Small Island - Big Find

It all started out to be a nice trip outside the cities of Nicaragua and onto Little Corn Islands. At the time there was no road leading to the shore so we took a small plane to the nearest point, from there a boat to Big and then to Little Corn Island - our final destination with everything we were promised: long white beaches, crystal clear water, lush rainforest, not many people and huts and little beach bars right at the seafront. We planned to stay for a couple of nights to enjoy the quiet and to go diving. But it all turned out to be a bit different.

We found a nice place on top of a hill with an amazing view of the whole beach. The owners were really friendly and at night they had family style dinner with all the guests outside on the terrace. On our first night we sat around the table and met some interesting people from all over the world. While we were sitting there chatting away we heard some screaming from down at the beach. Since we knew that there was another place to stay we didn’t worry much at first but then we heard gunshots.

On the next morning we found out what it was all about. A small boat from Columbia on its way to the USA filled with cocaine hit a rock just off the coast and shortly after the packages washed up on the beach. It didn’t take long for the locals to figure out what happened since the boats regularly stopover on the island to refuel – there’s no police on the island which makes it very convenient. The locals grabbed as many packages as they could find, dug holes in the sand to hide it and then sat at gunpoint on top of it to protect their valuable find.

Word travelled fast and less then 48 hours later shady looking guys arrived. The locals, aware of the value but also wanting to get rid of it, sold the cocaine for a very low rate. Still they made more then any of the, mostly as fisherman working, population on the island earns in a year.

For a couple of days the island was a strange place to be. The quietness and the beautiful atmosphere was disturbed by people running around with guns and mean looking drug dealers trying get the most out of their little trip. After that normal life came slowly back to the island. But then there was the question: What to do with all the unexpected cash? The answer was found soon. Electronic items were bought: big fridge, massive TV’s, cameras and computers - you name it.

There was only one problem. The small generator couldn’t handle all the new equipment, most of the items sat there unused, the locals seems happy anyway. And relieved.