Dancing Saddle

It was an early morning shuttle to Managua airport. I had some familiar company on the shuttle. Though they were heading to Granada. I was able to check in with little issue at the airport and I was also finally able to exchange my Mexican Pesos. I had hidden it so well I had completely forgotten that I had it on me. While waiting at the gate I finally got to see the plane that we would be flying in. It was a fifteen-seater with a prop on the front.

Do you see our plane. No not the big one in the front. Its the small one in the back.

I was able to grab a seat right behind the co-pilot. I had a small moment of trepidation during taxi and take off but once the plane was in the air I was totally fascinated by the whole thing. I kept watching the pilots and what they were doing and trying to identify the instrument or the procedure. Between the view and the piloting, I was totally enthralled.

Looking down out the first officers door. Pretty much the look on my face for the entire flight.

After landing at Big Corn Island three of shared a taxi to the docks. While waiting at the ticket desk we chatted for a bit but I kept getting distracted by a few locals speaking English in one of my favourite accents. The beautiful melodious voice reminded me of the Caribbean cricketers I used to watch as a kid and the desire to play some backyard cricket was strong.

A few times we had to divert past clouds to prevent turbulence. Just a few of the barrels of diesel that were loaded onto the cargo boat.

A quick conversation with the owner of one of the hostels on Little Corn that was also waiting for the ferry let us known that it had been cancelled due to bad weather but that we could get a lift on the cargo ship that was leaving in a couple of hours while they loaded and unloaded cargo. It was a bit disconcerting seeing thirty odd barrels of diesel right next to us while one person was smoking.

Local store and restaurant owners unloading the cargo from the boat. I got greet by this guy.

Eventually we were on our way. It was a slow ride but the rhythm of the ocean was hypnotic. It was well after dark before we arrived in Little Corn. It was astounding to watch as the local islanders lined up on the dock with their carts waiting to unload the cargo ship. I quickly ran off to check in before heading off to get some thing to eat. The whole time I was trying to watch the unloading process. Trying to learn and figure out the rhythm of the island. Listening to the voices and sounds float in the air around me. I had barely been here two hours.

Welcome to Little Corn Island. The first day there was windy and stormy but It got a lot better.

It was rainy season at the time and I could hear it through the night. The next day I had free as all the diver instructors were busy with classes. I popped into the dive shop just to say hi and then went off to explore the island a little bit. The weather was pretty bad and there was even a severe weather warning for later in the week. It was blowing a gale already and so made it a little hard to find a beach to go swimming but during my exploration I met William, a local kid that preferred baseball over cricket which was absolutely sacrilegious.

I spoke to the barber whose father built the house with the glass bottles. He told me a sad story about a boat captain that went to jail for accidently killing a man snorkeling in the water.

The next day was the start of the diving. Our dive instructor Jen had quite the mission ahead of her. I was doing a refresher. Another couple were doing their open water and a fourth person was doing an exploration dive. After our briefing we went for a dive right on the beach to do all the drills. All of our requirements were slightly different.

Sophie and Dave doing their open water course. A reef shark on the first dive.

After a lunch break, we went for our first proper dive in the Caribbean. There was about eleven of us on the boat. It was rainy and the seas were rough which was pretty much the standard for nearly the rest of the week. It either rained on the way out or on the way back or both. Rough waves were pretty much guaranteed. When we finally entered the water, the calm was extraordinary. I am unfortunately one of those people with a busy mind that over thinks all the time. There are very few things that calm it down and scuba diving is one of those things.

The peace of mind that comes with diving is great for the soul. The first sting ray that we saw.

The diving was stunning. The reef was healthy, the water was warm, the visibility was good and the water was teeming with fish. The highlight was probably the giant sting ray. As usual I hung near the back of the group just trying to be in my own world. I spent time teaching myself to spot any sea life without the dive instructors or dive masters. I love feeling immersed in my own little world. I felt sad when we had to surface back to the world of noise big seas and cold rain.

Most boat rides back was a battle to try and stay warm through the wind, rain and rough seas. A beautiful porkfish.

The next day we did two more dives the weather just as bad but now fully of the leash as my refresher was finished. I was back in the rhythm of diving and realized how much I missed being back in the water and all the beauty and secrets that it held. We went to two different reefs and both had their different highlights and were unique in their own way.

My dive partners for the week. Natalie and Isabel. a giant sting ray that was hanging around the reef.

The next day was the highlight for me. I had never done a night dive before and was excited to finally able to experience it. It wasn’t quite dark yet when we set off but when we got to turtle rock reef the only lights, we could see were our own and some from the island. The rainy weather blocked all light from the moon and stars. It was one of the most beautiful and surreal experiences.

An octopus during our night dive and a school of jaw fish filling our lights.

We descended to our dive depth of 12 meters with only light from our flash lights dancing in the black water. We had to stick together but I would often cover my flashlight and look into the pitch-dark water to experience total darkness. I would also shine my light towards the open water and you could see fish or schools of fish swim in and out. It also made you wonder what was just beyond the light.

The local sting ray that likes to follow divers around.

We were kept company by a giant octopus and the reef ray that likes to hang out with the divers and followed us along for quite a while. When it was time to head up to our safety stop, I was totally in love with the experience and would do another night dive given another chance.  When we got to the surface it was totally dark. It was hard to see anything in the rolling waves and dive boat had a little way to go to find us but I didn’t care. I absolutely loved it. It was another cold rainy ride back to the dive shop but I was still so high from the experience. The rain continued back at the dive shop while we were breaking down our gear. I went to bed that night with a big grin on my face.

Getting back in the boat with heavy seas in the dark.