I always thought this was a reference to the nasty biting insects, but is it in fact a corruption of Miskito?

Yes, named for the indigenous people living there.

However we started calling the area on Ambergris Caye Mosquito Coast after a portion of the movie featuring Harrison Ford was filmed there back in the '80's.

Learned something new!

A lot of old maps show Belize/Hondurans as Miskito Coast after the people who lived there...that spoke Miskitu!...not to be confused with Sandflyjese :-)

And mosquito:

Mosca = refers to common house fly in Spanish

Mosquito = little fly in Spanish

Did anyone ever read the book Mosquito Coast or watch the movie? The movie is cool as you will recognize a few of the extras. My favorite still is Sir Barry.

Harrison Ford was a very scarry daddy in that one.

Having seen it long before moving here, I missed the fun of knowing the extras. Good reason to watch it again!

Legend also has it that the book was modeled on a real family journey that transpired in British Honduras ......

I thought the movie was very dark. Shortly after I moved here I was loaned the book. I thought it much better than the film and was raving about it to Nurse Natalie who said "that was my father." She told me that Harrison Ford visited her mother, Miss Peggy.

Does anyone have a copy of the movie they could lend?