Last days on Small Corn Island plus panga to Pearl Cayes

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The last days on Small Corn Island were pretty lazy: just reading, beach combing, snorkelling and meeting with my Pina Colada buddies Blaine and Ruth from Prince George (they travel for 6mos every year (been nearly everywhere) and with the remaining 6mos spent at their off-line lakeside ‘cabin’ near Bear Lake, BC.

Anyway as to adventure: Elsa* invited family (*I was staying at Elsa’s beach cabins), plus some resort owner friends, plus 5 venture-minded folk like me, to head out from Small Corn Island across the ocean via 2 hour panga ride to the Pearl Cayes, some sandy ‘Robinson Crusoe’ isles off the mainland coast. Many of them are privately leased from the Nica government, mostly uninhabited and the beaches remain officially public. On some you can walk around circumferential beaches in less than 5 minutes. We did somedreamy swimming, snorkelling and then celebrated Vilma's birtday (Elsa's daughter's).

Then off we pangered for an overnight stay to Pearl Lagoon, a coastal shrimp catching Caribbean backwater. This is where our panga crew decided or were rather co-oped into partying all night and arrived for breakfast next morning still clasping beers. Their hung over state, plus an increasing wind forecast, convinced Elsa family and friends to decline a return passage via panga. Only the tough and foolhardy remained; Ronny Elsa's grandson, 4 venture-minded tourists, 2 live and 1 sleep-dead crew members. Off we screamed through high whipped seas. After 2.5 hours of up’n down, splash’n bang, hang-on-drenched, we finally spied Small Corn island on the horizon (whew) and were ultimately delivered with sore bottoms onto the beach outside Elsa’s. Time for another Pina Colada…..they’re really are just like ice cream desserts, with maybe a bit of rum. Seductive.

And then on Friday it'll be back onto the big bad jets. So see you when I get back. Cheers. Pete.

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