Day 259/516 1

Taken on 27th September, 2009 in Rio Patuca, La Moskitia, Honduras. Nikon D90, Exposure 1/1000s at f/4.0, Focal Length 18mm, ISO Speed 400. Show on Flickr.

Report of our trip through La Moskitia for anyone looking to explore the region.

Casa Kiwi in Trujillo has a folder with an array of reports from people who have made trips into, around, and through the region. After our trip, Catherine wrote an email to the owners there to add to the folder. I figure it's a good to have it online and googleable too.

Hello Ladies,

This is Catherine and Oisin, the Irish couple that visited you about two weeks ago. We managed to get all the way up the Patuca river right up to Palestina in Olancho, from there we caught a direct bus to Tegucigalpa. Here is our report for the Moskitia folder.

TRUJILLO TO TEGUCIGALPA THROUGH LA MOSKITIA, IN A PIPANTE ALL THE WAY UP PATUCA RIVER

Day 1

We took a bus from Trujillo to Corocito (25lmp), there we caugh a bus to Iriona(110lmp) at around 1pm, about 5 hrs. We went all the way to Iriona Puerto (Iriona town is before the Puerto). We spent the night in the local hotel, 200 lmp for a double room with a bathroom. Dinner in the hotel´s kitchen cost 45 per person plus drink.

Day 2

No one would give us information about the collectivo boats going all the way up to Batalla/Palacios, (a guy quoted us 1400 lmp to take us), so we walked up to the beach to meet the pick up trucks coming from Tocoa. The first three pickups arrived around 12:30 am. The first wanted 300 lmp (it´s only an hour drive up the beach sitting on the back of a fully loaded pick up truck, so No Way Jose), the second quoted 200 lmp, still not good enough, the third quoted 150lmp, still a bit much for such a hazardous trip but we took it. If you are planning to do this trip from Trujillo it´s probably worth while going to Tocoa early in the morning to get the pick up trucks from there (some people said they got the whole trip, from Tocoa to Batalla, for 250lmp), since the pickup trucks are usually full when they get to Iriona, so there are no guarantees.

When we arrived in Batalla (around 2pm) there were loads of collectivo boats waiting for the pickup trucks. Some went to Palacios, others to Rais Ta. We wanted to go to Brus Laguna as we couldn´t afford the trip to Las Marias. First we were told there were no collectivos to Brus, but after asking around we found a guy that was going there. The boat men will want to take you to Rais Ta, as that´s where all the tourist go, bus there is a boat that goes to Brus Laguna, so just ask around until you find it. We paid 300lmp for a three hour boat ride to Brus Laguna from Batalla. From Batalla to Rais Ta we were quoted 200 lmp.

We spent the night in Brus Laguna in the dock hotel, 200lmps for a room with a double bed and a shared bathroom. Be warned, the mosquitoes in Brus are unreal. Had dinner in a local kitchen for 70lmp each, she overcharged us. we were told by our hotel that her meals cost 35lmp, anyway, we were in no mood to argue that night.

Day 3

We got the 8am collectivo from Brus to Awas, 360lmp each. This collectivo runs every day except Sundays, some days (only when there are enough customers) it runs all the way to Wampusirpi for an extra 460lmp per person. On that day it only went to Awas, so we got there and an hour later we caught a ride to Wampusirpy with a local. At first he wanted 450per person. We bargained it down to 300 per person.

In Wampusirpi we slept in the dock hotel, 180 lmp for a room with two beds. There is an outhouse toilet and shower with bucket. We later found out that there are fancier cabanas on the other side of town, worth enquiring about. We had dinner in the cabanas kitchen, 50 lmp per person plus drink.

Day 4 & 5

We were lucky, the next day there was a collectivo going all the way from Wampusirpy to Palestina in Olancho. They do not run regularly,.and I suspect that they might not even go at all during the dry season as the river gets shallower and shallower as you go up. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED, this trip is NOT for the faint hearted. The trip takes a full day and half. From 5am to 7pm the first day, non stop, and then the next day from 5 am to 9am. The boat was small and mucky and we sat on a wooden plank for the whole trip. This was like holding a yoga posture for unending hours. There are no stops so bring your own food and water. On the night of the first day the boat stoped at a local posada on the river and we slept in a dingy room for 50 lmps each.

From where the boat drops you in Palestina you have to hitch a ride to Palestina town. From there we caught a direct bus to Tegucigalpa @11am for 110lmp per person. It takes about 6 hours.

Good luck!

Catherine and Oisin

I won't be rushing to put myself through a boat trip like that again any time soon, but it was certainly an experience, and a good way to go through La Moskitia without having to double back on yourself or cross the border into Nicaragua.