From San Christobal we got to Oaxaha (ohaka) after a rather comfortable 12 hour overnight bus journey. The Oaxaca bus terminal is swank, much like an airport. We took a taxi into the city centre and started our search for a hostel. For low season, every hostel seemed surprisingly full and bloody expensive. After our longest search up until now, we finally found Dona Mario.
The city is a beautiful colonial city but unfortunately we've done too many now to be over excitied by it. We walked around for a few hours but the heat and midday son was really getting to us. Nu is on antibiotics and a decongesant tablet, both of whihc were making her really sleepy and tired. The long bus ride didn't help either. We got street tortilos for lunch that were decent but not exceptional.
We had heard so much about Oaxacan cuisine that we were definitely going to try some of it. One of their specialities is grass hopper or Chapulinas, sometimes fried to crisp with chillis on top, sometimes steamed, and apparently sometimes even live. The fried ones seemed ok except for the smell of dried fish. I thought about it long and hard before deciding not to try it.
Mole is another Oaxacan speciality. It is a paste made of chocolate, chillies and other spices which is then used in curries or as a marinade. It comes in a few forms Mole Negro, Mole colarado etc. We tried the mole negro and it was definitely interesting, like nothing I have tasted before. The chocolate was strong and chilli added a slight zing. I think they could use some more chilli to balance the chocolate but then who am I to play with tradition. The sauce is thick and a dark black. It reminded me of chywanprash if you know what that is. Definitely a new taste for us. We also tried a refresco made of rice powder and milk or water, spiced with cinnamon, called horchata, again interesting. It did seem like it could ferment into alcohol, a little like the first tapped toddy.
Today we continued our gastronomical journey at the Mercado 20 Novembre. It is an interesting market, with vendors selling you everything from fried grasshopper, to clothes, to fresh meat and fruit. We had the tortilla con chorizo, and consalchicha oaxaquena, very nice and then we had the Tlayudas con asiento, a taco based sandwhich filled with all sorts of vegetable, oaxaca queso or cheese, and meat...fantastic!!Some churros, and a street side pastery and our 3 course lunch was a hit.
Zocalo, the central plaza in Oaxaca is lively. A live orchestra plays on the band stand in the evening and it is a good orchestra. Streets are filled with ballon sellers, and comedians doing their act, and vendors with all kinds of fruit , potato chips, and other foods. It is very touristic but not in a bad way.
It was a beautiful sight to watch the older generation (60 to 80) dance their woes away to the live orchestra. Touching, when you notice the effort they have made to dress up to enjoy their evening. The highlight for me was the look on the face, and the brightening of the eyes of a septugenerian when his daughter arrived late, but just in time, to partner her father for his first dance.
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