Oaxaca, Mexico

Two blocks from we stayed in the Historic District is the Cathedral Santa Domingo . An ornate old monastery and church from the 1570's that combines baroque and gothic beautifully.  The old convent now houses the Cultural Center and botanical gardens.  A very pretty, peaceful church, the light through the stained glass windows was particularly pretty.

We weaved our way down the streets through the very busy Zocola.  Yet another protest or demonstration of some kind was occuring. This one had quite an audience, more organised with chairs and microphones.

We found the local food market 20 Noviembre which was amazing.  A burrow of food stalls selling local chocolate and cheeses, some crickets or course.  Stalls displaying various meats packed the place, next to each stall was a hot grill where you were able to pick the meat you wanted and they cooked it on the grill with onions, chili's and vegetables. Smoke filled the corridor as did the people packed in trying to get their lunch.  Further along were tiny kitchens offering tamales, enchilades and mole's.  We picked one and i left it to El Grinch to order a platter consisting of two moles (Mole Negro and another i cannot recall that was red in color!), Oaxacan cheese and grilled meats.  That, the warm tortilla's and a couple of cold beers made for an amazing lunch for about 100 peso's for both of us.

For dessert we stopped by an icecream parlor called Popeyes that El Grinch would go to as a child (he has not been back to Oaxaca as an adult).  We shared a delicious flat sugary cone filled with a scoop of chocolate and and another scoop of milk chocolate and nuts. Yum.  Delicious but definitely best shared. 

After a quick siesta back at the hotel and we were back on the streets of Oaxaca City.  Neither of us had done too much research into the nightlife, earlier on in the afternoon we were handed a flyer for a bar on the west side of town so we decided to go there. It offered two for one Mexcal's..

En route, we took pictures of the only decent graffiti that i had seen in Oaxaca.  Some stenciling of Mexican hero's and characters.  The city is full of graffiti but it's mostly terrible reckless tagging done by inexperienced teens, not skilled or artful at all.  It was also not usual to see protest rhetoric sprayed across the front of beautifully painted buildings. Very harsh and stark. 

We also stumbled on a great little jazz bar La Nueva Babel. As the band played in a tiny space the size of a bread box, we sat upstairs on cushions and drank yet more Paloma's.  It was so close and comfy i felt like we were at a private party at a friends home with the stereo playing.

It was strange to see people smoking inside, the global smoking ban has not reached Oaxaca yet, although El Grinch tells me it has reached Mexico City. Much to his lament, he is a smoker. A smoker with morals who could not bare it if i even picked up a cigarette.

A couple of blocks up was Cafe Tamarind. Another tiny space, this time starker add bright with cubes for chairs, local art for sale on the walls. I guess it looked pretty young and hip yet the crowd was very diverse. Many of us sat around on the cubes trying not to look at each other. The music was good, electronica but the place lacked atmosphere and after a beer we moved on.

On to Fandango. A backpackers favorite (although it was also busy with locals) that is also a rock music venue. Last night a band played English/American rock covers, the one that stuck in my mind was 'Another Brick In The Wall'.   The drinks were cheap, hence the American backpackers drinking margarita's made with rank tequila.  I mock but 10 years ago that was me in Asia, it bought back memories. It wasn't a bad bar at all but after a couple of drinks we decided to see what else Oaxaca had to offer.

We ended up at a bar called La Divinia. No backpackers here, all locals head banging to another cover band, this time it's Nirvana.  It had more of an atmosphere, people are really rocking out in the next room where the band is on an elevated stage.  It was around 2am and El Grinch decides to get me a litre of Paloma (tequila with grapefruit soda), he a litre of something wicked and coke.  It was definitely the straw that broke the camels back. I recall us sneaking the drinks out of the bar and staggering up the street towards the hotel, after spotting a couple of intimidating gardi (police) further up the street we opt for ditching them instead of hiding. Probably a good thing. We both woke with wicked hangover's this morning.

Oaxaca, Mexico

We wake early. Breakfast is included so we make the most of it. Fresh fruit, chiliquillas and eggs on the menu.

We relent and pick up a map from the hotel with the idea of just walking around Oaxaca City, finding our way.  We notice on the map that there is a market on Fridays at a town around 35 Klms away so decide to ditch our plan of exploring the city, get the car and get driving.

It seems that Friday is also the day for demonstrations. El Grinch tells me that Mexico loves a demonstration,  on Thursday in Mexico City it was the teachers. Today in Oaxaca it seems to be the farmers and they are blocking every major road out of the city with their protests. Our map is terrible and i will never understand how we managed to circumnavigate all the dusty back roads that have been made pretty much obsolete since the arrivals of the more modern roads. The businesses on these small roads must rub their hands with glee at the possible business that these protests bring in for them.  

Th city quickly turns into farmland, donkeys grazing, chickens & kids running loose but the protests continue. Soon we are so far off the path we have no idea how we will get back on it. No signs anywhere, you just have to feel your way and ask the local Ranchito's that line the streets with their dusty stetson style hats. Luckily for me, i don't have to break out the Spanglish. El Grinch is the best chauffeur and translator a girl could ask for. 

The landscape of the Oaxaca valleys is drier and browner than i expected especially for winter. I expected the sierra's to be more lush and greener but the mountains that surround Oaxaca & it's 500 plus municipalities (thanks El Grinch) are still very beautiful.

Just when we think we are free of road blockades (if you call 2 crates in a road and a single cop directing traffic from the shade of a tree a blockade) we off roading again following a tractor as it blows dust all over the place. These roads are narrow and very dusty, giant holes litter our path, a biker even bites the dust right in front of us (he was fine). I can't help but feel smug that i opted for the very pricey full insurance option!

The town we are in is called Octolan de Morelos.  Known for it's market and being the birthplace of Rodolfo Morales, a Mexican painter whose house now serves as a museum and gallery of Mexican art and artifacts. We go here first and for a small donation to the foundation we wonder around his folklore style paintings.

The market completely overtakes the whole village. There are goats on a rope, turkeys being paraded around ( i had several brushed up against my legs, wearing a skirt. Not pleasant), and just about everything for sale.  The market is a mix of modern junk with delicious food and vegetables and local arts & crafts. It is packed with locals, some in modern dress, others in traditional dress, women carrying their wares on their heads.  A great place for photo's but many of the locals hate having their photo taken so i take them from the hip and have come up trumps with some fantastic shots.

I had promised El Grinch that i would try the Oaxacan delicacy of Chapulines. Chocolate covered Crickets to you and I. I take one look at the jumbo sized ones and balk. I will but not today.

Due to another blockade it takes us over two hours to get back to Oaxaca. 33 Klms in 2 hours. It's a pain in the ass but it's fun. I have no idea how we got back, certainly it is not the way we came. No road signs to anywhere, i am pretty sure these roads are not even on a map. When there is a sign it is spray painted on the side of a rundown building OAXACA and an arrow.

Just miles and miles of winding dirt roads many of which feel like we are passing through peoples back yards. Passing through the smallest of towns like La Cienega, many of these towns rely on the sale of their black pottery to survive.  The funnest part is asking for directions. All look bemused at us even though El Grinch is technically a local, he is still foreign.  Directions include 'Take a right at Benito's house', left at the school, go on pass the Jose's house and Jesus's house"  Which one is Jesus's??? We have no idea and just keep trying different roads and it's fun. We are not in a rush for anything.

It's still only 3pm so we are going to take a walk around Oaxaca City as planned this morning. I see a siesta in my sights.

Oaxaca, Mexico

My flight to Mexico City was pretty uneventful. The only highlight was brushing past Anderson Cooper who sat a couple of rows ahead of me. Seeing as the Inauguration is in a few days i am surprised he is not heading to DC.

When i arrived in Mexico City i did a stupid thing. I had Sushi.  I know, i know, i know....

I was meeting El Grinch (Remember El Grinch from my trip last November) and had a few hours to kill before he left work and came to meet me. I was also hungry but didn't want anything heavy. I really, really wanted Sushi. Needless to say it was terrible and it serves me right. Never, ever eat Sushi in Mexico. It makes sense really.

El Grinch met me and our adventure began.  We picked up a trusty little purple Chevvy and we drove, i say we but i mean he, drove for over 6 hours with only minimal bathroom breaks to Oaxaca. I love that neither one of us had a map and neither one of us cared. It was pretty much one straight road via Puebla anyway.  He drove the whole way, no complaints. Through the rain in blackness. I was the GPS and DJ, no complaints about that either. Bonus points awarded. We drove on the paid road. In Mexico you have a choice, the local 'free' roads or the 'paid/toll' roads. The tolls are pretty high and plentiful but it is worth it. The difference between the two is vast and the toll roads are fantastically clean and well kept. More so than most roads i see in the US. I understand from El Grinch the free ones are pretty dangerous and slow.

I would like to write about the stunning scenery but it was pretty much pitch black the entire way after it took over an hour just to get out of Mexico City traffic.  I know there were mountains involved though, lots of them, it was strange not seeing them but feeling ourselves getting higher and higher, our ears occasionally popping.  It was euphoric for us at one point when we realised that we were almost out of gas and somewhere in the middle of nowhere. Just as we started to talk about camping in the rain, no tent surrounded by wild coyotes a gas station appeared from nowhere. At this point we also realised both our phone batteries were dead.

Arrived in Oaxaca in one piece. Even in the dark i could sense how different it was to Mexico City. I could see the outline of the mountains surrounding the city and it definitely lacked the heavy concentration of cars.  It felt less tense and We are staying in the Centro Historico and getting to the hotel took some navigating because neither of us had a clue of where the hotel was. No pdf print outs for us. That's how we roll.  We found the hotel, dumped our bags and straight for the Paloma's. That's how we roll.

After some late night Taco's we headed out on the town. The town was quiet though, it appears the bars and restaurants close early midweek.  Eventually we ended up at a Karaoke/latin dancing bar the name of which i can't recall.  Needless to say i did not partake in either but El Grinch did have that Cervecita and i had my Paloma.  

Kilometers Travelled: 477 to Oaxaca

Listening To: My Oaxaca road trip play list - Damian Marley - Welcome to Jamrock, Santogold - L.E.S.Artistes, Portishead - Dummy, Hot Chip - Made In The Dark

Time Zone: -1 EST

Denver, CO

I have been staying The Curtis hotel the last few nights. I love this hotel and highly recommend it but don't stay on the 10th floor.  My room (1019) as with all the rooms on this floor, are adjoined to other rooms. And the doors between them are thin.

1st night

Woken up around 1.30am by 'Steve's' cellphone next door (1020) I know his name was Steve because he was talking to his wife/girlfriend called Amanda. "Hi Amanda, it's Steve. I know it's early but i miss you. I can't wait to see you again...Mmmmm yeah, yeah, i have been thinking about you too...Mmm..i miss you too baby.." Let's leave it at that. I tuned out with help of CSI Miami.

1st Morning

Steve is a burper..and proud of it. "BUUUURRRRPPP! BUUUURRRP! Oh yeah!" BURRRRP! BURP! YEAH!" He's really in his own private idaho. Except it's not as private as he thinks.

2nd Evening

Steve can't get to sleep. I hear him sighing so loudly i move my hand across to the other side of my king size bed to make sure he's not actually lying in it.

2nd Morning

Steve doesn't like his boss. He spent a good hour on the phone ranting about what a "motherf*cker " Joe is.  As i understand it, Joe is head of sales and Steve's sales are down this qtr. Joe's not buying the global economic crisis.

3rd evening

Steve has left. He has been replaced by a couple.  I have no idea of their names but they are having animalistic sex. I have turned my TV up loud hoping that they might hear it and work out that if they can hear me then i can here them having monkey sex.