| 2/03 | "To La Mosquitia and back" | La Mosquitia | Honduras & Nicaragua |
On February 4, 2003, I received an e-mail invitation from Bob Izdepski, president of Sub Ocean Safety, to join him on a last minute trip to Honduras and Nicaragua. Six months into a forced practice-retirement, the idea of traipsing off to the jungle seemed too far fetched to take seriously. But, after some thought, I decided not to say no and to see if things would fall in place. This required a lot of falling really damn quick: Bob's instructions were to meet him one week later between 8:00 and 9:00 PM poolside at the Best Western across the street from the Managua airport. Having not previously traveled to Central America and having never met Bob face-to-face, this starting point was, aaaah, intriguing.
Needless to say, things did fall together and, rubbing a sore shoulder from some last minute vaccinations, I was met on my arrival in Managua by Juan Samuel, a human rights activist, president of SubOceanSafety-Central America and our fixer for the next couple of weeks. A few hours later, we were both waiting when Bob's plane landed in Managua. In tow with Bob was Mark Jacobson of Rolling Stone/Esquire/New York magazine fame and fortune. In a few days, we would be joined by Alex Webb, a Magnum photographer hired by Men's Journal to cover this trip.
Thus began a two-week tour of one of Central America's least developed areas: the Moskito Coast of Nicaragua and Honduras. For me, the purpose of the trip was see for myself the plight of the Moskito lobster divers and, at the same time, to find out if Bob Izdepski and Sub Ocean Safety are for real. If you're interested in in my conclusions about that last question, check out my summary of the trip. Alternately, you might check out my short assessment of the lobster diving situation. I've also included some links to a daily account of the tripand to some travel tips.
Last Modified: March 13, 2003
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