La Moskitia Honduras (Plus Broken Leg)

Google the tail number of the Lear 35 you flew in .Crazy pilots.

CFS for sure!!!! DAMN.

Only in Old Mexico lol

Hope the link works not so good working from my touch.

Edit, fixed the linky

TMiester-give us a ballpark idea of how much you spent by going the SA route for leg thing???

Become a Canadian and it would be freeeeeeee!

Good ride report though, and I'm glad you're ok.

I'm not even the least bit religious, but sometimes its eerie how thing "work out". Those soldiers coming by were definitely as big a blessing as you'll find in a situation like that. Who knows what would have happened without them!

Its not really free you do pay taxes...

Income taxes, yes, but not much more than the U.S.

Anyway, enough about this! I don't wanna hijack an amazing thread.

Pete,
That's an amazing tale.
Thanks for posting it.

Wow looks like we really do have a broken leg club here!

i was wearing crossfires. without those and other gear this whole thing would've been a real mess.

That was my take too: wild west. the drug trade is everywhere and unlike the rest of central America it is not hidden. but it doesn't seem to interfere either. still I can't say the area is not dangerous. I personally never felt in danger and I cant wait to go back and explore the area more. but objectively, there definitely is some danger. Still I don't think anyone should think twice about taking this route for danger reasons.

Holy shit!!

Thanks man! fun to write it up. Thanks to adv for helping me pass the week on the couch with my leg up.

Enjoying your story and pics! When are you planning to return and pick up the bike?

Looking back over this RR I realize how little actual "riding" is in it. ha! I promise there was 9,000 miles of continuous riding leading up to all this... really there was!!! haha.

In conclusion: the bike is still on the base as of today. I am working with the missionary I met over breakfast in Puerto Lempira (tracked him down on the internet) to get the bike back to his house for storage. I have been in touch with the comandante of the base several times since I got home, but as with a lot of stuff down there it is taking a while.

As soon as I'm off crutches I'll return to honduras for a week to get the bike fixed up, bring some gifts for the soldiers on the base, and hopefully help the missionary somehow with his orphanage and school as a way of saying thanks. I'll store the bike with him over the summer and then return to Honduras next Fall to finish the ride to Panama. I'll update this post with some pics for the rest of the trip through Puerto Lempira to Puerto Cabezas in Nicaragua, and then down to Managua.

It would be great if some other advriders saw this post and decided to experiment with routes through La Moskitia (aka "la mosquitia" or "mosquito coast", including those spellings so this thread pops up in searches if someone else is doing research). Seems like a lot of travelers fly right through Honduras without stopping, I almost did the same thing.

Here are a few other ideas for trips: a) there are a few bicyclists who have attempted to connect large portions of la moskitia on singletrack foot trails (check online) and b) I have heard you can cross by riding on ocean beaches literally the entire way to PL if you can find a way to cross the river mouths. I was told that if you wait long enough at a river mouth a boat will eventually come and you can generally flag them down with a few bucks and get a ride across. If anyone is thinking about trying either of these routes, or taking the same route I did via boat, send me a note if I can help.

Thx for the comments!

Hey man thanks for all the entertainment information and inspiration. Glad to see that there are still some people with sack around here. May you go far and deep.

que buen reporte !!!!!!

Take your time to heal well before you dump the crutches....and do some good physio for that leg.

Good health to you.
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Great story!

I was headed for the north coast a few years ago, part of the Degree Confluence Project. There is one located just off the coast near Trujillo.

I became sidetracked when a Degree Confluence I attempted to locate farther south within the country proved more difficult to locate, so I never did make it to the coast.

Amazing journey so far.

Jamie

Thought I'd update this post with some news. For the last 8 months my KTM has been sitting on the Honduran army base where I left it after the crash. The American missionary I met in Puerto Lempira (Alex) has been working to get it off the base and back to his house where we can assess the damage and hopefully get it ready to ride.

We finally got the bike back to his house a few weeks ago. He charged up the battery and it's holding the charge, but the bike still won't start. I'm thinking it's a carb issue? Plus there is still a radiator leak to deal with. But for now I'm just happy to have the bike back in Puerto Lempira. Worst case I can fly in and try to get it running myself.

Here's a pic Alex sent me:



Looks like a return trip to Central America is ahead.

Wow, amazing story. A fellow Oregonian as well. I gasped when I saw your x-ray after surgery as my old x-ray looks identical I shit you not. Mine was a spiral tib/fib fracture as well. Did it snow boarding about 14 years ago and still have the titanium rod in my leg. I am impressed that they kept your bike for you although not surprised. My experience down there are that most are good people. Have spent some time in Guatemala and Nicaragua.

I'll tune in when you return for the rest of your trip.

Pete, good to see you're still in the hunt. Hows the leg?

Cleaning the carbs, tank and fuel lines is probably the fix. What is the gas like down there? Much alcohol? Maybe a little humidity some times? Can you buy carb cleaner and get compressed air in the jungle?

On fixing the rad - get an aluminum based two part epoxy. JB weld is iron based and doesn't expand at the same rate as alum, but it still works. I've found some locally that looks good (Alumi-weld?). I'll look at it tomorrow and edit.

We're all jealous - you suck.

Thanks for the update. Are you all healed up?

I just started my trip to see the ruins at Copan. I'm in Xalapa on a KLR.

Good luck to you.

Superb adventure!!!! Definitely you have great karma.

I am so glad your insurance came through. Impressive service. How long was your trip originally? I will be looking into the insurance company you used. Can't wait for you to continue your journey....