant which, according to their website, has a head chef who used to work at a Michelin star restaurant in the US.  Some of the stuff we ate which isn't featured on my blog was a lobster omelette with bacon and avocado with a side of fruit salad for $10 and a four meat omelette with a side of fruit salad for $8.  Click here to see their full menu which doesn't include a variety of specials each night.

Lately, I've been toying with some online ideas on how to feature my cooking skills and I've been playing with a lot of recipes.  The idea is that I want to try to make US comfort food and ethnic foods hard to find down here but with ingredients you CAN find here. Let's just say that the photos you've seen below have definitely been an inspiration for me.  By the way, subscribers, tell me what you think about that idea.  Is that something you'd like to follow?  Any requests or suggestions?  I'll be putting a sample video up on YouTube soon so you can watch it and let me know your thoughts.  Thanks for your interest!

Pina colada french toast.  The french toast batter has Nicaraguan Flor de Cana rum in it, the bread is thick and homemade, and it's topped with fresh coconut and local pineapple.  10 stars

My very health-conscious mother ordered this but I have to admit it was delish.  Natural yogurt with homemade granola, fresh fruit, and honey.

This was my breakfast one morning.  Breakfast bagel with cream cheese, a TON of avocado, onion, tomato, and cucumber.  It didn't come with bacon but I added it for a dollar more and it was soooo worth it.  Yum!

RANCHO SANTANA

Are you absolutely, positively sure you don't want to visit me?  ;)

 So I've been to quite a few beaches since I've stayed here and I've finally found the ultimate--Rancho Santana.  I've been to San Juan del Sur, Las Maderas, Las Penitas, Montelimar, and Popoyo, but Rancho Santana blows them all out of the water.  Mainly because they have EXCELLENT facilities mixed with activities and a great beach.  They're located practically in Las Salinas about two hours from Granada by car.  If you want more information, here is their website but in general I'll enumerate what makes them special:

• rentals anywhere from a small casita, a duplex, or a big secluded house on a cliff overlooking the ocean
• ocean AND pool
• clubhouse with great restaurant and bar
• 5 beaches making both swimming and surfing possible
• nature trails full of monkeys
• horseback riding
• exercise/pilates/dance classes
• grocery store on-site
• close to other hotels/restaurants
• spa

Clubhouse with bar. Right side opens out to dining and ocean. Behind me is billiards room.

We had some great meals here but the highlight was one night when we walked along the beach a bit until we encountered Buena Onda Hostal.  There, I had red snapper fish tacos for $8 and my parents had four lobster tails apiece for $10.  Soooo good.

My idea of vacation....sun, beach, and a good book!

I just have to make a side note here in ode to my friend Brenda.  When I think about our tropical adventure of beaches, tanning, and horseback riding, I think of her.  I've come away with so many good stories with her after inner tubing in Belize, rum-factory touring in Puerto Rico, and sunning ourselves in DR, I can only imagine the stories we'd have here in Nicaragua!  Are you listening, Brenda?  I'm waiting for you :)

Dining room.  Don't you love that ceiling?

Our rental

 This was our casita (for more pix and a more detailed description, click here).  We rented from a gentleman named Patrick Kearney.  He owns this casita but rents it out himself through VRBO.  What's the advantage in that?  $75!!  If you rent through Rancho Santana itself the casitas are the most economical option at $200/night but through VRBO you can the exact same rentals for $125/night.  When we first arrived, I thought we made a big mistake renting through VRBO because the concierge was telling us we couldn't book horseback riding or massages since we didn't book through Rancho Santana.  However, one quick call to Patrick and he ironed it all out for us.  Definitely 5 star.  Not just nice for Nicaragua, NICE.  If you'd like similar rentals on the same property, here's the VRBO link.

Bar with a view.  Can't you just see yourself with a  mojito, Nica Libre, or pina colada here gazing out at the ocean?!

These guys on the rocks were fishing with just wire and hook....no pole needed!  This was our view from our breakfast table every morning.

Horseback riding on the beach--how romantic!

Thursday morning we booked horseback riding at 10:30am for $25 per person per hour.  Definitely worth it!  The guides introduced us to all the horses and matched us up according to skill level.  I love horses, but during my ride I learned I need to do more inner thigh exercises.  Ouch!  I wasn't sure I'd ever walk right again and am grateful I don't want children because I'm fairly certain that would be an impossible option now.  It was great to see strong, well taken care of animals and we got to meet a fair share of babies too!  Definitely my favorite moment of the vacation.

Me and my steed Salasana.  When we rounded the road to come back to the stables a colt came running up to the fence neighing and my horse started to trot.  One of the stablehands explained that was my horse's baby and they were eager to see each other...how cute!

CANOPY TOUR AT MOMBACHO

My Missouri friend, Tami, and I preparing for our ziplining adventure.  Don't we look tropical?

If this isn't a fun-loving face, what is?  Or bat crazy...jury's still out

It's not what it looks like, I promise

My parents are here right now visiting from Missouri, USA, and we've been doing a lot of touristy stuff.  Today, we went with Va Pues tours out of Granada to Volcan Mombacho.  We left the house at 8am and did a hiking tour of the first crater (there are three) of the volcano.  We finished about 11:30am, grabbed a coffee at their cafe (they grow coffee on site) and then started our ziplining adventure.  Here they call it a canopy tour.  Only Tami and I participated in that part while my parents waited in the cafe.  We were finished with everything and home by 1:30pm.  My parents paid $40 apiece for transportation up/down the volcano and a guided tour of the crater in English.  Tami and I paid an extra $20 apiece for the ziplining part.  I had gone before just to do the crater tour with Mombotours, but I really think VaPues was a better deal--they were definitely cheaper once the ziplining was added in.

Ziplining was.....well.....an adventure.  They had us do all kinds of crazy combinations along the way like superchica (Superwoman), an upside-down monkey looking thing, rock & roll where they move the line while you're on it etc.  The instructors were really nice, made us feel safe (it was our first time), and had great English.  We got to see howler monkeys up close and really enjoy the lush volcanic landscape.  It was a nice change from the hike because it had rained and was slippery, so my attention during the hike was almost completely on the ground, and I couldn't focus on the landscape around me much.

If you're trying to decide whether to visit Volcan Mombacho or Volcan Masaya, I'd definitely pick Mombacho.  It's a totally different experience.  While Masaya is desert-like and hot, Mombacho is windy, brisk, and lush.  It's very green and parts of it are a cloud forest.  And they're both active, so don't think that in visiting Mombacho, you're missing out on seeing an active volcano.  You'll be able to experience sulfur-filled fissures and thermal holes.  Check out pictures from my first visit to Mombacho here.

Oh, and if you're thinking of skipping the tour companies and hiking up Mombacho yourself....may God be with you.  It is straight up the entire way and then when you get to the top, you have to hike around an entire crater.  That's just not my idea of a vacation.  I have a friend who did it and it took her 4 hours to get from Guanacaste (where the welcome center is located) to the first crater.  Ouch!

For information on booking with Mombotours click here.  Right now, Va Pues doesn't have a working website but if you're in Granada, their office is in Central Park directly south of La Catedral (big yellow church on east side of park).  They share an office with Paxeo and BiciMaximo.

MONKEY BUSINESS

A favorite activity for friends visiting Granada is to do an isleta tour.  I've written other posts about the isletas so I don't see a need to cover it again (click here to read more about them).  After going a few times, I feel a cheated because honestly, it's a real estate tour of who's who in Nicaragua.  "Here's the vacation home of the Pellas Family (who own everything that's anything in Nicaragua)."  "Here's the vacation home of some random, rich foreigner."  You get the point.

But there is one part of the tour that warms my heart every time...isla de los monos (monkey island).  A local vet rescued spider and white-face monkeys and put them on this island to live.  People usually have them as pets here but it's actually illegal.  There's just absolutely no enforcement of that law.  One of the monkeys is tailless because it burned off when he tried to swing from an electrical line.  See why they don't belong in the city?

I've brought tomatoes before to feed them because that's always what the tour guides recommend, but the last time I went, all I had was bananas and thought, why not?  They are monkeys, right?  Turns out there's a reason you associate bananas with monkeys.  They...love...them.  They will come right up to the boat and take the food out of your hand.  Once I went and they came onto the boat checking stuff out. Check out these shots above.  Are they not the cutest things you've ever seen? 

*(Scroll down to read some slightly scandalous information about monkeys)

If you're coming to Granada and want to do a tour, the best deal I've seen is from Puerto Asese for $12 a boat.  You can fit about 10 on a boat.  It will should cost you 30cordoba ($1.25) a person one-way for a taxi from city center to the port.  It's kind of far out from the other tour operators but about half the cost even with taxi included.  I've done a few tours, and honestly, they're all the same no matter what you're spending.  And while you're out at the port, check out Villas Mombacho, a great restaurant lake-side where you can pick your fish and seafood before it's grilled or fried up for you.  Yum!

*I debated about adding this to my blog because it's slightly inappropriate but well, you all know me and well, I'm slightly inappropriate so I guess it's ok.  Here's some advice, if you come here and choose to greet a pet monkey NEVER NEVER touch their hands.  This will be hard because they're really handsy.  They're like toddlers and love to touch everything.  I have learned the hard way, though, that they are avid masturbators.  Very awkward when you have an 8-year old with you in service and they're asking, "Why won't he turn around to say hello?"  Yikes!

NICARAGUAN POSTCARD

You sure you don't want to visit me?!  Beautiful, huh?  This was taken a little north of Matagalpa after the wedding.  The area's called Selva Negra (Black Forest).  It was settled by Germans and they have a little settlement there with German architecture where they make sausage, cultivate coffee, make cheese, and even have strawberries!!!  The first I've seen grown here!  Oh, and by the way, you know how I'm always complaining about the heat in Granada?  It was about 50 degrees here and we were freezing to death in our sleeveless dresses.

La Calzada at sunset with Central Church in the background (Granada)

VOLCAN MOMBACHO

When my friend Nikki was here we went to visit the local volcano and had a blast no pun intended :)  Everyone says it's dormant but there was definitely some heated activity happening up there letting me know not to trust what people say about volcanoes.  It was really pretty though and fun to switch up the view--I always see the volcano from my house and now I can see my house from the volcano! Click here to see what the volcano looks like from Granada.

The guide has us put a hand in this hole (that never turns out well under any circumstance, does it?).  Piping hot steam was coming out.  There were quite a few of these on the summit and most smelled like sulfur.  Dormant my eye!

A view of Granada, Las Isletas, and Lake Cocibolca from the 1st crater of the volcano

A perezoso (sloth)!  I was so excited to see him even though he never moved for us to get a good shot.  They told us in the beginning of the tour that we'd either see sloths or monkeys.  I'm glad it was a sloth bc I've already seen plenty of monkeys here.

A bird of paradise.  Note:  not a bird, a plant.  The guide needs to be a JW because he was describing about how balanced nature was and how with the destruction of just this one flower how multiple species would disappear.  Apparently there's only one type of bee that pollinates it and one type of butterfly that eats its nectar and one type of bird that then eats the larvae of that butterfly so on and so forth.  It really made me see Jehovah's wisdom in creation.

THE BEST PART OF WAKING UP...

Calling all coffee lovers!  A few weeks ago my friend Nikki from St.Louis was here visiting and part of our sightseeing adventure was to take a tour of Volcano Mombacho.  That's the big volcano you can see from Granada and is featured in a lot of my blog pictures.

There's a lot of cool stuff you can do up there.  There are 3 craters to tour, a coffee plantation, and zip lining. And it's a really beautiful volcano--more rain forest than desert.   We got a VERY detailed tour of how coffee beans are cultivated and ultimately end up in your morning mug.  We even got to eat the ripe coffee beans.  There's a sweet fruit around it and then the bean itself tastes a lot like a peanut.

Mature coffee beans plain and with their fruit on the outside

Up close and personal with a Cafe Flores coffee plant.  When it's all red, it's ripe for picking.  We came just as the harvest started (November) and they told us it will end around February.

 All the short stubby plants are coffee plants.  They go as far as the eye can see.  They plant taller trees all around to block the wind so it doesn't blow the beans off the trees.

The best part of course came at the end where there's an on-site cafe giving Starbucks frappuccinos a run for their money.  Yes, I know I look like I'm auditioning for Rambo here but there was a lot of wind!