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La Moskitia
By admin | March 19, 2008
The region east of Trujillo, and towards the Nicaraguan border is generally referred to as La Moskitia, or the Mosquito Coast. It is very sparsely.
Populated, inaccessible by land and home to the largest tract of virgin tropical rain forest in the North American hemisphere. A good part of this area is protected by law under one of five distinct zones: The Rio Platano Biosphere Reserve, the Tawahka Anthropological Reserve, the Patuca National Park, the Cruta Caratasca Wildlife Refuge and the Rus Rus Biological Reserve. The area is populated by several indigenous groups, of which the Pech, Tawahka, Garifuna and Miskitos are the most predominant.
Its uninviting name comes from the Miskito natives and not from the abundance of mosquitoes, although these are unquestionably inhabitants of the area! The Mosquitia actually is an international region, as part of it is Honduras and another part in Nicaragua. Getting to the area is not as difficult as it seems: There is regular boat service departing from Trujillo. Although the schedules change, you can get up to date information once in Trujillo, and there is never more than three or four days between departures. Additionally, you can also obtain passage to La Mosquitia from La Ceiba. For information on schedules, inquire at the Muelle de Cabotaje in La Ceiba.
The other, easier alternative is flying into the region. There are several communities that have regular scheduled service. Sosa Airlines, Isleña and Rollins Air all serve the Mosquitia region from La Ceiba, making it possible to fly to Brus Laguna, Palacios, Puerto Lempira, Cauquira and Ahuas.
For a more complete tour, you could check out some of the tour operators that specialize in the region. The most outstanding ones are Adventure Expeditions in Tegucigalpa, Mesoamerica Tours in San Pedro Sula, La Mosquitia Ecoaventuras, in La Ceiba, Turtle Tours in Trujillo and Go Native tours out of Copan Ruinas.
One of the best places in the world for tarpon and snook fishing is Brus Laguna. Cannon Island Fishing Resort offers packages that include full meals, tackle, guides, and lodging. It has become famous for the large fish and frequented by an international crowd. This unique resort is actually the first and only true jungle lodge in the country. The lodge, located on a small island within the large lagoon in a lovely tropical setting offers outstanding fishing with experienced English speaking fishing guides, first class accommodations and some of the best food to be found in Honduras. Owned and operated by a US family, you will feel very comfortable here. The small island got its name from some old English cannons that are on the island, mute testimony of the wars held in the area between the Spanish and English armies to control the area during colonial times. The name, Brus Laguna is without doubt of English decent, as the lagoon used to be called Brewers Lagoon! Access to Cannon Island is basically by air via Brus Laguna from La Ceiba. Lodging and fishing reservations for Cannon Island are all done from the USA via their state side offices. Because of their remote location, they do not have a regular phone at the resort, however communication is possible via a satellite phone as well as through e-mail, which is the easiest way to contact them if you are in Honduras. Their e mail is : SDThomas@teleport.com and cabrera_yolanda@hotmail.com
For those flying into Brus Lagoon and looking to explore the area on your own, check out the Hospedaje “El Tipico” located at the waterfront in Brus Lagoon. Joaquin Cruz, the owner is a very friendly person and can provide a world of information regarding the region. His rooms are very basic, and go for about Lps. 40.00 per night. He has a total of 6 rooms for rent. He is also the local rep for Rollins air in Brus Lagoon. His son, Jose Osvaldo Cruz has some rooms with private bath and fan for rent if you prefer more comfortable installations. He also has a boat that is available for tours and trips in the area. At the time of printing, Both Aerolinias Sosa as well as Rollins air all operate regular flights into Brus Laguna three times a week. Sami, the regional Moskitia airline flies small 4 passenger planes on a quasi-regular basis from Brus Laguna to other locations within the Moskitia.
The area of Palacios is probably the most diverse area as far as exploring the region is concerned. Generally considered as the gateway to the Rio Platano Biosphere reserve, Palacios is probably the most popular tourist destination in the region. With regular air service provided by Islena and Rollins, it is without doubt the best-communicated town in la Moskitia. It is probably the ideal point from where to launch your visit into the region. The Rio Tinto Hotel, located on the waterfront offers basic rooms with a private bath and outstanding food. Ana Marmol, daughter of Don Felix Marmol, the owner of the hotel, provides personal attention. From Palacios you can arrange a series of day trips to different areas. Perhaps most famous of all is Las Marias, a Pech community located on the banks of the Platano River. You can reach Las Marias from Palacios taking a motorized dugout canoe or “Pipante” If you take an express trip it should cost around $120.00 for the round trip as long as you don’t spend more than one night in Las Marias. From Las Marias it is a good 5 hours upriver on a pole propelled Pipante (dugout canoe) up the river to the famous petroglyphs. These smaller pipantes can only take up to two customers per vessel and cost approximately $25.00 US per unit. The easiest and best way to contract them is through the Ecotourism committee in Las Marias. This is an organization that has developed several tour options from Las Marias and can provide you with the logistics as well as professional guides. By contracting through them you not only insure the best experience possible, you are also helping protect the Rio Platano Biosphere Reserve, since it is imperative that the local communities can develop a way of generating revenue from the reserve to insure their commitment in its protection. From Las Marias tours to Pico Dama (a good 3 day hike with spectacular views) are available. Other alternatives are hiking tours to Cerro Mico and Sula Wala. The Ecotourism Committee also has some good basic lodging facilities that are fully recommended.
Back to Palacios, another nice alternative in the area is available in nearby Raista, located on the banks of Ivans Lagoon. Here you can visit a butterfly farm that was set up by peace corp volunteers and now run by local natives and is very successful. Eddy Bodden, the manager at the butterfly farm is most helpful and we wholeheartedly recommend that you talk to him to help assist in visiting the nearby attractions, that include the baru and hilbila creeks. Passage to Raista can easily be arranged in Palacios.
Although way out of the regular tourist track, I had the opportunity to visit Ahuas last year. This community has the feeling of an outpost in the middle of the pine savannah. As a matter of fact, Ahuas means pine in miskito. From Ahuas we traveled to Poptalaya, located about 3 miles from the airstrip, on the banks of the mighty Patuca River, where we were lucky enough to get passage downriver to Barra Patuca, a local miskito community located where the river reaches the Caribbean Sea. The trip was spectacular. Good birdwatching, plenty of river turtles and quite a few alligators were seen along the three and a half hour trip to Barra Patuca. Although there are virtually no tourist facilities here, we were blessed by having a native guide who helped us secure lodging for a couple on nights with her folks. I found the Miskito’s from Barra Patuca to be most hospitable and friendly. The town is a very pretty picturesque community with most homes built out of wood or palms. It was without doubt one of the highlights of our trip to La Moskitia.
La Mosquitia is certainly the ideal spot for an adventure vacation. The natives are friendly and there is a lot of wildlife. However, you will find accommodations very limited and getting food hard, and if you are not carrying your food, you will end up with a limited variety of food available, basically the local staples. Unless you are truly adventurous, I recommend that you visit the area with one of the local tour operators. They will certainly make your life a lot easier in the region, and contrary to what you might expect, it will not be much more expensive. Although accommodations are very limited and generally primitive in the area, transportation is very expensive. The local tour operators have a network of local help that will make your life a lot easier!
Topics: Honduras |