The night bus from Mexico City to Oaxaca City was very comfortable & non-eventful – still so impressed by public transport here. On arrival in a somewhat cooler city at 6am, we warmed ourselves up with the local favourite – a hot chocolate. Next we took a taxi to the city centre and starting the search for accommodation. Normally this consists of walking from place to place looking for the best deal, which is exactly what we did. However after asking in about 10 suitable places it seemed that most were fully booked due to a festival that was happening in the City. Finally we found a little place for 200 pesos a room with a good view (to be honest we were prepared to take anything by then) and were finally really pleased that we had coincided with the festival.
After some sleep, we ventured out into the City - it turns out that we were ideally positioned near to a large indoor market which was perfect for lunch. We were totally spoilt for choice in terms of where to eat, being bombarded as we walked in with shouts of ‘the best mole in town,’ ‘come and eat tacos here’ etc, etc. In the end we opted for a little stand where we perched at the bar and had the most delicious ‘choriqueso,’ a mixture of chorizo and cheese served with beans, rice and tortillas. We also had freshly squeezed orange juice & coffee served in bowls – I was happy. The market was fascinating, being full of steam, exotic smells, chatter and Mexicans going about their daily life, cooking delicious fresh food, selling breads, meats, vegetables and of course making chocolate. The market became our venue of choice for many breakfasts and lunches – breakfast normally consisting of a large bowl of local hot chocolate served with a bun. The chocolate has a lovely bitter cocoa taste & is locally produced in Oaxaca, with many shops demonstrating how the cocoa beans are ground up into the thick paste, which is then combined with sugar, of chili for the classic Oaxacan ‘Mole’ dish. Oli became a serious fan of choriqueso, having it for breakfast and lunch nearly every day – we were impressed with his commitment to the cause.
Oaxaca is a beautiful city, full of old colonial style buildings and extremely colourful. I wonder how drab Mexican’s must find London when they arrive to only grey and red brick. The town square is beautiful and up on the hill there are many old cobbled streets, lovely big wooden doorways opening onto vast courtyard oasis’ which often house cafes or restaurants and lots of street music, really giving the place a nostalgic ambience. There are also numerous churches, some of which are very opulently decorated, cast with gold leafing and sculptures, leaving no doubt as to the wealth and influence that is still maintained by religious faculties. They are quite beautiful to look around and offer a welcome cool escape from the scorching sun outside. Mark and I had fun just pottering along the little streets, enjoying getting lost and seeing what sort of novel things would turn up.
Being in town for the Guelaguetza/Lunes del Cerro festival was a real bonus. Although we would have had to have booked months in advance to get tickets for the stadium show, the buzz & electric atmosphere on the streets was fantastic. On our first evening there was a great street parade full of native dances in varied costume, huge papier mache figures on sticks, live bands and bizarrely, lots of political protestors who seemed to be supporting Marxism. Every night we had fireworks and the entertaining wooden bull, which had a Catherine Wheel attached to its bottom as it bobbed around on its stick in the crowd. The festival is traditionally held on the last 2 Mondays of July, after the death day of Benito Juárez (July 18). Beginning in 1932, when Oaxaca celebrated its 400th anniversary, groups from many regions of the state perform their wonderful native dances in all their varieties of costume. The original event, of pre-Hispanic origin, enacted reciprocal gift-giving and ceremonies in honor of the Corn Goddess.
For a change, we took a tour (even though we vowed never to take one again) to see some ruins at Mitla, the world’s widest tree, a Mezcal factory, a petrified waterfall and Zapotecan rug making. The things we saw were really interesting, but we all felt pretty stressed about being herded around, told what to do when and things not working out as they should, i.e. having to change bus three times and being back 3 hours later. Somehow, if this happens on your own, it adds to the experience and it’s funny, but tours drive me nuts!
On our last night, we went to a lovely restaurant with a balcony overlooking the square. We had tuna steaks flambéed at our table in mezcal and fresh orange, which was just exquisite. With the fireworks and a very decent glass of house wine, it was a nice way to end our Oaxacan adventure. JG.
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