Honduras: La Mosquitia Day 2

Friday, July 9, 2010

I finally got to wake up after the 5:30 sunrise today. Following a hearty breakfast with awful instant coffee in the comedor, my foreign companions began a relentless negotiation with my boat driver for their fare for the Las Marías ride. (I had to pay for transportation in/out of La Mosquitia and meals, but my internal boat fares, hotel and guide fees were all taken care of by the national tourism institute - sweet!). This incessant haggling was apparently a knee-jerk reaction for them anytime money came up. It was mildly annoying, especially when you consider that the $5 you're bartering with is literally the driver's only salary for the day.

Guide books (and now mine) will warn you against traveling to the rainforest during the rainy season. That's because if you take a 6-hour boat ride up the mighty Río Plátano into the heart of the Río Plátano Biosphere Reserve, you will undoubtedly get poured on. On our narrow little cayuko, we were completely exposed to the elements. Plastic tarps covered our packs, and eventually we used one to cover us as well, despite the smells of mud, burned trash and manure. I had a rain jacket on, but even that started leaking.

Before the monsoon, we stopped to run some errands with the driver. He was picking up a load of homemade cheese and milk for his neighbors in Las Marías. I had a sip of the homemade milk, and it tasted a bit like drinking chunky glue. Mmmm. We stopped again to "dine" in the kitchen of a man who lived alone on the riverbanks. I packed a lunch of corn tortilla and canned tuna with veggies. It all fell apart into one giant tuna mess which I slopped up with my hands before getting charged by a goat near the latrines. Fortunately a neighbor was nearby to beat it in the head with an umbrella before he could get to me.

The rain had mostly stopped when we reached Las Marías, a Miskito and Pech community of 100 families that is increasingly attracting more ecotourists for its access to great hiking and the Walpaulbansirpe petroglyphs (or rock carvings). Within minutes of our arrival, a flock of local artisans came up to visit us and show off their bracelets, pouches and wall hangings made from dyed bark fibers. We bought bracelets from one lady before five others showed up with the same products. One woman even had ojo de venado, or BUCKEYES! Rainforest buckeyes look a little different than ones from O-H-I-O, but I still brimmed with joy nonetheless. The Polish boys then went off to join an incredibly muddy game of fútbol with the local boys while I played the part of proud soccer mom on the sidelines.

The sacaguías, or head guide in Las Marías, then paid us a visit to determine which trips we'd be making so he could trek around the village and find the appropriate guides. Around 150 men and women have been trained as guides by international NGOs to provide an economic alternative to the underdeveloped town, which is great, but my guide on Saturday said I was his second client for the year.

Dinner involved traditional Honduran fare of rice, beans, cheese, egg (in place of chicken) and fried plantain chips. The lodge was nice, but still can't rival the one in Raista. Namely because the shared bathrooms was one latrine divided into two parts: the first was a small toilet without a seat and with bucket flush, and the second had a concrete floor and giant tub of rainwater with small buckets for bathing. It takes a lot of rainwater to wash this fro, let me tell you. Mosquitoes and other bugs dive-bombed into my netting for most of the night, which was lovely.