Mexico - Oaxaca City

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David here...

The night bus to Oaxaca took 11 hrs, of which I hardly slept but Suzanne managed a couple of hours. We arrived in Oaxaca around 10:00 and walked into the centre of town and our choice of hotel Posada Don Mario, stopping off for breakfast on the way (Chicken Enchiladas in chocolate sauce is the way to go, beats Coco Pops). The hotel was a bit expensive at £16, especially for a shared bathroom however the room was colourful and clean, the hotel had lots of outside seating and it included breakfast, so we decided to stay.

We popped into Oaxaca's historical centre and found the place to be full of sights wherever you looked, much like San Cristobal. The main central square was huge and a lovely place to sit with an iced tea and a bag of freshly cooked in front of your eyes Papas Fritas (Crisps to you or I). We visited the hugely disappointing contemporary art gallery and then spent a good few hours just roaming the streets. That night we decided to eat a more up-market restaurant than we have been going to, La Olla. Suzanne had a plate that included a huge piece of beef, enchiladas, refried beans etc. I had Picadillo stuffed chilli with rice in a tomato based mole. All of it was very good. We then headed out to a bar where we heard Nirvana playing earlier on the way from the hotel. We stayed for a few Sols and put a couple of songs on the jukebox ranging from Sepultura to Def Leppard. Overall, a great start to Oaxaca.

The next day after a delicious breakfast of fried egg on a tortilla with tomato mole and beans we decided to head out to a big shopping centre about 45 minutes walk from the centre as we needed shower gel and a few cosmetics that Suzanne had struggled to get in the markets and shops in each town we had been to recently. We passed lots of little local food places on the way which all made our mouths water. We got to Plaza de Ville and found everything we needed and very good prices. We had a coffee there as well in what looked like a chain place, but found the coffee to be one of the best of the trip. A lovely deep, rich taste. I think the place was called something like the Organic coffee place. We walked back stopping off at one of the big local Taco restaurant that was busy and had 5 beef tacos with lots of dips and a torta that was covered with cheese, beans and pork. The food was so good that we ordered 5 more beef tacos again. Unfortunately we cannot remember the name of the place, but it was something like La Sur Sur Sombreras. We headed back into town and stumbled across a heavy metal shop where I made a purchase and got confirmation that there were no metal bars in Oaxaca.

That night we headed out to a local institution for something to eat...Cenaduria Tlayudas Libres where they serve tlayudas which are char grilled flat breads, stuffed full of cheese, beans and meat of your choice. Another absolutely delicious meal. After that we visited a couple of bars and had our first taste of the local spirit, Mescal. I was not keen but Suzanne loved it. The next day we headed out to Monte Alban, the local ruins. We decided against doing it as a tour as it is quite expensive one you add up the travel and entrance fee, so we we to the Hotel Rivera del Angel and used their transport for M$40 each (£2). Monte Alban is high up in the hills with a full view of the surrounding landscape. We spent 4 hours there, wandering round the ruins, quite a relaxing day really. That night we ate at La Casa del Tio Guero where all of the mains come with a starter of soup and a desert. Suzanne had the Picadillo stuffed chilli and I had Pollo en Verde Mole (Chicken in Green sauce). Both meals were delicious and an absolute bargain. The food in Mexico was really starting to be as good as we had hoped.

Oaxaca was a lovely stop with lots to see and do, lots of places to sit and relax with a coffee and the whole town had a nice laid back kind of vibe.

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