Oaxaca

And now, back to our Mexico trip. After a few days in Mexico City, we went off on a six-hour luxury bus journey to Oaxaca.

On Mexican luxury buses, they encourage relaxation. The seats recline into the lap of the person behind you! 

"Ssssh! Please! People relaxing!" 

We got some dirty looks when we started chatting to our friends Anne and Andrew in the seats across from us. After that it was all stage whispers.

We drove through some beautiful mountains and desert on the highway between Mexico City and Oaxaca...

When we got to Oaxaca, we checked into the Los Pilares Hostal...

As you can see, Gordon had no trouble getting comfy in our room.

What a great little hotel! The place was reasonably-priced, immaculate, quiet, and always filled with fresh lilies. The staff couldn't have been nicer or more helpful!

There is lots to do in and around Oaxaca. We visited several markets and I saw some cute egg holders...

Lots of dried chilies!

A cheese shop. Oaxaca is known for its cheese, which is like young Monterey Jack with a Mozzarella texture.

It took Gordon a while to recover from his mezcal sampling session. As you can, that stuff really takes it out of a guy! :)

And here he is...

...near a mole vendor. 

Who was also selling..

Fried peanuts with chile and garlic, and the ubiquitous fried grasshoppers with garlic. Yum. Not!

And here we have molinillos, the wooden whisks Mexicans use to beat hot chocolate. They com ein different sizes. I brought a medium-sized one home with me!

The stalls at the market each had their own electrical meter.

We stopped at the Italian Coffee Company (a coffee shop chain throughout Mexico) for a little refreshment

I had this cold chocolate drink with whipped cream and a biscotti!

Then we walked around Oaxaca some more. This is a beautiful historic theatre.

This artist was "painting" a nearby church with many skeins of thread and a curved needle. It was amazing watching him work. 

This is the Church of Santo Domingo de Guzmán. The clay people outside it are part of an immense art project by Alejandro Santiago called 2,501 Migrants. They represent the 2,500 who have left Santiago's home village of Teococuilco in recent years, in search of opportunity. The 2, 501st person is the artist himself.

Here's a magical tree with fairypuff pink flowers. Anyone know what it's called?

And this guy was playing in the main square and was pretty darn good. Gordon and Andrew thew some money in his basket, so he didn't mind having his photo taken.

Rooster on a pole!

And a platter of Oaxacan meat and cheese specialities. And a bowl of fried greasshoppers.

I preferered the chiles rellenos (stuffed chilies!)

Who is that pale-looking tourist?!

 

 And at the end of the day, we'd all walk back to our hotel, enjoying the Oaxacan night life.

More to come!