by Derek A Parent
The morning Richard arrived with the launch brought high winds and whitecaps in the lagoon. It was slow going, even in the specially built and highly stable 20 foot fishing boat. It's about 13 kms from Brus to Cannon Key but we made it in 40 minutes. Richard was pointing out the fishing nets buoyed by white plastic jugs; "See?", he says, "these nets are responsible for the depleted fish and shrimp stocks in the lagoon". He added that "MOPAWI, the government conservation organization for La Mosquitia, was in the process of implementing a moratorium on net fishing in the lagoon, similar to the ban on spiny lobster fishing and manatee hunting" adding "The locals didn't like the ban one bit and were furious". A tiny tropical island paradise, Cannon Cay measures in at about 20 acres, has two 40 foot hills covered by thick broadleaf jungle and looks like a colored in 8 from the air. I've yet to find it represented on ANY map of the region. When you land at the Cay, you practically trip over a half dozen 290 odd year old King George II cannons. No doubt relics from Capt. Robert Hodgsons' 18th century defense post there.
Caribbean Adventure Tours' forte is big game fishing (catch and release) and transporting the ecotourist into virtually unexplored and untouched ecosystems up the Rios Twas, Tuscruwas and Platano where you experience a profusion of wildlife such as West Indian manatee, crocodile, alligator and hundreds of species of tropical birds. Around the banks of rivers and lagoons you may catch a glimpse of the rare jaguar, ocelot and jaguarundi. They also visit the 30 mile long sand spit at night from June through August to see green and leatherback turtles nesting, but you have to keep your distance to avoid disturbing them. Green iguanas, a staple food of the Miskito indians, can be seen in abundance in the months of February and March. Red shrimp and turtles or "cushwa" by the millions visit Laguna Brus in April and May. Plankton light up the enormous lagoon at night like underwater bolts of lightning during April and May.
It got very cool at night on the Cay, I was glad I brought along a warm sleeping bag to supplement provided bedding. Two British guests joined me for supper the first evening stating that they would have liked to spend more time on Cannon Cay rather than crowded Roatan. Over a few cold beers the conversation turned to the rich pirate history of Cannon Cay, named after some artillery found here and used to defend the stronghold of Bloody Brewer, an exceedingly brutal pirate of the 17th century. The surrounding lagoon came to be named "Brus", short for Brewers. The local legend says that the pirate won the trust of the fierce Miskito warriors of this region and together fought against the Spaniards' attempts to conquer the coast. The Miskito warriors called the captured Spaniards "alboawinneys" who were barbecued on the beach and eaten exacting their ultimate revenge.
The End
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