seemaskt

Our taxi drops us off close to the zocalo, from where it's a short walk to our next stop, the Textile Museum. I love ethnic textiles and textural fabrics, and as someone who can spend hours on websites or in stores looking at ikats, suzanis, batik, otomi and the goldmine that is Indian weaving/embroidery/kalamkari etc., I can't wait to see this museum. The museum is located in another pretty restored colonial era mansion but their current exhibit is a very modern and provocative interpretation and use of fabrics. Not what I was expecting. The stairs leading to the galleries upstairs seem to be closed off; maybe that is where the more traditional textiles are usually located? I'd be curious to know. A big sigh...this is my only disappointment of the trip.

From here, we decide to do some gallery hopping, stopping at MACO on Alcala (which we like) and Arte de Oaxaca (which we don't care for). We also check out a couple of shops mentioned in the Lonely Planet looking for arts and crafts to buy, but nothing really appeals to us. We quench our thirst with a mango and banana smoothie in a tiny cafe, which sustains us in the heat of the afternoon. Wandering back along Labastida, we spot Cafe Los Cuiles, a cozy cafe with several couches to sink to and overlooking our favorite plaza. Perfecto! So this is where we spend the next hour, happy. One of the things I want to do on this trip is a day trip + short hike in one of the Pueblos Mancomunados, a commonwealth of 8 remote villages high up in the Sierra Norte mountains north of the Tlacolula valley. I would have loved to do a 2 day trip here, walking from one village to the next and staying in their cabanas overnight. But, we don't have time for that. I've researched a company called Tierraventura, so we walk over to their offices a few blocks north east of Santo Domingo to book a trip with them.

We meet Eric, who is from Oaxaca, grew up in California, returned 10 years ago and now helps run Tierraventura. We talk to him about our options - given our limited time, we want a 3 hour walk/hike through one of the villages. Llano Grande is a hike through cloud forests and focuses more on natural beauty and Cuajimoloyas is a larger village. The hike between the two seems like it could be a fun day, but it's 5 hours long which we're not too sure about. In the end, we pick Benito Juarez, the closest village at a little over an hour and a half away, for our trip on Thursday. These villages are at a much higher elevation; Benito Juarez is at 10000 ft, so this is also a consideration when planning hiking activities. Eric helps us with one more thing. I had read on a blog before leaving NYC, that some of the villages around the city, particularly San Martin Tilcajete, have fun Carnival celebrations. We ask Eric about it and he calls his friend who lives in Tilcajete to get the details for us. How serendipitous! It sounds like there will be dancing in front of the Mayor's house tomorrow at 9am, followed by dancing in the main square at 2pm. Awesome! The plan for tomorrow is now falling into place - we'll go to Monte Alban in the morning followed by Tilcajete in the afternoon. Thank you Eric!

seemaskt

Eric recommends a coffee shop that his friend runs, so we get some tea/coffee + cookies to go and walk over to Santo Domingo to watch the church get bathed in the golden light of sunset. We end up sitting here for a while, even getting a Tuna (the fruit) sorbet from a street cart as if all the sugar from the cookies aren't enough. We see carts selling Tejate, the traditional pre-Hispanic and very popular corn and cacao drink, but the texture of it and the foam floating on top perplexes me and puts me off the drink. Very bad decision. Because, we finally try it a few days later and love it, and wish we'd drunk it every day, no wait, multiple times a day on this trip. Grrr. We walk down Alcala and Cinco de Mayo, checking out a few more shops and turn into Matamoros to see a pottery shop that Rene had told us about. It's Javier Servin - and his shop has really beautiful pottery in a more modern style as well as a few alebrijes (the vividly colored Oaxacan folk art sculptures of animals and fantastical creatures) from Arrazola and Tilcajete. We really want to buy an alebrije, but not until we've seen some of the workshops in Tilcajete tomorrow. But, checking out what's available in Oaxaca city gives us a good idea of styles, workmanship and most importantly, prices. Because, these little carvings can be really expensive!

For dinner, we walk over to La Biznaga, on Garcia Vigil. This is a lovely restaurant with a big courtyard in the middle and we get seated right away. A few minute late and we would have had to wait. I get another maragrita, while Ajit tries the Indio beer. We start with an appetizer of hoja santa leaf stuffed with queso and squash blossoms - this is very good and the leaf has a very intriguing flavor. For the main course, I have the beef tenderloin with goat cheese in a mole coloradito - the beef and mole are great, but I think they are too heavy handed with the goat cheese which overpowers all the other more interesting flavors. Ajit has a Tasajo (thin slices of grilled beef) braised with chorizo, beer and onions in a poblano chili sauce. This is fabulous. We want to have the guava dessert, but there is no room for it in our bellies. Another great dinner and it's off to bed. There is lots to look forward to tomorrow!

Coming up: Monte Alban, Carnival dancing in Tilcajete and a visit to Jacobo and Maria Angeles' home/studio.

yestravel

Enjoying your TR. It brings back memories of our visits to Oaxaca.

seemaskt

Thanks yestravel!

One thing I forgot to mention is that on Monday, we talk to Rene about doing a cooking class with his sister Pilar on Wednesday. He calls and holds a place for us, but asks that we swing over to La Jolla as soon as we can to put down a deposit. We do that first before heading over to Santo Domingo.

I will have more tomorrow.

seemaskt

Correction: Pilar's restaurant is La Olla...I've misspelt it a couple of times above.

<b><u> Monte Alban, carnival dancing and the most amazing alebrijes you'll ever see:</b></u>

Tuesday morning is another gorgeous day and for breakfast, we're having a guava and mint juice with strips of crisp tortilla simmered in a black bean sauce and sprinkled with queso. We say good bye to Rose and Larry as they're off to one of the villages to help photograph a new library that's being inaugurated. They'll be staying at a sister B&B, El Secreto, when they return to the city. Bulmaro is supposed to drop off the rugs at 8:30 but there is no sign of him, so Rene offers to check with him and leave the rugs in our room if they arrive when we are not around. The bus to Monte Alban runs every hour starting at 8:30 and we're hoping to take the one at 9:30. It's a 15 minute walk straight down to Mina, where the Autobuses Turísticos office is located and where we buy 2 round trip tickets. We will need to return on the first bus back at noon, so we can eat lunch and get to Tilcajete by 2. A little rushed but we hope it's enough time to enjoy the site. Monte Alban sits atop a flat hill a few kilometers away and it takes 20 minutes along a narrow, winding road to get up there. I'm thankful that I remembered to take the Dramamine this morning.

It's relatively quiet at this time of day with no lines for tickets, so we are able to get in and walk around without bumping into crowds. We don't hire a guide because we usually like to take in sights at our own pace, pausing when we like for however long we want etc. Each pyramid or structure in the site has some English signage and that supplemented with the LP is sufficient for us. I'm sure others will feel differently. Monte Alban is the ancient Zapotec capital, built in various phases, starting about 500 BC all the way through 950 AD, peaking between 300-700 AD. Most of the structures we see now dates from this time, when the population was about 25,000. There are 360 degree views of the valley and undulating mountains from up here, but it's very hazy. I think the views are likely better in the rainy season. It's not too hot though and there is a light breeze making for a very pleasant morning. Our favorite structures are the ball court, the North platform, the pyramids to the right as you view them from the North platform which have some great geometrical designs on them, and the Los Danzantes which have some interesting (!) stone carvings. Walking up the steps to the top of the South platforms affords expansive views of the entire site. It's pretty spectacular, the entire site I mean. Before we know it, it's almost noon and we speed walk back to the bus.

Once the bus drops us back in the center, we walk towards the Mercado Abastos to Prolongación Victoria.This is where the LP says we can find collectivo taxis to San Martin Tilcajete. As we walk into the busy street, we yell Tilcajete and sure enough, a driver immediately waves and points to his taxi bound for Ocotlan. We get the last 2 seats in the front so off we go. It's a tight fit, but with music blaring from the radio and the windows open, this is a cheap and fun way to get around. In Guatemala, we have taken collectivos that meant being squeezed into the back of a pickup truck with 20 locals and 30 chickens. Ok, I am exaggerating, a little, but you get the picture. All fantastic experiences! We arrive at the turnoff into Tilcajete in about 20 minutes and get dropped off along the highway. There is a restaurant, Azucena Zapoteca, across the highway, very conveniently (sarcastic) located. It's owned by the Angeles family. The food is not bad and they have an extensive menu - Ajit has an empanada with pollo and mole amarillo while I have grilled chorizo with tortillas.There's spiced peanuts and fried tortilla chips with salsa to munch on, and a zucchini soup - all complementary with the mains. We don't have much time to linger here since we have a date with some carnival dancers; as we walk out, who do we run into but Louis, our driver from Sunday. He's here with another group, taking them to several villages along the Ocotlan route. We stop to chat for a little bit and bid him goodbye for a second time. Will this be the last time we see Louis?

It's a 1 km walk from the highway to the center of Tilcajete. As we get closer, we can hear a lot of music and commotion - looks like the festivities have started. The main street is lined on both sides with homes selling the alebrijes. We get to the square just in time to catch a mock wedding ceremony with the honorary bride and groom of the parade. Then, the band starts playing and the dancing begins. There are cross-dressers (one very pretty one!), many whimsical costumes that look a lot like the alebrijes produced in the village, young men and boys greased in indigo colored oil wearing masks and brandishing spears, with several village onlookers and a few tourists including us cheering them on. The oil rubbed men also have cow bells around their waists - a bell in the front and a few at the back. There are also couple of very cute boys who love posing for pictures. It's really not a big fancy parade, just a way for those in the village to celebrate and make merry prior to Lent. The band is the local school band and they are very good - I think we need to have them come to Oaxaca and give the police band there a lesson or two! We hum their catchy tunes the rest of the afternoon. Soon, beverages are passed around and we take a glass. It's tepache - a local drink made with fermented pineapple, sugar and cinnamon. It's sour and definitely has a kick to it. With the festivities quietening down a little (most people are getting food and beer), we continue walking along the dusty road hoping to find Jacobo and Maria's home. We ask someone for directions, and while we don't understand much of what they say, it does sound like quite a walk from the main street. Luckily, we see a moto taxi and for 10 pesos, he drops us off at the Angeles home.

emd3

Wow, that festival in Tilcajete was a real find. Don't you love it when your travel time coincides with something local like that?

Is the Azucena Zapoteca restaurant the nice one with outdoor tables on the side, and a nice high quality shop next to it, and some stands where locals arts and clothing are sold? if so, pretty much all tourist guides stop there, but for good reason, the food is good and there are good quality items for shopping, with families that do not go all the way in to Oaxaca city to sell.

Speaking of Ocotlan, we had our guide, Linda Hanna, take us there one day to an incredible knife maker. he makes fantastic knives and machetes and swords from old car engine parts. We watched him forge the steel and make a blade, very cool. And we bought a great kitchen knife from him which he engraved right there for us with our last name and date of our 25th anniversary which occurred on that trip. highly recommend that knife maker, very cool demonstration, and he makes machetes and swords for generals in the MX army. he is well-known, and a down to earth sweet guy.

Did you make it to the abastos market? It is very colorful, with an area for animals for sale, we watched people buying live turkeys. Around Abastos is where you can find jewelry shops that handmake and sell the fine 10K gold filigree earrings Oaxaca is famous for.

emd3

I think you would really enjoy Merida, another beautiful colonial city with a lot of art and culture, concerts in the parks each night, dancing and music in the streets that are closed off by the zocalo on fri and sat nights, and the area surrounding Merida has an incredible wealth of fantastic archeological sites and old henequen haciendas for day trips.

SusanInToronto

Excellent report!

seemaskt

Hi emd, yes that's the restaurant I'm referring to and I may have been a little harsh with my conveniently located comment earlier. The restaurant wasn't touristy, just filled with tourists only. I'm personally not fond of places that primarily attract tourists. But, like I said, the food was pretty good. We didn't get a chance to check out the store though given we were rushing to be at the village by 2.

The engraved knife sounds like a wonderful anniversary present! We did get to the market on Friday, but didn't see him. We love markets and can spend full days there, so much fun.

Thanks for the Merida recommendation. It's on my list now along with Puebla. I love Talavera pottery, but need to save up before I go on another spending spree lol.

Thanks Susan! I'm finally wrapping by day 3. With all the details flowing out of my head, this is taking a little longer than expected.

seemaskt

Tilcajete is a Zapotec village and one famous of its wood carving, the other being Arrazola. Amongst the families that produce these carvings or alebrijes, Jacobo and Maria Angeles are widely regarded as the best in the business. As we enter their home, Jacobo waves to us. We recognize him from the coffee table book about them in the living room at Milagros. He's busy rubbing oil all over himself and getting ready to join the Carnival festivities so has one of his family members take us on a quick tour. There are about 70-80 family members who work in the studio to produce these amazing works of art. We see a few more carnival revelers here that we recognize - they appear to be part of the family. Everyone's a little distracted though, understandably, so our tour is a tad disorganized. We first go to a shed to watch one of the artists deftly carve the alebrije from copal wood. It sometimes takes months to dry the wood after the carving and treatment process is complete. If you place a custom order, you could receive your piece almost a year later. The carvings come in all sorts of ingenious shapes and sizes, with the artist using his imagination and the unique curves of the copal branch that he's working with to inspire his creativity.

They use only natural dyes for the painting, which is done free-handed using very fine brush work creating incredibly intricate designs that take weeks to complete. The designs are inspired by traditional Zapotec motifs and it's beautiful to watch the pieces come to life as they are painted. At the end, we step into their gallery/store - there are some truly awe inspiring pieces including a jaguar and a monkey that are very large and cost tens of thousands of dollars so we drool over them for a while. Then we turn our attention to the small pieces looking for something to buy. There are only a couple of pieces even close to our price range, so very sadly we decide not to purchase anything here. We get the names of 2 other stores in Oaxaca that carry their work and hope to have better luck there. As we leave, we are able to find a moto taxi to take us back to the main square, where the crowd of merry makers are now some what drunk. We are told the dancing will continue until about 8pm. As we walk back to the highway, we stop at another house to look at the alebrijes, but after having seen Jacobo and Maria's work, nothing else seems to come even close. Back on the highway, we wait along with a few other people for a bus or collectivo going back to Oaxaca from Ocotlan. We get lucky once again, and in 5 mins, an AC mini-bus stops and we are on our way back. We pay 40 pesos for both of us each way, which is a steal.

We are back in the city by around 5 and get dropped off a few blocks south of the zocalo. We wander around the zocalo and side streets for a bit, pausing to admire the opera house Teatro Macedonio de Alcala, a beautiful green domed building built in the early 1900s. Then we go to the 2 stores that sell the alebrijes we're looking for - we see a few lovely pieces roughly in our price range (which keeps going up like when you are house hunting!), an owl particularly catches our eye, but we decide to check out the ones we saw at Javier Servin before we commit ourselves. We're not surprised to discover that what looked beautiful to our untrained eyes yesterday, now looks quite ordinary and not as appealing. So, back we go to the shop on Alcala and buy our little owl. And, it sits proudly, watching over us, in our living room today. With our purchase, we get a certificate of authenticity along with a leaflet explaining the specific symbols used in the painting of the owl. We're glad we're only here for a week; leave us here for a month and I'm sure we'll drain out our bank account!

For dinner, we go to La Olla. There is complementary chips and salsa to start off with. We start with the spinach, mango and avocado salad, which is average. I have a tamale cooked in a banana leaf with chicken and zucchini flowers with mole negro on the side that's really good. I can just drink the mole up - the best I've had so far. Ajit has the rabbit cooked in a red mole (I think) which he enjoys. Dessert is a mango mousse with a hibiscus jelly. This is a very casual restaurant with not much to speak of in terms of ambiance, but a great spot for dinner nonetheless. Pilar serves a prix-fixe (comida corrida) lunch menu but we don't get a chance to try it. We'll be back here tomorrow to meet up for our cooking class. Thus ends another fine day in this wonderful city.

emd3

I felt ho-hum about Las Ollas when we had dinner there.

But put this on your list for next time. One of the very best meals we have ever had in Oaxaca is the comida at the restaurant at the lovely Hotel Parador San Miguel. We were shocked at how incredibly good the meal was. The fragrance of the soup still is in my mind. And the chicken dish was astounding, like a stew but with all these multilayers of flavors. HIGHLY recommend comida there. It isn't just a bargain, the quality far surpassed many dinners we have had in other restaurants in Oaxaca. We always go there for comida on each trip now.

emd3

P.S. Puebla is incredible also, have been there many times, along with Cholula. Puebla on a Sunday is one of my favorite places in MX.

Of course Patzquaro and all the villages around the lake are right up there too. Patzquaro is wonderful.

seemaskt

That dinner sounds lovely emd...for our next time. Yes, Patzcuaro, Morelia and Guanjuato are on my list too. Sigh, so much to see, so little time.

Hope you're having a good weekend.

emd3

Here is the restaurant. We stayed at the hotel where it is for our 25th anniversary. It was really lovely, and two blocks off the zocalo.

http://www.paradorsanmigueloaxaca.co...restaurant.htm

emd3

And I like that your little owl is watching over you...very nice choice!

seemaskt

Thanks for the link, emd. That restaurant does look great. Makes me want to eat Oaxacan food again. Rene recommended La Fonda in NYC, we need to head there soon.

seemaskt

<b><u> A fantastic cooking class and Marimba and dancing in the zocalo </b></u>

Today is our fourth day here and we have the one of the best breakfasts ever. It's an omelette stuffed with sauteed mango slices, onions, quesilla and chile served over a spinach sauce that has garlic, pecans and chile in it. I would never have thought to put mango in an omelette and the result is divine. We talk to Rene about buying some pottery that is both traditional, and yet modern and he gives us the names of a couple of artists and shops that we should check out. Our cooking class with Pilar starts at 9:30, so we walk over to La Olla and meet up with the other 7 people who will be in the class with. Our first order of business is to walk to a local market 10 minutes away to buy the ingredients for our lunch - corn masa freshly made, queso fresco, chiles, banana leaves, squash blossoms, nopale (cactus leaf), poblano peppers, avocado leaves and herbs like the epazote that are unique to Mexican cuisine. We're with Pilar and Joan (an American who's lived in Oaxaca for several years and works with Pilar as a consultant for the restaurant and cooking class). We've seen a fruit in the markets here that we've only had in India (we call it sapota or chikoo) and learn it's called zapota here. It's always fun to discover common threads in languages and peoples across the world; so interesting. There's also a type of zapota called memey that is shaped like a mango and is more orange than brown on the inside but tastes just like zapota. It's delicious and is used a lot in desserts, smoothies and jellies in Oaxaca. Before we leave, we watch the only woman butcher in the market skillfully cut almost paper thin sheets of meat from a large slab of beef for tasajo, using a really long very sharp knife. We also pick up some dark chocolate that has crushed almonds in it, to make hot chocolate back home.

We're cooking in Pilar's house today and she lives in the Reforma neighborhood (where Itanoni is). She has her car, hails a taxi for some of us, and there's one more car there with who else but our friend, Louis. We can't seem to shake him off. We get into his car and catch up with him all the way to Pilar's house. This goodbye may well be our final one. Pilar has a lovely house with a large sunny kitchen as can be expected for a chef. There will be 2 sous chefs helping us today. We don our colorful Oaxacan aprons and get to work. Our menu for the day is memelitas topped with nopale and queso, a black bean soup, chile relleno with a stuffing of corn, quesilla, squash blossoms with a smoky salsa roja, rice flavored with mint and a Mexican cheesecake with grilled pineapple. For the memelitas, we also make a very spicy hot tomatillo and chile salsa. We make the memelitas using a tortilla press and use a comal to roast spices, tomatoes, tomatillos and chiles. I think we need to get one of them comals - they're perfect for a small kitchen.

As Indians who eat a lot of spicy food with chillis (chillis=chile), we often times pooh pooh the heat of chiles, so while everyone else wears gloves when handling then, Ajit and I use our bare hands. The yellow chiles kinda looked mild. Umm, NO! Because Ajit comes back from the restroom and shares this Oaxaqueno wisdom with me - "Never pee after handling chiles." I burst out laughing and can't stop the giggles for the next several minutes. When we were hiking in Morocco last year, Ajit had similarly shared the wisdom of the Berbers "Never pee into the wind." That had me laughing for days. Ajit's burning sensation in his nether region lasts the entire day, the poor guy. Let this be an important lesson to all you guys out there.

But, I digress. Before we sit down for lunch, we do a mezcal tasting of two different blancos. The second one we try is amazing, very deep flavors and so smooth for a blanco. Casa Crespo sells this bottle. It's almost two when we sit down for lunch. Each course is plated and presented beautifully by the sous chefs. The black bean soup is the best I've ever had - silky smooth with the subtle anise flavor of the avocado leaf poured into a bowl that has small cubes of quesilla, rings of pasilla chile, avocado and thin strips of fried tortilla. Every dish is so flavorful that it is not until later that I realize 2 things - one, that it is a meatless lunch and two, that I am not disappointed after all that we didn't make a mole. We wash down all the spicy food with cold Coronas. When it's time to leave, Pilar calls taxis for us and we get dropped off at La Olla.

seemaskt

We spend the next hour at the museum of Oaxacan cultures located in the beautiful monastery buildings adjoining to the church of Santo Domingo. This is our second favorite museum after the Rufino Tamayo, and it traces the history of Oaxacan arts, culture, way of living etc. from pre-Hispanic times to the present day. The 14th century treasures from tomb 7 in Monte Alban are fascinating - lots of gold, silver, pearls, turquoise and jewelry that I want to be wearing. On the second floor off to the corner, there is a terrace that overlooks the ethnobotanical garden with its amazing varieties of cacti, agave and other plants native to the region highlighting the wonderful diversity of its flora. We don't have time to tour the garden, so we sit here for a while and enjoy the views. It's remarkable that until about 20 years ago, the military was still using the convent as a base.

From the museum, we check out the pottery shop that Rene had told us about. It's at Labastida 115, in the same complex as Cafe Cuiles, the coffee shop we love. There are some wonderful plates, bowls and mugs here as well as vases, sculptures, lamps etc. There's a lamp I love but it's expensive, so we settle for 2 lovely bowls. We then sink into the couches at the cafe and enjoy some tea and juice while watching kids play in the fountain in the plaza. We also see a group of boys and girls practice a form of line dancing in the plaza. Close to 6, we make our way to the zocalo - it's Danzon night with free music and dancing, yay! The band is setting up when we get there, a line forms (for what we don't know) but soon chairs arrive and those in line get their seats. Ah! Meanwhile, we're sitting on a low wall on one side of the band looking out over the crowd. Everyone's dressed to impress - in dresses, sequins, vests, pocket squares and ties, wearing hats and flowers, and in dancing shoes. We recognize many people from the music performance on Sunday - the social elite of Oaxaca, they hug and blow kisses to one other. We see a gorgeous woman who looks to be in her 70s, very petite with long Rapunzel like silvery hair with a black rose pinned to it, in a long black skirt, white blouse and black wrap - we can't take our eyes off of her!

When the music starts, she and her partner (equally petite and dashing in all white) take to the dance floor along with several others and the dancing begins. Danzon originated in Cuba with African and European influences to the music and is popular in Southern Mexico as well. Our pair hold center stage, and while they're not the best dancers, they're the most enthusiastic and cutest - they don't sit down for the entire hour and a half. I want to be her when I grow up! We see Joan (from our cooking class this morning) and a couple of other expat women, all in great demand with the local men. We see quite a few men use this opportunity to dance with other women, their wives not always looking very pleased. The music and dancing are a lot of fun, against the backdrop of the cathedral all lit up. A must see/do if you're in Oaxaca on a Wednesday.

For dinner, we want to try a Tlayuda, a Oaxacan pizza like street food. We're going to eat at Tlayuda Libre at Libres 212, but it doesn't open until 9, so we head back to Milagros for some R&R. It's a few blocks east of Santo Domingo and as we walk there, we pass by several dance and zumba studios - dancing seems to be a popular pastime here. When we spot the streetside charcoal grill with a couple of tables around it, we know we've arrived. There are some chairs and tables in the adjoining building, so we sit inside. There is no menu and I have no clue what to order, so I walk with the waiter to the grill and just ask and point. I get one tlayuda with chorizo and one with cecina enchilada (spicy marinated pork), both topped with aciento, frijoles, lettuce, quesillo and salsa. There's a football game on TV - Mexico vs. Nigeria - so we watch the game and dig into the large, crisp fresh off the grill, burnt on the edges tlayudas. The cecina is really good and worth getting. This may not be the best tlayuda in the city, but apparently is the most popular with a long line of taxis parked along the street late at night. When the game ends, we walk back home. We have an early morning tomorrow - an 8:30 pickup to hike in Benito Juarez.

emd3

. . .

emd3

you guys are my kind of travelers! Best MX report in a long time. And great advice re the chiles, lol