"Oaxaca" Mexico Travelogue by paradisedreamer

We had to be up at sparrow fart to get the bus from Puebla to Oaxaca. It was a good thing that we pre-arranged a taxi to pick us up at 6:30am as the streets were dead quiet. Our driver was also still half asleep judging by his driving but we got there in one piece! The bus was only at 8am but we preferred to get there early just in case.

The trip was fantastic, such diverse and changing scenery. We started out passing through arid desert which became cactus covered hills and later huge canyons. The views as we hurtled along the mountain passes were amazing. Sit on the right hand side of the bus for the southward journey! Once we had made our way up and over the mountains we reached a very dry area again with a lot of water erosion giving the orange ground the appearance of many miniature grand canyons. In some places the soil was green! The hills then became more lush with foliage of various colours as we approached Oaxaca (4 hours later).

It took us a while to find accommodation as most places were to expensive. We found a triple room with private bath at Hotel Ciuilapan a couple of blocks from the Zocala. It was actually cheaper than the international youth hostel where we would have had to share a bathroom, something I absolutely hate! It was worth the extra sweat. Oaxaca is much warmer than Puebla, amazing what 700m lower in altitude can do, Puebla was a little too chilly in the evenings.
We ended up chatting to a couple from Saltspring Island in British Columbia (Canada). The couple we met a few months back in Playa were also from Saltspring, Sam became good friends with their daughter, Esme. Judging by the two coules we have met Saltspring is a very friendly and hippie community.

We had lunch at the hotel restaurant and then dropped off some desperately needed laundry at Lavanderia Azteca just around the corner. We then took a walk down to the cathedral. It has beautifully etched glass in the doorways. The interior is not as elaborate as some of the churches we have seen. As with anyhting I think you start to lose appreciation when you have seen so many. You get a bit churched, templed, and ruined out! We were also very tired and not very motivated so we just hung around the Zocalo. Sam had her shoes cleaned, he did a great job on her trainers for just a dollar! We also bought Sam some bubbles so she could join all the other kids. It was nice to just sit in the park and observe life go by while listening to the street musicians dotted around. One thing I love about the Mexican cities is that the parks are wonderful places where pèople can gather and just relax and while away the day. They are clean and there are always lots of benches for everyone.

After a little snooze we had dinner at El Asador Vasco on the South West side of the Zocalo. It was a bit posh, well anything is posh when your best shoes are flip flops. The food is excellent and you are on a balcony overlooking the Zocalo. Later on there was live Mexican music which just made the evening wonderful. It wasn´t Mariachi but they had about 6 different shaped guitars (I am sure they all have a name but I´ll call them guitars!) as well as the tambourine.

Back at the hotel I passed out with Sam and woke up at 1am totally befuddled.

Marc went to collect the laundry first thing so we could all have something clean to wear and he also went to the pasteleria (bakery) to get us something for breakfast as well!

We had to go to ticket bus to book tickets for the trip to Tuxtla Gutierrez, a 10 hour bus trip that I am not looking forward to! We then went to Hotel Monte Alban to book for Guelaguetza for tonight (Oaxacan Folk Dancing).

We walked up Calle Alcala and browsed in the shops on the way up to the Iglesia de Santo Domingo. The church is absolutely amazing inside, probably one of the best I have ever seen, not as big as St Peters but there is not a square inch of wall or ceiiling that is not gilded or does not have a baroque painting. The Rosary chapel is another fine example of the rich gilding. The church was begun in 1570 and was constructed with the help of some of the best artisans from Puebla.

Right next to the church in the Ex convento de Santo Domingo is the Museo de las Culturas de Oaxacas. The museum has many good displays of pottery, jewellery and armour. From the museum you can see the beautiful Jardin Etnobotanico with many indiginous plants.

We had lunch at Pizza Rustica on the Alcala which was very nice if a little pricey.

The Guelaguetza was at the Hotel Monte Alban at 8:30pm (on the Alameda). It is a Zapotec Word meaning mutual help. It is an act of solidarity among members of a community that is given at important times in family life, helping out with Money, bread , tortillas, mezcal (cousin of tequila) etc. Guelaguetza is a festival celebrated every year in Oaxaca arounf July I think. The different ethinic groups bring their dancing art and handicrafts from theior place of origin.

We were at tables around the dance floor and got a seat right up front, it was worth getting there early. You can order food and drinks at very reasonable prices. We had an enormous jug of orange juice for only 30 pesos.

The dancing was fantastic and the costumes were beautiful, made from the famous Oaxaca textiles. The show is made up of 10 dances over 1.5 hours.

We were picked up a our hotel at 9:45 am for our tour. After a bit of shifting around with the vans we were on our way to Monte Alban. It is an archaeological site set on a flat mountain top 500m above Oaxaca. It was first occupied around 500BC and was the ancient Zapotec capital. We started at the top of the site overlooking the Grand Plaza and the ball court. The ball court has stepped sides which is very different to the straight high walls at Chichen Itza. We then went down to the main plaza. It was very hot and we forgot to bring our hats (except for Sam’s) which was a stupid mistake. The pyramids are not very high but most of them have been cordoned off, you can only climb the southern pyramid. We retreated to the restaurant when we were set free by our guide.

Next stop was Arrozola which is a small village where they carve animals out of wood and paint them in bright colours. Only when you watch them being painted can you really appreciate the amount of work that goes into making them. It is painstaking work. There are many shops in the village that you can browse around.

We then drove on to Cuilapan which is a Dominican monastery, the Ex Convento de Santiago Apostal. It is now a ruin and no longer used. It had a roof prior to 1560 as you can see gargoyles at the top of the walls where the roof would have been, it has stood without a roof ever since. The church is very large inside and because of its size the pulpit stands on the side wall halfway down. There are also doorways all along the sides of the walls making it different from other churches.

Strangely we stopped for a lunch break at 4pm. We were not very impressed with the tour as it was expensive (250 pesos each), did not include lunch and we did not find the guide very interesting. We felt like we were on a school tour and just wanted to be let off! Our tour to Teohuatican was 190 pesos included lunch and lots of Tequila and Mezcal and the guide was very interesting and we had plenty of free time to do our own thing. In comparison it was not nearly as good. We were also supposed to have stopped at Zaachila, a market where they have the local textiles. I was really looking forward to it but thought I had gotten it confused but when I read the brochure back at the hotel I saw that they had missed it out. Annoying!

Our last stop was the town of San Bartolo Coyotepec where we visited the Alfareria Dona Rosa. 'Rosa' discovered the method of rubbing the clay pots until they shone and then baking them in a covered kiln to get the black shiny surface that has become so popular in Oaxaca. The black colour is due to the smoke and the iron oxide in the local clay.

We ended up having a very strange dinner as none of us felt like going out as we were too tired. We had a tin of peaches, a jar of olives, corn on the cob and ham and cheese sandwiches!

We had a very relaxing day. We took a wander around the markets just south of the Zocalo. All the goods are grouped into sections. We first walked through the leatherware section where you can buy shoes, bags, belts etc. The displays of fruit and vegetables are beautiful and the different kinds of chillies piled up is amazing. The colours and smells of all the different spices is intoxicating. It is very clean and the meat and fish sections don't smell too bad despite the fact that Sam kept holding her nose. One delicacy here are roasted cockroaches, ummm maybe not! Arum lillies are my favourite flowers and in the market they are everywhere, heaven!!

We bought some mango to take to the Zocalo with us. You have to ask for your fruit 'natural' or they will put chilli pepper and lime on it. They will put chilli pepper on anything!

From the Zocalo we walked up to the Santo Domingo Plaza and had a look in some of the art galleries near there. It was all a little too morbid but definitely worth a look. There are also a few rug shops and we saw a beautiful one but they are fairly expensive (about $550 for a medium sized one), they will also ship it home for you for free. My only problem with that is what recourse do you really have if it never arrives.

As we walked down Calle Alcala an old lady held up a dress shouting 'la niña'. We ended up buying Sam a blouse that was completely hand made and intricately embriodered for only 50 pesos which is just ridiculously cheap for the amount of work that goes into it. She even brought her price down to 40 pesos which would just be robbery.

We had lunch at Alfredo di Roma and ended up with one pizza more than we ordered, not sure how that happened but anyway! We promised Sam a balloon at the Zocalo and as we walked down a little scruffy Mexican girl latched onto Sam and followed us, so Marc bought her a balloon too. The way that face lit up was just heartbreaking. I have no idea where her parents were as she couldn't have been much older than three years old.

When we got home Sam tried on her blouse which looked lovely so we will try and find the old lady again and see if we can buy a few more things. She had a dress which will probably be a bit small for Sam but we will see. She only wanted 150 pesos for it and it took her 15 days to make! It just seems crazy.