La Mosquitia

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La Mosquitia - George's version

As I expect the three versions will testify, we're not really sure why we left Roatan, with its picture postcard sunsets, fabulous diving and nigh on perfect weather. I'd say it was the need to be able to say "We went off the Gringo Trail" that took us to Central America's Little Amazon.

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The journey there was an epic one and in the interests of trying out some bullet points was as follows:
Tuesday
• 5:45 - Alarm goes off and it's up, up and away.
• 6:00 - Catch taxi to Coxen Hole as driver insists on a prince's ransom to take us to the ferry port
• 6:30 - Renegotiate with taxi to get us to the ferry port
• 7:00 - Catch ferry to the mainland
• 8:30 - Arrive in La Ceiba and take taxi in to town
• 9:35 - Run for 9:40 bus to Tacoa
• 10:40 - Depart for Tacoa
• 12:30 - Arrive in Tacoa and head to the bank*
• 13:40 - Get on bus with only a couple of provisions and head for Iriona
• 18:45 - Arrive in Iriona in heavy rain and darkness with no idea where to go. A big thank you to the local judge who showed us to some lodgings and food. Without him we would have been very wet and hungry by the time we found them.
*Where I should have taken out adequate funds, as this is the edge of the banking map in Honduras

Wednesday
• 7:00 - Alarm goes off and it's up, up and away.
• 8:00 - Get to river, where we have been assured a collectivo (shared transport) boat will arrive
• 9:00 - Still waiting
• 10:00 - Still waiting
• 10:30 - Change plan and charter a little boat with a priest and a slightly mad old lady (picture attached). Destination? Anywhere closer to the wilderness.
• 11:00 - Arrive somewhere, the name is now lost in the ether, and wait on someone's front porch with the priest for transport. Apparently something should come through today.
• 13:00 - Thumb a lift on a 4x4 (picture attached) to take us to Batailla
• 15:00 - After sand-dunes, river crossings and a brief drive in the sea we arrive in Batailla
• 16:00 - Get on a collectivo boat to Raista, where we hope to charter a boat for the 3-day round trip in to the jungle
• 18:00 - After two hours of torrential rain, and subsequent bailing by Roz, we arrive in Raista for dinner and a couple of beers at Elma's Kitchen "Thought by some to be the best food on the coast" - Footprint guide to Central America

Thursday
• 6:45 - Alarm goes off and it's time for another boat
• 7:30 - Meet Wellington, our boatman, and set off for Las Marias
• 13:30 - Arrive in Las Marias, our home for the next two nights and officially in the middle of nowhere

I SAID IT WAS EPIC!

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I'll leave the rest of the team to tell you about how rubbish the jungle walk was, how amazing Wellington was, how interesting Mike the missionary was, how contrastingly friendly/unfriendly the Moskite/Garifuna people were and how stupid I was for under-budgeting.

What was undeniably a pain in the backside at the time now seems an amusing memory and who knows, laid down for a few decades and with a pinch of creative license it may become a good story to tell the grandchildren...

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Photos

Chelsea Tractor
A 4x4 being used to its limit

Boating with the Locals
In the middle of nowhere

Little Amazon
Roz and Kate in the middle of La Mosquitia