Tag: scuba diving

Diving Corn Island

We read in advance about the scuba diving in Corn Islands- big fish, uncluttered sites, nice reefs -and couldn’t wait to try it ourselves! We spent 5 days diving Corn Island, Nicaragua and this is what it was like.

Not A Great Start

It didn’t start out great – on Sunday and Monday,  the wind and waves were very strong – and even with Gravol, it was tough being on the boat. Below the surface, the waves affected visibility and moved us around a lot. But, we kept with it, and the last few days have been great!

Diving Corn Island dive sites
Dive map of Big Corn Island

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I Like This Place! Corn Islands

Brian and I made it to Corn Islands on Saturday morning, and it’s very relaxing. There are a few things to do here in Corn Islands: dive, drink beer and/or rum, eat seafood, relax in the sun and/or shade, repeat. That’s been us for the first two days of our stay here. We like Corn Islands a lot.

About Corn Islands

A country that encompasses the Pacific coast, impressive volcanoes and massive lakes, Nicaragua also has a Caribbean side. And Corn Islands are Nicaragua’s Caribbean islands, 70 miles east of the mainland coast. Nicaragua is a bargain for visitors, and the islands are a little bit more expensive. Still, they’re more affordable than other more well-known Caribbean destinations, and highly touted for scuba divers. Unlike the rest of Nicaragua, most people in the islands speak English.

There are two Islands: Big and Little Corn. We chose Big Corn to maximize Brian’s vacation time. The planes fly into Big Corn and then there’s a ferry to get to Little Corn.

Corn Island Accommodations
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Scuba Training: I am a Rescue Diver

This week I took the course for my next levels of PADI Scuba, and now I am a Rescue Diver.  I also needed emergency response certification to complete the course, so it was a very intense week!

Course Materials

I had three books to read, study and memorize. Fortunately for me, two of the books were in English. The dive shop only had a Spanish version of the emergency response book. So now I know how to use a defibrillator and perform CPR and rescue breaths in Spanish.

Scuba books I am a rescue diver
The dive books I needed to memorize
Busy Week

This week, I spent Monday and Tuesday morning in Spanish class and Tuesday afternoon in scuba class, reviewing all the signs and symptoms of diver accidents and ailments.  I spent Tuesday afternoon and evening studying and then on Wednesday afternoon had a dive class in Spanish (the only available instructor speaks Spanish) about emergency response. Just to make things more difficult! What is life without new challenges? Needless to say, I spent a little less time at the gym this week.

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