Arriving in Oaxaca Part 2

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The firat vendor I saw was selling homemade mezcal with free samples available!!!! I tried three or four samples then realized it was not even noon and all I had eaten was a roll, but, oh well. There was a coffee flavored version and a chocolate version which I was told was "for ladies" and I bought one anyway claiming it was for an amiga. Then the vendor convinced me to buy some mans mezcal, the gold supposedly being the better but I liked the clear better, mostly because of the moonshine factor.

I finally found the central market near the cathedral which was my first ever experience in a real Mexican market with everything you expect to see and more. Beyond the chickens and pigs and the fruits and vegetables for sale, past the carpets, pottery and wood carvings, there were pots and pans, tooth paste, aspirin and almost anything else you would need. The carpet salesmen were too agressive for me and I had no plans of buying one so I stayed away from that section. I did however find a farmacia which I cautiously entered and sheepishly asked for "valium".
NO.
Oh....

The cathedral was amazing and I took some beautiful photos while watching teenagers hold hands and eat ice cream together. I was so hungry but to shy to approach any of the food stands so I just wandered about hoping someone would make me an offer like the old woman back in Oaxaca. None did so I didn't eat.

I was still convinced I was in Mitla so I searched for the pyramids that were supposed to be there but couldn't find anything more so eventually I headed back to the bus station and caught the next bus back to Oaxaca.

I kept nodding off during the 40 minute ride. It had become hot and dusty, I was hungry and tired, and the sun seemed to be at such a long angle I was understanding what siesta is all about. I forced myself to stay awake somehow and soon we were driving through the outskirts of the city which now seemed grumpy and tired compared to the fresh clean feeling it had in the morning.

I found the Zocalo again pretty easily which was no filled with activity that I couldn't focus on until I found a place to sit. I walked back and forth past the cafes trying to decide where to eat before telling myself for christ sake just pick a place already!

I did and it seemed like and hour before anyone came to serve me. I was begining to I was doing something wrong or not doing something right so I stared at this waiter until he finally came over and grumpily took my order. I ordered Dos Equis and a cubano sandwich. I was served a Dos Equis Clara, which I'd never had before but it became the beer of choice for me. The sandwich was fine but I never ordered that again.
After two more beers and a long look at Zocalo life in Oaxaca I was refreshed and relaxed and eager to get going again.

This time with the immediate area flooded with people I found most of the nearby attractions. Santo Domingo, The Alcala, several small churches, some parks, the aquaduct and more. As they day grew late I was back in the Zocalo again, at a different cafe, drinking Dos Equis Clara again and eating something. I also ordered a shot of Mezcal which I found out later most people sip it but i shot it and nearly barfed all over but I made most self hold back. That would have been a disaster as the entire Zocalo was just packed!

When the action started to fade at around 8 o'clock I decided to head back to my room and read the travel book some more.

I started walking up hill both north and west for a while hoping to see a familiar landmark or something but I was lost. I walked around and around up and down for a long long time. Then I hailed a taxi and told him Posada Del Fortin but he had never heard of it. We drove around and around, he stopped and asked people, no one knew anything. Finally he got fed up and just pulled over and told me to get out.

By now it was 11 o'clock and I was completely spent and I really wanted to cry but I looked at the street I was on and it was exactly where the taxi had left me off earlier that morning. I walked down saw the alley and low and behold, there was the metal gate to the courtyard.

Of course i jiggled and jiggled the key and it wouldn't open and my frustration was growing again but finally Emilio came and opened the gate, I'm sure he had been in bed but I just didn't care. He said he had been worried about me and I told him I got lost but I didn't want to talk right now. I got into my room and plopped on the bed

The blanket on the bed was beautiful but thin and I had planned on buying another one at the market but forgot. I slipped under the blanket and sipped on the man's mezcal and read my guide book which is when I found out I hadn't been in Mitla but rather Tlacolula.

I slept on cloud nine that night.

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