I have decided to divide my Oaxaca adventure into days because we did so much that it is easier to discuss. I also thought it would be less overwhelming in multiple posts than one long, enormous chunk of text.
We arrived to Oaxaca early Sunday morning. After breakfast, we had the morning free to explore and rest from our journey. The sun was out and we were ready. With a recommendation from Don Antonio we were off. We first headed to Santo Domingo, a few blocks away. Santo Domingo (see Facebook for a ton of pictures) is one of the original Dominican churches in the area. The inside is all plated in gold. The walls and ceilings of the cathedral are incredibly ornate and beautiful. Adjacent to the church is a cultural museum. We were told it was free on Sundays – turns out only for Mexican residents. I was excited though because the worker asked me if I was Mexican – maybe my Spanish is improving? We decided to wait for another day and continued to walk around the plaza. We were bombarded by women and children selling wooden spoons and necklaces. When you say “no” to one, another with the same stuff appears. I enjoyed the rest of our walk with a blended granita (called a capuchino frappe) from the Italian Coffee Company. Next we headed to the mercado. The boys were interested in sampling the chapulines (grasshoppers). On the way to the market, we got separated but ultimately ended up back together. The market is full of leather products, artisan crafts, fruit, meat, and lots of crap that says Oaxaca on it. I decided to keep my eyes out but come back at the end of the week to make purchases.
For lunch, we met back at the hostel and walked together to the restaurant. We ate every lunch at the same restaurant because it was related to the hostel. The restaurant was located in the socala (town center) and we sat outside. Each meal included a fruit juice, soup, and meal. Our first lunch was a basic chicken breast with rice and veggies. We were all eager to add limon (lime) to our food but this brought the bees out. People were scampering about to avoid the bees – they were everywhere. Sarah is allergic to bees so we were trying to get her away from them too. Who knew bees liked lime? I decided to finish my lunch and enjoy an ice cream cone – cookies and cream.
After lunch, we met a local guide who gave us a walking tour of the city. We talked about the cathedral next to the socala (much simpler than Santo Domingo) and the history of the city. We then walked up the pedestrian pathway – an amazingly long street closed off to traffic but filled with art galleries, restaurants, and shops. We stopped a beautiful white house which is now an art galley and visited a fancy hotel. Camino Real was initially a covenant for nuns, then a jail, then a school, and is now a hotel. The property was gorgeous and they had pictures of before and after the renovations. We asked about the pool and they said only hotel guests could use it so I asked how much for a night. Turns out 4000 pesos will get you a night here and a swim in the pool – damn, this is Mexico! We continued on our walk past Santo Domingo and looped back past a bunch of restaurants. We began to realize that every recommendation from our guide was the high class life here. This was interesting contrast to the families we saw begging on the street or the women who kept approaching us to buy their goods.
Things were pretty quite on Sunday, as they are in most cities, so we kept it quite. We ate dinner in the market – a sampling of local food – tlayudas (giant tortillas), quesadillas con quesillo (local cheese), and chile relleno. After dinner, we went to a second level bar on the recommendation of some guys on the street. The drinks were overpriced and the service was terrible. Needless to say, we left early. We all slept well that night in our giant room. The girls shared a 12-bed sleeping room next to the boys’ room. Each person had a locked cubby to keep their bag. My giant backpack and sleeping bag fit well. I slept easily.
No comments:
Post a Comment