San Pedro Sula

---

The bus from La Ceiba that should've been 3 hours took a little over that before it arrived at Central America's largest bus terminal. A quick taxi ride and we were downtown. Hotel Terazza seemed a good choice by the LP and so I checked in. At HNL 250 ($13) the room was small but with a bathroom and a window. I was a little anxious of going out as I had read in the Bay Islands magazine that apparently San Pedro Sula was the worlds 3rd most dangerous city... On the internet however it is not listed as such, although it has one of the highest murder rates in Latin America.
I took only a short stroll of a block around the hotel ending up at a Chinese restaurant where I had dinner.

The next morning I needed an ATM to get cash to get to Copan Ruinas. I got up early and was walking around at 7 a.m. I tried bank after bank, but none of the ATM's would accept my Dutch bankcard with the maestro logo. Not having a credit card at the moment, I was puzzled on what to do next. To think things over, I decided to head into the hills just north of San Pedro, up to the Coca Cola sign which is easily visible from the city center.
It took me less than 2 hours to get there, sharing the road up with a large group of high school students. When I complimented 2 boys walking ahead of everybody else on dragging up an esky mounted on a set of wheels, they told me it was business. At the top they were going to sell cool drinks to their classmates! How resourceful!

Sweating and hot, I bought myself a nice, cool slice of watermelon at the top. The view, very nice on good days I'm sure, was OK due to it being such a hazy day. Back down in the center I tried another dozen ATM's and banks. Each bank I tried inside, was a hassle in itself. The strict security measures meant you can't just walk in. An armed guard lets people in 1 by 1. You are then scanned with a metal detector, after which you have to put any bags you have in a locker. Some banks then had a metal detector gate which to walk through. I then had to wait half an hour to hear that my card, yet again, couldn't be accepted. I then thought of another option; western union. So I had my brother transfer me the money, unfortunately the fee for that was more than 40 Euros. Oh well, should have known before I cameout here I guess. Or get a card at a better bank that uses more widely accepted cards ha ha.

So my 1 night actually became 2 nights. I didn't mind, at least I had seen the city a bit. Most travelers use it as a mere hub, passing through, maybe staying a night. And that's a shame I think. Although San Pedro isn't the capital (that's the one with the funny name; Tegucigalpa), it is the economic powerhouse of Honduras. It also has Honduras' largest and busiest airport. There are some great day trips available from the city, but I'll have to do that next time I visit!

I got my money eventually, luckily for me one location was open on a Saturday morning, and after waiting in a queue for almost an hour it was my turn to receive money. I tucked it into my boxer short, listening to the advice a guy I had been talking to in the queue had given me. He also told me I had to watch out for people on motorbikes, because that's how they usually rob (and kill) people here. I can tell you, I was happy I reached the hotel after 3 blocks! Very interesting to talk to the guy by the way, he told me how he lived in the USA for 17 years, illegally! His wife and 3 kids (all born in the USA, and so legal citizens) were still out there. He'd been caught driving a car and was deported straight away. This was actually the second time he was deported he said and if the authorities would catch him again he' be going to jail for many years! When I asked him how he had got there in the first place, he told his story of paying $6000 to a guy who smuggled him across the border of Mexico. Wow, and now he's got 3 American kids....!

Next blog will be from Copan Ruinas...

---

Comments

[Maarten]

I love it
Love the numberplate - Can you unscrew it for me & send it up please !!