Oaxaca.
Sometimes I think I have really good ideas, and sometimes I
decide to sleep on a bus for 8 ½ hours. We boarded at 10:30 and headed out of
Cuernavaca during a lightning storm. Transformers 3 in Español was playing and
although it was captivating, I couldn’t keep my eyes off the lightning storm
outside. Finally I fell asleep. The bus was bumpy, dark, and cold, really cold.
I had the isle so just trying to not break my neck was a task. Im not complaining, I have been on worse
busses, this one was actually very nice, but in comparison to my nice hard thin
mattress at my mexico house, this was like motel 6. We woke up, exhausted and
cold but at our destination.
We hailed a taxi for 50 pasos and headed to our hotel Posada
del centro. This was a quaint hostelesque hotel. Orange walls surrounded a
central garden area, complete with umbrella tables and fresh water. There was a
second floor in the back portion of the hotel with a veranda for drinking tea,
chocolate, or mescal (like veronica and I did).
Our room was quaint. We sprang for the private bathroom, but
rooms were available without. Our room had two beds, a tv a couple dressers and
a bathroom. I was pretty happy with it except for the rank smell of the
bathroom, it often smelled like a porta-potty although it was really clean.
(actually many different parts of Oaxaca reaked of poo).
We sprawled out on the beds in heaven. Kendra took a small
snooze and I facebooked. The boys were just happy to be off the bus.
Sooner than later we headed out into the town. The taxi ride
to our hotel was quick and I was in a daze so the city was a blur. We headed
toward the zocalo. Here is the verdict:
Oaxaca is beautiful.
The streets are all one-way lined with beautiful clay
buildings of different colors.
They have sidewalks (wide ones)
Oaxaca is more or less flat throughout the whole city which
would make it really bikable.
The archetectura is the most beautiful Ive seen.
The streets are lined with venders for everything, and for
cheap(we ate tamales for 10 pesos, like 70 cents)
People are more used to tourists here (I even saw a few
whiteys, which made me realize how much I stick out)
There is a huge cathedral on every corner.
Oaxaca is one of the poorest states in mexico, and yet one
of the most beautiful.
There is a different street Mercado everyday, in a different
part of the town, yet everyday there is one huge central one.
Things are cleaner in Oaxaca, food is covered, and usually
kept out of bees way.
The city is very person friendly. I mean its so easy to walk,
and eat wherever.
You need water all the time, it gets blistering hot.
The zocalo is always a party. Always.
So ill get on to our story.
Everything was overwheliming. The sights, smells, sounds. It
was exhausting and exhilarating. We found a breakfast stop and stumbled in. We
were not disappointed. We were greeted with fresh bread and tortillas. I
ordered a crispy chicken leg with spicy sauce and tortilla chips. It was
wonderful really. During our breakfast
we were serenaded by a live mariachi band. After our bellys were full we headed
out to explore.
The city is hard to describe. I suppose it is the perfect
mixture of a cultural experience and a honeymoon destination. Its so beautiful,
romantic, fun, exciting, cheep and full of life.
We immediately hopped a tourist bus and headed out to Monte
Alban. Monte Alban was built by the Zapotecas in 700-1500AC. It is an archeological dream. Pyramids,
tombs, stones of slaughtered nearby leaders, and the view to rival Machu Pichu.
We met an amazing couple from Seattle. They were retired and boating from
Seattle to Ecuador and back, and taking two years to do so. They started in
October and just started learning Spanish as well. So awesome.
After leaving Monte Alban we headed to the Zocalo to check
out local happenings. We watched a political rally, elderly salsa, and ate
dinner at a small spot similar to taco time.
We headed to bed early since we didn’t have much sleep on
the bus the night before.
Saturday morning we got up early and we jumped on another tour
bus, but not until we bought tamales on the street for 10 pesos.. yeah,
breakfast for 70 US cents.
Our tour bus was crazy. Filled with People from all over
Mexico and also a guy from Columbia. The
tour bus driver was hilarious and made our 10 hour tour of Oaxaca a blast. We
first headed to see the Arbol de Tule, a
tree that takes 50 men to fit around the circumference.
Then we headed more into the desert to Mitla. Mitla is the
most important archeological site in Oaxaca.
It also belongs to the Zapotec culture and was significant for its role
in religion for the tribe. Monte Alban was strictly a political center while Mitla was a place
people in power went to ascend to the next level. The architecture here was
some of the most mystical Ive seen and I wish we had more time to explore.
Next we headed deep into Mexico, up into the mountains, thru
the windy roads, and small pueblos, to
see a petrified waterfall. It was beautiful and worth the trip.
We made a few other small stops then headed back to Oaxaca
for some relax time.
We spent Sunday running around the markets and visiting
churches.
The Verdict:
Oaxaca is one of the most beautiful cities. One in which I
would love to return someday.
This week has been a bit of a blur, the final hurrah. Ive
been incredibly sick but thankfully today Im getting better. Now I am packing
and getting ready to begin our new adventure starting tomorrow when we head to
the states to roadtrip thru AZ, UT, NV, ID, CO, OR, and make it back to WA.
Catch you on the flipside.
No comments:
Post a Comment