YOLO in Oaxaca Feb 2023

Oaxaca 

No, this isn't one of the vehicles dragged onto the road to burn as a protest by the narco traffickers.  Just an unfortunate truck that maybe just overheated.  These roads are harsh on vehicles, especially if they aren't maintained properly.  The truck above was on our way to Oaxaca, along the mountain road.

If you look at the arrow on the road below, you'll notice it is going against us!  The traffic was directed to go back and forth across the lanes as we wound our way up the set of blind curves over the mountains.  Truly terrifying as you never knew if the vehicle coming down the mountain was following the arrows or 'normal' driving on the right lane.  And the yellow center line remained the entire time. In this photo, we're actually driving on the 'wrong' side of the road!  The big semi trucks needed the extra room to make the turns so the traffic patterns had to adjust.

A roadside view of the mountains we were passing over.

We tucked into a spot between the road and the canyon, with a pile of old rocks to block us from being seen from the road. We stayed here two nights as we really enjoyed the solitude and the view--nobody in sight!

Our view looking over the edge of the canyon.

We finally made it back across the mountains again to Oaxaca.  It's a big city, about 715,000 people, sitting at about 5000 feet in elevation. It's a foodie haven and we have even tried some of the local foods for a change. We parked along a busy city street and walked to this park along the old quarries, a hidden gem amid the crazy city traffic

Mexican cities are filled with lots of statues and monuments. These abstract ladies were just posed along one of the streets we happened to wander down.

One of many, many old religious buildings in Oaxaca.  The important buildings here are made of green cantera, a local volcanic stone that is known to last and stay strong.  The green cantera is strong for building; the pink is softer and used for carving.

Another cathedral near us.  I was surprised at the huge colored domes on many of them.

The Benito Juarez market is mostly breads.  The huge loaves are truly family sized.

The giant crispy tortillas in the stacks onthe right are used to make a local speciality called tlayudas (kleye-you-dahs).  They spread beans, meat and veges and add local cheese, then fold and grill it til the cheese melts.  Yummy with your choice of sauces.  The stalls all also had the fresh sausages (chorizo) for sale.

The biggest chocolate seller in town.  They gave us some samples to taste.  Sweet and yummy.  Who doesn't love chocolate?

Cocoa pods on the floor and chocolate bread buns by the bag.  We tried one of the buns but the chocolate flavor was too mild to make us buy more.

Another chocolate shop across the street, grinding chocolate nibs into cocoa powder.  They add sugar and mix it into a paste, which is then used to make hot chocolate drinks.  A popular breakfast is a roll they dunk into the hot chocolate and eat.

Some unusual treats at one of the chocolate shops.  Look closely at the shapes.

The other major fresh food market is named "20th of November" after an important date here.  There is an alley through the market where there were lots of stalls like this one selling meat to throw onto the hot grills along the row.  Fresh and raw, ready to cook to your liking.

More meat vendors.

Smoking hot grills ready to cook your purchase for you in the 'smoke alley'.

On the streets, ladies sell these 'chapulines' by the scoopful.  They are grasshoppers fried in lime, salt, and chile til they get crunchy.  They are a very popular topping in tlayudas.  I tried one and they aren't bad.  Some folks munch on them as snacks, too.

A closeup of a pile of chapulines--grasshoppers.  Yes, I had some on my tlayudas.

The chicken sellers were dancing in their stall.  Notice how yellow the chickens here look.

This local cheese, quesillo (which translates to 'rope cheese') comes in a big block.  The flat rope of cheese is pulled off and wound around their hands into a ball about the size of a softball to resell. It melts and gets gooey in the local dishes.  A very mild flavored cheese.

Mole is a regional speciality, originating here in Oaxca.  There are many different varieties of the paste, which is then diluted and used as a cooking sauce for many dishes.  Chiles and chocolate make up the main ingredients .Believe it or not, it's not one of my favorite Mexican foods, even though I love chiles and chocolates.

A man playing a huge wooden xylophone or marimba in the plaza.

The corner of an old adobe building that has gone to ruin.  Such character in its current state.

A tour bus for a mezcal tour.  Mezcal is an alcoholic drink made from cactus, but not true tequila.  It's very popular around these parts, usually flavored with fruit juices or coffee.

Some ladies in local dress costumes in the main square of town, called the Zocalo.

Looking up at the face of another religious building.  I couldn't keep straight the churches, convents, cathedrals, and basillicas here; I have to consult my map every time.  They are all made with the green cantera stone and are all ornate and beautiful.  And old, some dating from the 1530's.

Men in ceremonial dress, gathered for a photo before they joined the festival.

Colorful set of umbrellas actually provide some shade for the courtyard outside the old convent here.  It was recently refurbished by a very wealthy patron who came from Oaxaca and has opened this to the public.

The wall of cactus was interesting.  The old convent now functions as a gallery and library for the indigenous languages studies.

The herringbone pattern in the courtyard bricks is unique here.

The walkway to the bathroom was lined in tiles that I think are black bats on white background.

A poster in the foyer about a festival that night.  We stumbled into it later.

The head on its side with a flower is an icon here in Oaxaca.  It represents the head of an old Zapotecan princess, Donaji.  She was beheaded a tribal war and years later, a farmer dug up a flower along a river. Its roots were entwined in her head.  The entire legend is a bit longer, but this symbol is found in many places here in town.

On our walking tour, we stumbled into a 'calenda', a celebration that takes to the streets for any number of reasons: weddings, anniversaries, birthdays, etc.  A family pays for the party, complete with the big ball, big persons, costumes, and music.  They close off the street and pass out drinks and pull in strangers to dance.  Anyone can join in the celebration, even if you don't know the people.

An unusual statue on a balcony.

These red seed pods fall from the trees around here.  They are sold in little bundles in the markets.  You can peel them open and find bright green, flat seeds that locals eat for a snack.  They taste like wild peas and are more work than nourishment.

Another calenda figure at another party we passed.

This old man figure is a popular one in many of the festivals.  His kind represent the old man who works hard and gets to celebrate once in a while.  They always have the woven grass hats, a long beard and tatters of cloth making up their outfits.  This giant one was outside a building that curates the best of the local arts from all over the state of Oaxaca and displays and sells them.  He is standing on the top of the ancient aqueduct that goes through the city in neighborhood of Xochimilco.

The stone cross, Cruz de Piedra.  Amy and Margie on the left were our tour compadres and we spent a few days checking out the sights in town with them.

Amy along the aqueduct.

Margie and I shared this chocolate drink, scooped out of a huge tub on a street food stall.  Interesting and refreshing, but we couldn't figure out what the chalky white foam on top was.

 

The tub of steaming tamales of all sorts.  We had a salsa verde one with chicken and it changed my mind about liking tamales. It was good.

We also tried a tlayuda here.  A huge crispy tortilla folded over beans, chicken, and veges, plus cheese.

Lady in the festival carrying the basket on her head.

An old hotel from the 1930's has retained it glamourous interior.

You could imagine a movie star from the early 1900s eating and staying here.

We went back to the market for lunch.  Here Margie is getting a juice from afresh juice vendor.

The huge courtyard of the basillica.

The ornate gold over the altar.  They've replaced most of the real gold to prevent theives or vandals from taking it.

A unusul fruit called mamay.  Still haven't tried this sweet treat.

This wall symbolizes a famous song that translates to "God Never Dies".  It's a sort of de facto anthem of the state.

Our walking tour intercepted the Festival from the poster, representing all thetraditions of the different areas of the state of Oaxaca.  This jaguar was in one of the first groups to pass us.

Devil head masks and hide chaps were the theme for this goup and many others.  They seemed like they were having a great time, too.

Real horns, whips, chains, bells and such make up the costumes. These devils loved to dance.

We don't understand the meaning behind some of these masks.

Jason called this group 'the bankers'.

Grease painted bodies started coming down the street.

The festival participants often carried jugs and bottles and bowls of alcoholic drinks that they passed out to spectators like us instead of beads and candy like at Mardi Gras parades in the States.  This bamboo shot glass was filled with mezcal for me, and I got to keep the shot glass. A lady gave us a tiny bowl of some pumpkin booze and we were given others we didn't know what they were.

Turkeys are a popular meat here in some dishes and this group is from the area where they raise them. 

The women from the area where they grow onions gave out onions to the crowd.

Jason with Margie and Amy at the Festival Parade, the equivalent of the Mardi Gras parade here.

Stilt walkers were a popular group in the festival parade.

Lots of bamboo stilts.

These devils are purple and black body painted

The body paint wore off it you touched them and it was difficult to remove.

Moss and long braided yarn for hair were different.

A one-of-a-kind figure in the parade.

Even the Police got in on the end of the parade.

Some locals in  ceremonial garb walking thru the Zocalo park.

This woman carried cappacinos and frappes on a tray on her head while talking on her phone.  Then we saw her sit down on the stone wall without spilling a drop.  Amazing.  

More ladies in traditional dress in the Zocalo.

The homes and businesses along the street are painted a rainbow of colors.  Very pleasing to the eyes.

At the corner of the park where we spent our days, a local celebration or protest occurred.  Hard to tell the difference since we couldn't understand what the speakers were blaring out.

Above the city is a stadium and an old observatory that overlooks the Pan American Highway.  Paintings in the tunnel were interesting, one showing the faces of important people in the history of the city. 

 This one is another of the Zapotecan princess Donaji with the flower growing out of her head.

At the top of the hill, we had a great view of the city in all directions.

The local Police are all over this city and we feel quite safe.  This truck of police didn't even have the normal machine gun mounted on the rooftop.  They stopped for me to take a photo and smiled and waved.

 

We also visited the Stamp Museum in town.  Thought it would be small, but it covered most of a city block and had hundreds of thousands of stamps to look at, most in pull-out panels sorted by category.  This old VW Bug was covered in stamps instead of paint; even the interior upholstery was printed stamp material.

Amy and Margie decided to do the nighttime bike ride through town from this bike shop.  Jason and I sat with them while they filled out the paperwork.  Jason and Amy in a serious discussion about something.

Amy and Margie braving Oaxaca on bicycles.

A cool neon sign at night near where we parked.  It was for a theatre or the tourist bureau, I think.

People here will gather for a party, festival, or a protest.  We found three blocks of tents where we'd walked the day before.  They were protesting the snatching of children or people, from what we could translate from some of the signs.  We saw a march of people go by our van the day before, so that may have been the setup for this occupation of the streets.

The Oaxaca Lending Library was an oasis of English-speaking folks with lots of resources, including the internet to update this blog.  Jason is helping a volunteer to measure black screening material they wanted to use to augment the shades to keep the hot sun off their rooftop.

Amy and Jason at La Bibiara, the restaurant where we had lunch on our last planned day in Oaxaca.  The owner lady offered us free beers and peanut snacks as she was still waiting for her help to come back from the market and didn't want to lose our business.

Jason with his tostadas for lunch.

My tlayuda with the dark sprinkling of grasshoppers.  I also got a small bowl of spicy meat to spread on them.  A tasty local lunch for about $10.