Blogs from Oaxaca, Mexico, North America - page 4

My first stop in Pueblos Mancomunados was Cuajimoloyas. I arrived there at around 11 AM (1h from Oaxaca to Tlacolula, 1h from Tlacolula to Cuajomoloyas) and the first thing I did was rent a room in a cabaña compartida and check out the tours they offer. If you want to hike in Cuajimoloyas, you have to hire a guide for 2 reasons : 1) you would get utterly and completely lost without one, since there are no road indications and you have to cross many private grounds ; 2) you would miss all the interesting information about the local stories, the fauna and flora there. In Cuajimoloyas, there are 5 hikes you can do : Canyón del Coyote (+/- 3 h : ... read more

On Monday night, I arrived at around 7PM to Oaxaca. Unfortunately there is no UBER in Oaxaca, but Taxis aren’t expensive, to I took one for 50 pesos to my hostel Casa Ángel. I booked a simple 12-bed-room which was quite ok. It was spacious enough, there were bathrooms enough on this floor, the beds were comfortable and it was clean. The only 2 bad things : 1) in the 12-bed-room, it was really really hot all night long, even with two fans running and the window open ; 2) hot shower is only possible from 8 to 10 (AM & PM), but if you ask at the reception, you can also have it at other times. This hostel is definitely nothing for a quiet stay : it’s an absolute social party hostel. The rooftop terrace ... read more

We finally parted ways with our lovely friends Jen, Gavin, Sharon and Roque at a campground south of Zihuatanejo, promising to try to all reunite at some point further down the road. The heat along the southwest coast was very intense, and we spent a few uncomfortably sweaty nights in Tortuga on the way to Acapulco, but I was dying to see the world-famous cliff divers so Ken kindly humoured me and we sweated it out for another 2 nights in a campground just to the north of the city. It was worth the discomfort, although Ken may not totally agree! The divers hurled themselves from various precipitous heights, with the finale being a 35-metre leap with a couple of somersaults thrown in for dramatic effect - and all this was into a narrow channel of ... read more

My final full day in Oaxaca I decided to relax, enjoy the breakfast with great tasting eggs and coffee and visit the markets again. In the markets I explored the stalls checking out all of the local goods they had to sell, including all the grains and spices. Oaxaca is known for their Mezcal, so I visited one of the larger Mezcal stores and asked to taste a few different bottles of Mezcal. After three small glasses and tasters Id found the Mezcal I liked, a bottle of añejo with a darker brown colour, smoother than some of the other Mezcal and richer as it had been aged for 2 years. I picked up a bottle as well as some other goods in the market. After the market, I visit the bus ticket office and purchased ... read more

Gestern war nun also der Tag der grossen Fiesta, des 10-jährigen Hochzeits-Jubiläum von Marina und Christian. Man besammelte sich im Hof der Quartier-Kirche des Barrio Xochimilco, die Männer in dunklen Hosen, die Frauen häufig in farbenprächtigen traditionellen Kleidern. Am Ende des Gottesdienstes äusserte das Publikum gute Wünsche für das Paar, worum dann alle beteten. Vor der Kirche gab es Glace sowie ein eigenartiges Getränk und natürlich Mezcal, welchen man aus Bambusgefässen trinkt, welche um den Hals gehängt werden. Dann ging die Musik einer Band los, dazu tanzten junge Frauen in prächtigen traditionellen Kleidern, mit Körben voll Blumen, Früchten und Symbolen auf dem Kopf. Ausserdem tanzten 3 circa 3 m hohe Figuren sowie ein grosser Papiermaché-Ballon. Nach vielen Fotos setzte sich der Zug in Bewegung, circa 1 Stunde weit bis zum Museo Rufino Tamayo, immer wieder Pausen, ... read more