Inhabiting one of 300 or so isletas, tiny islands that the Mombacho Volcano scattered into Lake Nicaragua thousands of years ago, this full-service resort is a short boat ride from Granada. The 1-acre island holds nine low-impact Japanese-style villas (built from wood downed in Hurricane Felix), a bar and restaurant, an infinity pool, a floating yoga deck and two sublime waterside spa treatment rooms. Chef Rogelio Coello grows herbs just steps from the open-air kitchen, where he prepares the day’s catch or chicken raised on a nearby island with fresh, local produce and gives away his secrets for perfect tortillas during cooking classes. Guests can kayak on the lake, alive with egrets and herons at dawn and rowboats (archipelago dwellers’s preferred mode of transportation) as the day begins. jicarolodge.com
