In the morning we hopped into our car, turned on the engine, and began the short drive from Lago Yojoa to San Pedro Sula. We were on our way to the “Murder Capital of the World.”

Bobby chimed in:

“Yes, we are driving into the murder capital of the world, but I think you’ll find that the reality of what you see is much different than what you’ve read. Don’t get me wrong, there is crime here. There are places you can’t go day or night. But if you’re cautious and use a little common sense, just like in any big city, you can have a really great time here. About 800,000 people do every day.”

After making a breakfast stop for baleadas, a traditional Honduran dish of flour tortillas folded over and stuffed with beans, cheese, mantequilla (cream) and eggs, we began our tour of the city.

First stop, Diunsa, a department store. This might seem like a random place to visit, and yet, it was eye-opening. The scene we witnessed was very familiar to us Americans - hordes of people bargain hunting for all kinds of random products. Consumerism. It’s like we were home again!

Why was it eye opening? Well, it was the first indication that we weren’t going to die right away. There were people here doing normal things.

That’s right.

People doing very normal things smack dab in the middle of the murder capital of the world.

Who would have thought? Seriously, this was a revelation.

Next, we headed to La Madrugada, one of the most beautiful hostels we’ve ever seen, right in the middle of the city. The hostel, a former house-turned-school-turned-car shop-turned-hostel by two architects and a banker, emanated a calming aura that was quite unexpected given their location in the center of the murder capital. It was the perfect place for a few beers. We walked around the town center, filming the standard scene of families strolling around, enjoying the weather, eating ice cream, and taking selfies. We captured all of this with our not-so-concealable professional XF105 video camera. Later that night we went out bar hopping until 3 in the morning.

Oh yeah. And we happened to be there during some massive political protests. As a procession of thousands marched by our hostel, we jumped in line, blending in with Hondurans of all ages, from all levels of society. They were peacefully united in a common cause to root out corruption from the government.

If you search for US State Department travel warnings, one of the most basic things they tell you is to avoid all types of political protests, no matter what the cause. And yet, there we were, in the middle of a political protest in the murder capital of the world, and we felt completely fine. But that’s a story for another time, for someone else to tell.

The March of Torches