Mexico: Oaxaca es chingón güey!!!

26/03/2015

I finally made up my mind to leave DF for a long weekend in Oaxaca, a city 6 hours by bus from the capital. I took the night bus, after a lot of hesitation. You hear plenty of not-always-reassuring things about Mexico, and I got my share of stories about overnight bus journeys that don't always end well. The problem is that for me these night trips have lots of advantages: they're cheaper, they save me a night in a hotel... so in the end I decided to do it anyway, after my friends reassured me about this particular route.

The city of Oaxaca is genuinely beautiful. My first observation is that there are a fair number of churches per square kilometre — and as usual, the builders outdid themselves.. yes, I do think faith often inspires architects when they're producing works to the glory of their religion, no? I really enjoyed wandering around the town centre and the zócalo (the market). There's a lot of lovely stuff, and again I keep thinking that if I were heading back to "a home of my own" straight after this country, I'd be bringing home a lot of souvenirs. But I've still got a lot of kilometres to cover with my bag and I prefer it light :-) , so I'm holding back. I do crack for a very nice little backpack and a camera tripod that was practically being given away.

I'd been warned that you eat very well in Oaxaca.. that was no idle talk. I stuffed myself every single day! Special mention for the city market. I tried grilled insects... The taste isn't bad, but knowing what I was eating stopped me fully enjoying the experience.

In another section of the market there was something insane. Vendors on either side were offering superb cuts of different meats! There were six of us; we bought 2 kg of meat, they cooked it all right there and brought it to our table, with tortillas of course, but also chunks of avocado, onion... it was so good.. when I think back to that moment I get tears in my eyes :-D. The maddest part is that it came to no more than 54 pesos a head (€3.50).

Right, I didn't only eat in Oaxaca — I also did a day trip, notably to Hierve el Agua! A petrified waterfall... All of it well worth the detour :-) !