Welcome to Honduras! Welcome to San Pedro Sula! The Unwelcome Crown as the World′s Most Murderous City.

WARNING: If you’re not into tough reading, you shouldn’t read this post!

After some really chilled days in Copan, Honduras, I made the decision to face one of my worst fears and visit one of the most dangerous cities on Earth, San Pedro Sula, to see what it was really like! Looking at the street signs on the way, slowly getting closer to the city, watching the kilometers counting down and feeling my heart beating faster. Now it was the time. Why did I feel so scared of this city?

First of all I have a very dear friend from Honduras, who had her two brothers brutally killed in the streets in San Pedro Sula. Just randomly. No mercy. Simply being in the wrong place at the wrong time! And then of course because of the 18th Street Gang.

The 18th Street Gang is famous for setting up a checkpoint, and every entering driver is asked: Where are you from? Where are you going? Anyone with wrong answers gets shot on the spot. One thing I heard from multiple sources – was about gangsters playing soccer with the decapitated head of someone they had executed. Absolutely terrifying!

I’ve been to San Salvador in El Salvador, Johannesbourg in South Africa and some Brazilian cities with lots of violent crime. I had a little bit of experience in places like this, so I took the chance and went, eventhough I know a bit of experience isn’t enough in these places.. Anything can happen!

 Walking around San Pedro Sula wasn’t really enjoyable for me, I quickly found out. I felt like I couldn’t really trust no one in the city (sadly), and I was constantly aware of potential danger on my 10 km solo walk around the city. Sure there were good people and some pretty areas, some spots were actually very silent and nice, but also lots of sketchy places too, where I wouldn’t want to walk alone in the dark!

One thing I’ve learned from traveling in South America/Latin America is that you’re constantly being watched from everywhere at any time, if you’re a foreigner or you are wearing valuable items, even if you don’t think you are, so I had my phone in the pocket mostly and left my sunglasses, wallet etc at my place!

Having seen people getting mugged in the streets of Buenos Aires and in Rio de Janeiro, and even been attempted getting mugged myself at Copacabana Beach, I felt like it was needed to take all the possible safety precautions I could. The difference in San Pedro Sula compared to the other cities is that mugging people often isn’t enough here.. They will prefer to go all the way and kill you!

So what did I like about San Pedro Sula?

I liked the San Pedro Sula Cathedral, The Palacio Municipal and of course the Gualimito Market, which is probably the best place to visit in the city. A colorful market with cigars, handcrafted Honduran blankets and lots of cool stuff. Decent prices too! Downtown San Pedro Sula was fairly compact and seemed pretty easy going during the day at most places. For night I went to a nice little local disco, but for safety reasons, be sure to take a taxi when traveling even just a few blocks after dark. And the food.. Oh, the food!

My Stay In San Pedro Sula, Honduras

Overall I had a OK stay in what was the “murder capital of the world,” until Caracas, Venezuela surpassed its homicide rate recently, but would I recommend anyone to go to San Pedro Sula?

Hmmmmm. No.

The city has some beautiful sides and the violent crime and murders are slowly decreasing, but in the end it’s a really dangerous place. It’s your own choice if you’re willing to run the risk to go to San Pedro Sula, and I know my Honduran friend’s ultimately biggest wish is to have her brothers back. Would I go to San Pedro Sula again? Probably not in the near future! But Honduras, 100% yes!

Gustav

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