Just in time for the holidays, Aaron's brother, Jesse, and his girlfriend, Jasmine, came down to Nicaragua for a week of travel and hanging out in Granada. We met with Jasmine and Jesse at the airport to head out on a small plane to the Corn Islands 70 kilometers off the Caribbean coast of Nicaragua. This was my first trip to the eastern part of Nicaragua, an autonomous area that is culturally and historically distinct from western Nicaragua. The east of Nicaragua is divided into two autonomous regions - the northern autonomous region and the southern autonomous region - and is home to the Creole, Garifuna, and most of the Indigenous peoples of the country.
We went to Little Corn Island, a harrowing boat ride from Big Corn Island this time of year with high winds, for three days of tropical beach-going.
Jesse and Jasmine on the boat to Little Corn with Jesse (Big Corn island in the background)
Words cannot adequately describe the untainted beauty of Little Corn. The island is less than a square mile, there are no cars or motorized vehicles on the dirt paths that surround the island, and coconut trees sprout up everywhere (before a huge hurricane came through, the Corn Islands were producers of coconut oil). People speak Spanish, Creole, and Caribbean-inflected English, and the little children are really cute. Below are some photos from our first beach day - pretty much like making it into a desktop beach image background photo but better because you get to eat coconut.
Walking to find a spot on the beach
Old school energy generation on the beach - a windmill!
Jesse the coconut opener - we gathered, peeled, and opened all those coconuts plus a few more (by we I mean I got one open, Jesse got the rest)
And made some friends in the process
Aaron watching Jesse and the coconuts
I never realized how awesome portable hammocks are until Jasmine let me lay in hers
My short-lived artwork on the beach
2 comments:
wow, idyllic! I hope you share some thoughts about what you saw of the Creole and Garifuna cultures. I was fascinated by what I saw in Garifuna villages in Belize last year.
We saw one show of garifuna dancing, which was awesome, but otherwise, sadly, did not actually see too much creole or garifuna culture. The Corn Islands are tropical paradise, less developed than in other places but still a tourist destination. As such, we mostly sat on beaches and went to restaurants, did not get to know our neighbors:-/
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