Adios!

It is our last day today and only Lena and I are awake. It is hard to imagine we will be waking up in our own beds tomorrow morning.

We made it back safe and almost sane from Little Corn. The panga back was almost smooth although my stomach was in knots the night before as well as the entire boat trip. I kept thinking that the ride was almost enjoyable, but I didn't want to jinx anything. We forgot the stroller at the dock, so Jason had to taxi back to get it. I suppose we could have just left it because it is barely held together now. It started really falling apart the last time we were in Granada and then Jason and Colin (from Casa Iguana) put it back together with a big nail. That little umbrella stroller has been fantastic. When Reed wasn't in it, we shuttle backpacks, groceries or Lena and Jade!

Our last few days have been in Granada. As soon as we got here Lena said "We're home!" We took a chicken bus (an old school bus that now serves as public transportation) to the market in Masaya for some last minute shopping. We went to the big market with everything from fresh cheese to car parts. Reed got picked up by one of the locals every time we stopped to look at something. We're not sure he cares who holds him now. He just hangs on to whoever has him and gives them a blank look while out come all the cell phones so people can take his photo. That boy will have the best immune system in Canada!

I guess I should go and get the rest of the crew up so we can have 1 last breakfast in Granada and maybe squeeze in a swim before our cab gets here at 9:30. I don't want to hex our flight home so this won't be the last post. I will do that when we are actually at home (between laundry loads, yuck!!)

Lena and Jade learn to dive

After much begging and pleading, Lena and Jade have persuaded us to let them learn to dive. They took a course called "Bubble Makers" which is for kids 8 and up to get a feel for diving. They got to learn the basics of diving from the lovely Maly and after some lessons close to shore it was out to sea.

I went out to snorkel while the girls did their first dive. There were no wetsuits small enough for the girls, but they didn't go too deep. Maly held onto the back of their tanks and the 3 of them went diving. Jade got a little cold and got out mid-way, but Lena "the fish" Adams kept trying to go deeper and deeper! That girl is hooked :o)

Never leaving Little Corn

I'm not sure if it is because I am afraid to get back on the panga or if I just don't think we will find another spot as nice as Little Corn, but we have once again changed our schedule and are staying put for 2 weeks. We were supposed to fly out of San Jose in Costa Rica, but we have changed our flights and are now going home from Managua.

Our days on the island go something like this:

8 AM - wake up and wander over to Casa Iguana for breakfast (fruit and bottomless coffee/tea with every meal)
10 AM - wander down to the beach in front of Casa Iguana because the breeze is nicer on this side of the island
1PM - buy meat and fruit patties from Richard the Patty Guy (1 day 1 bought 8 and didn't know that Jason had bought 12 after his dive on the other side of the island)
*option 2 and 3 are buying hot coconut bread and pizza from the kids plying the beaches
3 PM - wander back to "Our Side" of the island because it is getting cool with the breeze. There is almost no breeze on our side which is nice as the sun sets
5 PM - watch the sunset while sitting in the sand with a cold beer
after dark - dining on fresh lobster or fish at one of the restaurants on our side unless we have made a reservation at Casa Iguana for some yummy meal cooked up by Mark and his kitchen crew.

Yep, that about sums it up! We have met up with a couple families from Orcas Island in Washington state which has been great. It is nice to chat with other people traveling with their kids. It is really great having some kids for Lena and Jade to play with, too.

So that is life on Little Corn ... such a grueling schedule!!

Diving Little Corn

This entire trip, Jason and I had yet to go diving. When we met up with David who was here to dive, we decided we should tag along. The reason we haven't been diving is that we often find that snorkeling is just as good and the price is much better. I guess with only a few weeks left and having carted our dive computer around for the past few months, we thought we should get down with the fishes

The first dive after a bit of a break (almost 2 years) is always just about getting a feel for the equipment and trying not to go flying up to the top causing our heads and lungs to explode. We went with Dolphin Divers as they were attached to our hotel. Sandy, the woman running the shop set us up with a nanny for the kids so Jason and I could dive together. Very nice!

Our divemaster Trevor was a great guy and our first couple of dives were really mellow and not too deep. We saw some nurse sharks and rays. The next day we went out looking for hammerheads. We had heard there were some around, but we always hear divers chatting and rarely believe anyone anymore. We had the nanny all set up so we set off to look for some sharks. The beginning of the dive was really cool going through some caves and checking out the fish. Then I could see Jason pointing to some eagle rays. There were 8~12 of them swimming together, absolutely fantastic! And then, right behind them was a HUGE hammerhead shark!! I had never seen one before and I was so excited I was trying to get everyone else to look by screaming and pointing. (You can never tell if anyone sees what you see until you get to the top. You are supposed to stay with your buddy, but Jason is my buddy and I can never find him when we are diving.) I looked over at David and the hammerhead was back with its harem of eagle rays again!

When we got to the surface I was so excited and screaming about the hammerhead and the school of eagle rays, but Jason didn't see the shark because he was chasing the rays!

Well, we had another dive to do that day and Jason wanted to go back to look for the hammerhead. Trevor made us proud and found another one. It was smaller than the first one, but it swam right up to us and Jason got a front row seat.

What great dives!