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PUERTO LEMPIRA |
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 Capital of the department of Gracias a Dios, PUERTO LEMPIRA is the
largest town in Mosquitia, with a population of 11,000. Set on the
southeastern edge of the biggest of the coastal lagoons, Laguna de
Caratasca, some 110km east of Brus Laguna, the town survives on
government administration and small-scale fishing and shrimping. The
best of the available accommodation is at the Hotel Flores (US$15-40) in
the centre of town, where the small rooms all have a/c and bath; the
Hospedaje Modelo (US$5-10) opposite is basic but clean. There are
several small restaurants close by. Banco Atlántida, next to Hotel
Flores will change travellers' cheques and gives Visa cash advances.
Mopawi (tel 898 8659), the Mosquitia development organization, has its
headquarters in the town, three blocks south of the main dock.
Puerto Lempira is hardly a transport hub, but the only traffic-frequented
roads in Mosquitia lead west from here across the savanna to the village
of Ahuasbila, an eight-hour drive, passing through Morocón and Rus Rus
on the way. A side road shears off to Leimus on the Nicaraguan border; a
truck leaves Puerto Lempira early each morning for Leimus, taking around
five hours. There's a new Honduran migración post (daily 6am-8pm), but
nothing on the Nicaraguan side, so you'll have to get your entry stamp
in Puerto Cabezas.
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