Drifter's Claim Corn Island
Our big adventure on a little jungle oasis.
Drifter's Claim is a private jungle oasis with a two-story house. This vacation home has 2 self-contained suites, one on top of the other, so family & friends can enjoy their stay with us.
The house is nestled among an amazing spread of plantain, mango and banana trees in South End near the Sally Peachy border of Big Corn Island.
According to Corn Island historians, this property was used by some of the original settlers to the island (enslaved people), who built a protective rock wall in the 1700s which is still found here today.
We like to do community volunteering such as garbage pick-up on the beaches, social media marketing to boost tourism to both islands, in January 2017 we volunteered for the week-long vet clinic "Big Corn Island Veterinary Expedition" and then vaccinated dogs and handed out flea/tick prevention as well as antibiotics as needed until July.
In 2021 we also began fundraising efforts to build a house here for a family who doesn't have a home of their own.
We do a large amount of cross promotion of other island businesses via websites, multiple Corn Island facebook pages (Corn Island Vacations, Corn Island Tourism, Big Corn Island Nicaragua, Travel Corn Islands, Corn Island Weddings, Corn Island Tours & Activities, Corn Island Real Estate), as well as Twitter, Pinterest, and Instagram.
We also love talking about Big Corn Island in the books Jo publishes (and Mike wrote a chapter in the most recent collaboration)! And with that also comes additional publicity about Drifter’s Claim and the big fundraiser we are doing!
The home collaborations built
In early 2022 we began building a house for a family who doesn't have a home of their own. An amazing fundraiser (the creation of a book collaboration about willpower) kick-started this project in the summer and fall of 2021 and we broke ground in January 2022. Check out Absolute Will on the Boondocks Publishing website for all the details on that international best-selling book.
A new book collaboration, the second in the Absolute series, was released in December 2022! If you want more information on how you can get a copy of this international best-selling book, click here: Absolute Vision.
We are also accepting donations towards this life-changing project to help us get it finished and furnished!
February 2023 news
Northwestern Ontario authors building new home for Nicaraguan family.
Vacation Rentals
Newly constructed units
The house is 2 individual UP/DOWN self-contained rental units, 400 sq ft each of indoor living space, and each unit has its own kitchen and bathroom.
The lower unit has a full sized propane stove/oven and apartment sized electric fridge.
The upper unit has a counter-top propane stove top (element burners - no oven) and apartment sized electric fridge.
These units are offered as short term vacation rentals ($75-$85 per night) or long term living.
Relax Restaurant is a 5 minute walk from the house. 3 small grocery stores are a 5-7 minute walk from the house.
Silver Sands beach is a 7-10 minute walk from the house, the popular Italian Pizzeria is about a 12 minute walk and Long Bay beach is about a 15 minute walk from the house.
Each unit is self-contained (they do not access each other - you need to use the outside stairs to go up to the 2nd level and rooftop patio).
All patios are tiled (wood grain look), rooftop patio is tiled, inside both units also tiled (cream), and the indoor support posts are tiled to look like wood beams. The concrete counter tops in both kitchens are white tile.
Total living space (both units combined) is approximately 2000 sq ft (indoor and outdoor).
We have lots of videos of the property on our Facebook page.
Rental Price (UPSTAIRS UNIT ONLY at this time)
2023 rate: $60 USD per night
FUTURE PLANS for the property: 1-2 additional vacation homes / vacation rental units (1-level cabin style each), plus a small quaint palapa-style eating area, yoga classes, bicycle & kayak rentals (on site).
Inquiries welcomed.
We only have ONE suite available so make sure to book your stay well in advance!
The House
The Lower Level
The Lower Level
The Lower Level
The lower unit is a 20 x 20' room, french doors with screens, screens on all windows, queen size bed, private indoor bathroom with toilet, sink/vanity, warm-water shower, and a window, the open concept kitchen area has a double sink, fridge, propane stove/oven, outside is a covered tiled concrete deck (ground level) plus use of the upper tiled rooftop balcony with views of the jungle canopy and glimpses of the ocean. We are close enough you'll hear the waves!
The Lower Level
The Lower Level
The Lower Level
We do NOT have air conditioning. The property usually has a nice breeze and the styrofoam insulated concrete walls help keep the inside temperature very comfortable.
Also, we got the FLOORS and POSTS TILED in the summer of 2020. (This pic is from 2019).
Floors are tiled in a cream tile. Posts now look like wood beams.
The Lower Level
The Lower Level
The Lower Level
The kitchen has all the amenities of home: pots, pans, dishes, cutlery, fridge and stove.
Corner and ceiling posts are tiled in wood-grain tile to look like it is post and beam construction. (But it's actually hurricane proof concrete and rebar.)
Upper Level
Upper suite & rooftop patio
The Lower Level
Upper floor amenities - you can enjoy a spacious 20 x 20' self-contained suite, french doors with screens, screens on all windows, king size bed, private indoor bathroom with glass blocks to let the natural light shine through, a kitchen sink, fridge, 2-burner stove top (no oven), small kitchen island with bar stools, a tiled balcony out front plus use of the tiled upper roof-top balcony with stunning views of the jungle canopy and glimpses of the ocean. We are close enough you'll hear the waves!
Cable & Internet
Upper suite & rooftop patio
Upper suite & rooftop patio
INTERNET: We now have unlimited wifi internet service!
We also offer cable tv. (Included in rental rates or in HOA if you purchase a unit.)
You can also stay busy picking fruit, listening to the bird songs and distant waves, or taking a 7-10 minute walk to Silver Sands Beach.
Upper suite & rooftop patio
Upper suite & rooftop patio
Upper suite & rooftop patio
Pictures here show the upper unit and rooftop patio.
Need data? Cell phone packages in Nicaragua can be purchased at the Managua airport or at the Claro store on the island, and are very economical. This gives you data anywhere on the island, which is a nice convenience for those who can't unplug for any length of time.
FREE wifi is also available in the kids park (Parque Rodrigo Campbell) which is just a few minutes' walk from the house at the bottom of our road.
The Early Stages
The Property
The original plot we purchased was 2 acres of thick jungle that required a few strong guys with BIG machetes. :) We have since sold 1/2 acre of the land leaving 1.5 acres including the 2-storey house.
Nardo, Karel, and Mike had both acres cleared within about 8 or 9 days, all by hand with knives and a whipper snipper.
Our 2-level house
The house was started in April 2017 and is made from concrete and rebar posts, poured concrete and rebar floors, and covintec (styrofoam insulated walls reinforced with rebar throughout). Each studio suite is 400 sq ft and includes a livingroom/sitting area, kitchenette with sink, stove, fridge, bed (queen/king), and private bathroom.
Rescuing Puppies & Building Our Dream
A few rainy weeks that delayed the build didn't bring our spirits down. It gave us time to focus on saving lives and making new friends. Lillilu was a 6-week old puppy living under a house in the dirt. She was lethargic and on the brink of death, with severe eye and jaw trauma when we found her while out on a "vaccination day" in the barrios. Her owner didn't know what had happened to her, didn't have the ability to provide all the emergency care she needed, so we brought Lillilu home. The original plan was to foster and rehabilitate her to give her back to her owner, but her owner later said they had a new puppy and we could keep this one. Today Lillilu is a healthy, happy adult!
Dream big! And then dream bigger than that!
Want your very own caribbean adventure?
Want to come see Big Corn Island? Or maybe even buy here? You’ll need to get to Managua first, and then hop on what we affectionately call a puddle jumper (small plane.) Please see "How to Get Here" for more details on travel.
We have numerous pictures and videos of the view, and the construction process, on our "Drifter's Claim Corn Island" facebook page and Instagram!
Curious about how we are able to spend winters on Big Corn Island? Nicaragua tourism laws allow people to stay for 3 months at a time so that's what we currently do. (If you apply for residency you can live here permanently.) Foreigners without residency are not legally allowed to have paid jobs in Nicaragua so if you want to do any long-term travelling it's best you set up your own source of income - as in being self-employed or working remotely for a company in your home country. In addition to writing books and being a holistic nutrition/health/lifestyle coach, Jo works online with an amazing financial services company that is rapidly expanding across North America. If you are hard-working, ambitious, career-oriented, have high integrity, love to help others, are eligible to work in Canada or the US, and are looking for the ability to earn income from home or even while you travel, send Jo an email to see if you'd be a good fit for joining the company.
Mike & Jo, the owners of Drifter's Claim Corn Island.
The Process
We Shopped Local for a Reason
While many people who build here buy their materials from the other side of the country (Managua), we wanted to contribute to Big Corn Island in a positive way, by giving people jobs, and helping the animals too. All while bringing additional tourism here to all businesses, not just ours. We used the island hardware stores for every single item in our first house other than the bronze tinted glass windows. So the money it cost us to build it went directly back into the community here.
The Timeline
Just getting water to the property was a lengthy process because 1550 feet of trench needed to be dug, BY HAND with pick axes and shovels!
Construction of the house began in April 2017, and the lower level was livable by the end of June. We also built an ENORMOUS septic tank that won't be full for many years.... Corn Island doesn't have a septic pumper truck yet so we needed to mitigate that issue and built a tank to hold a lot.
We then took a 2 year hiatus from building. House sitters were given the opportunity to live in the downstairs of the house rent-free in exchange for taking care of the dogs and land. In July 2019 we returned to do additional work on the house and property, we added a leach-field.to the septic system, and spent some much-needed time with our fur kids. In 2020 we completed the tiling of all living space indoors and out, including the upper rooftop deck. We also had a concrete kitchen counter built in the upper unit, and re-did the downstairs shower to add glass blocks to allow the natural window light through the entire bathroom.
Interested in purchasing?
UPPER UNIT: $90,000 US
Or purchase both units for $155,000 US
UPPER UNIT: $90,000 US
HOA strata: $250 US monthly per unit -- this covers all exterior maintenance, grounds keeping, septic maintenance, use of the upper rooftop balcony, as well as your POWER, WATER & CABLE (for the rooftop balcony tv.)
If you purchase this unit and wish to rent it out and have us and/or the on-site caretakers manage your rentals, this will be an extra fee.
LOWER UNIT: $80,000 US
Or purchase both units for $155,000 US
UPPER UNIT: $90,000 US
HOA strata: $250 US monthly per unit -- this covers all exterior maintenance, grounds keeping, septic maintenance, use of the upper rooftop balcony, as well as your POWER, WATER & CABLE (for the rooftop balcony tv.)
If you wish to rent out your unit and have us and/or the on-site caretakers manage your rentals, this will be an extra fee.
Or purchase both units for $155,000 US
Or purchase both units for $155,000 US
Or purchase both units for $155,000 US
Comes with small yard; HOA PER UNIT still applies.
If you purchase the entire house, wish to rent out your units and have us and/or the on-site caretakers manage your rentals, this will be an extra fee.
Click on the Professional Services page on the Corn Island Vacations site for a list of lawyers who do property transactions.
Contact Us
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CONTACT US with any questions!
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Please check out our VIDEOS and TONS of PHOTOS on our Drifter's Claim Corn Island facebook page!
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Search for us using #driftersclaimcornisland as well as #bigcornisland and #dogsofcornisland!
Do you journal?
We've got some fun "Big Corn Island" and "Drifter's Claim" blank notebooks available on Amazon. These are great for journalling, writing down your future travel plans, writing about your travel adventures, or whatever else comes to mind.
THIS LINK will take you to Boondocks Publishing so you can see what's available without needing to search all of Amazon.