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SAN PEDRO SULA, HONDURAS General Info Tegucigalpa La Tigra Valle de Angeles San Pedro Sula More Photos San Pedro Sula is the commercial, financial, and industrial center of Honduras and is about 40 minutes from the coast. It was founded on June 27, 1536 by Don Pedro de Alvarado - a Spanish conqueror who named it "Villa de San Pedro de Puerto Caballos." Within a few years, the city became known as San Pedro Sula, with the name Sula deriving from the local dialect Usula, meaning "valley of birds". The streets are laid out in a 'Spanish manner' where they radiate from the central plaza. Avenues go north to south, while streets go east to west. We caught the 8:00am Transportes Saenz direct, first class bus to San Pedro Sula ($6 each way). The bus had AC, bathroom, and TVs and the trip took exactly four hours. They showed 'Ever After' and 'Mighty Joe Young' in English with Spanish subtitles. I preferred to look at the scenery and listen to my Walkman. After about 30 minutes into the trip, I noticed that there was a lot of trash along the highway. I don't mean a few coke bottles, I mean it looked like a landfill almost the whole way to San Pedro Sula. The driver said that the trash has been piling up since the hurricane. We visited the Museo de Antropologia e Historia which had exhibits of pre-Hispanic artifacts and paintings. It's located a few blocks from the Cathedral on 3 Avenida between 3 and 4 Calle. One of the exhibits was really interesting as it showed pre-Hispanic tooth decorating. It had a tool that they used to drill holes in teeth and insert turquoise or silver. They would also file their teeth in interesting shapes. The museum also has a small cafeteria and gift shop. We payed 10 Lempiras each (about 68 cents). The Mercado Guamilito is housed in a huge warehouse between 8 and 9 Avenidas and 6 and 7 Calles. There are dozens of booths where you can find crafts from all over Honduras, flowers, and local produce. You can bargain here and can usually get about 20% below asking price. There are also food stands towards the back where you can buy yummy Baleadas (corn tortilla stuffed with beans and cream cheese). More Photos >

In San Pedro Sula we stayed at the Hotel Gran Sula which is across the street from the Parque Central. It has a 24-hour coffee shop downstairs next to the pool and a dining room (Granada) above the lobby. The lobby has offices of the Molinari Rent A Car as well as the Maya Tropic Tours and several other tourist serving agencies. Try to get rooms on the second floor where you get a private deck overlooking the Central Park. There are about 160 export Maquilas factories in the San Pedro Sula region. There is a lot of controversy surrounding these factories - as some say they are perpetuating post-modern slavery. The Maquilas mainly produce clothes for export to the United States and are owned by Koreans, Taiwanese, and Americans (very few are owned by Hondurans). Ex-factory workers have testified in the United States about the low wages, verbal abuse, compulsatory overtime, unrealistic production quotas, and being fired for pregnancy. The Aeropuerto Internacional Villeda Morales, has both domestic and international flights arrivals and is southeast of the city. There isn't public transport between the airport and the city center but you can catch a taxi for around US$8.

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