Blogs from Oaxaca, Mexico, North America - page 3

As I write this we have only three days left of our two weeks in Oaxaca and wish we were here for longer. Perhaps next year we will spend a month. We came to this great little town, only an hour’s flight from Mexico city/ two hours from Houston, a couple of years ago for Christmas. We fell in love with the food and the easy going people and the small number of foreign tourists. When Kate found the great reviews for the ‘Spanish Immersion School’ it was a no brainer to kick off our South American trip with a little Spanish learning in Oaxaca. We have been doing one-on-one Spanish for five hours a day split over two instructors - half in the morning and half in the afternoon. The school however offers whatever combination ... read more

A leisurely start today as we are going on an organised tour and they always wait till it’s baking hot to take tourists out. We have breakfast and are waiting in reception at 10am as instructed. The minivan has arrived. We are last pick up...just our luck, the van is full and we are on the back seat. We prepare ourselves for a bumpy ride. We are sharing the seat with a German couple, Marcus and Sebastian, so we enjoy some interesting conversation and have joint groans at every speed bump as we are rocketed to the ceiling each time. Our tour is taking us to the Tlacoluoa Valley and, whilst we could have attempted it independently, the distance covered might have been a bit of an ask in just one day. Our first stop is ... read more

It’s another early start. Our bus leaves the central station at 8.25am and that’s right on the other side of the city. We have packed our bags and are just deciding whether to return the fan to the room we purloined it from...after the hassle involved in changing rooms we decided just to help ourselves to the missing items in the new room rather than to ask! We check out. It’s the sour faced woman that wanted to house us in the hell hole. She takes our key unsmilingly and not so much as an adieu...clearly she has not forgiven us for standing our ground! Our Uber arrives promptly and we are at the bus station within half an hour giving us plenty of time to purchase goodies for brunch. Security is cleared and our bus ... read more

Oaxaca is our last stop in Mexico. If I remember correctly a Mexican work colleague recommended that I visit Oaxaca, and I can understand why, it is perhaps the best place we have visited in Mexico so far. We end up spending 3 days here – a day longer than originally planned - as the bus to the border with Guatemala (there is only 1 a day and this is overnight) is full on Saturday. The city is a bit of a cultural hub and attracts a fair number of visitors. It’s also one of the more indigenous areas of Mexico so there is a strong tradition of local crafts here. If we were in the market for a woven rug or other Mexican gifts then this would be a very good place to buy them. ... read more

Flying into Mexico City, Izchel’s joy was infectious, we were all very looking forward to being here.....Alexandra taking to everything Mexican like a pescado to agua! Having this time with the kids taking care of me with so much love it brings tears to my eyes.....thank you! Some reflections on the shimmering surfaces of Mexico.....and wondering just how superficial my observations are and what’s really going on? V difficult to glean in a short time. Mexico is colour.....brilliant, clashing, shades you would never contemplate painting your house in are everywhere, and seem to work. Interlaid with brilliant tiles, designs from Aztec, Mixtec, Incan, Outcan and contemporary.....vast walls overlaid in ceramic, Arabian origin blues and whites to tiny isolated single pieces that have to be sought out to be appreciated. Mural tile pictures in a similar style ... read more