Oaxaca! It was all I thought it would be and more. I loved the vibe in Oaxaca. Amazing food, amazing folk art artisans(more on that in another blog post) and super friendly people.
There was great street food on every corner and all types of mole! There are 7 types of Oaxacan mole, the most typical one is mole negro the savory sweet variety that most people know. But there is rojo, amarillo, verde and several more varieties . I attempted to try all of them! I don't think I ate a bad meal while I was there. I did eat mostly off the street which to me is the best way. I ate at Tacos del Carmen a food stand featured in a Netfilx series on Latin American street food .
I spent ten days in Oaxaca in a really nice authentic Mexican Airbnb in a typical neighborhood right around the corner from one of the local markets. My Airbnb hosts lived on the property and they had four little studios with kitchens around a courtyard. Clara and her daughter Constanza are such beautiful people and we quickly became friends.
My little studio.
One of the first things I tried to do when I arrive in a new place is to take the free walking tour, which helps me orient myself to the city center. I took a walking tour the second day I arrived and it was a great one! I met some interesting folks and ended up hanging out with a few of them.
Marty and Linda were from Maryland and like me, they were doing some slow travel through out Mexico for about 3 months. Marty and Linda were seasoned travelers and it was interesting to listen to their travel stories. We hung out for a couple of days before they left for the Oaxacan coast . We visited a beautiful Art Centre in an old Textile plant in San Augustin Etla.
I hope to stay in touch with them as they travel through Mexico and maybe we will cross paths again. Marty was a fantastic photographer.
I also met Nina and Paige on the walking tour as well. They were both solo travelers who were staying in the same hotel and ended up hanging with each other. When it comes to doing tours it is always so much more economical to pair up with others. They were both passionate about textiles and travel. Super interesting ladies and I was glad to have spent some time with them before they left.
Facebook has it's faults, I know, but the one thing that helps travelers like me is joining groups who are local to the area you are visiting. I always get a wealth of information from these groups.
From a Oaxaca FB group I was told there was a WhatsApp group of Mexican travelers in Oaxaca that had all kinds of activities and once I figured out how to follow the threads on WhatsApp, I was able to find out what were some of the events were around Oaxaca that a tourist may not know about. I met up with two ladies from this group and went to a concert of Organs at one of the Cathedrals. It was super cool and it was really one of the only times I actually walked the city at night. I don't go out at night very often by myself.
The town was full of murals, street art and wonderfully painted houses. It is a photographer's playground for sure! I couldn't decide what pictures to post as I had so many! So I made a short video of some of my favorites
I really enjoyed my time in Oaxaca and I would encourage anyone who is on the fence about exploring this area to go!
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