Feb. 22 - March 1

One of our objectives when we got to Huatulco was to visit Oaxaca.  Since the region is known for food, it's archeological ruins and so many local crafts that were unique to Mexico this was a must visit.   Oh did we also say they make good mescal and grow great coffee there as well?

We went to the ADO bus station on Saturday to check out the possibility of going to Oaxaca the following evening.  We found that there were two buses that left that evening.  One cost 260 pesos and the other cost 290 pesos.  The main difference between first class and luxury was that the more expensive bus had two heads and better seats.  We decided that for the difference of four dollars we would go for the luxury. After a late dinner in town, we headed to the bus station, which was very modern, to wait for the 10PM bus.    The bus trip was pretty uneventful but not a good 8 hours of solid sleep.  The seats went flat but there was no foot rest so Betsy sort of slid downwards.  She did have a pillow and shawl so she was rather comfy.

When we arrived in Oaxaca we hung around the bus station for coffee and a roll before walking the 4 or so blocks to our Bed and Breakfast.  We had reservations at Casa Ollin but we didn't think arriving a 6 would earn us any points.  When we arrived Sophia showed us to our room and then invited to a delicious breakfast.

One nice thing about a B and B is that you get to meet so many nice people, hear where they have been, what restaurants they liked and the things that they had learned. You feel part of a family with terrific food, nice surroundings and helpful hosts.  This B and B was great!

Oaxaca is a beautiful city but many of the building have graffiti and I guess that they can’t solve this problem for it is everywhere. We visited the cathedral of Santa Domingo to view the beautiful ceiling and to see where repairs were being made by local artists. The construction of this cathedral began in 1570 and is one of the best examples of Baroque in Mexico. 

City squares or zócolos are usually very active places in the evening and the main square in Oaxaca was no exception.  We saw many performers, street venders and simply families just out for enjoyment. One evening we watched musicians who were playing something like three large xylophones and drums. 

Many of the people of our B and B were there for at least a week so we did a lot of sharing. We had some real highlights to this trip, our first cooking class was with Pilar Cabrera who owns a restaurant called La Olla, has Casa Mi Sabores Cooking School, and owns Casa Mi Sabores B&B.  At our class we made squash flower soup, tortillas for quesadillas, an orange mole sauce which was served with chicken and finally a rice pudding dessert. Recipes for these and other great dishes we learned in Oaxaca can be found on our Recipe Page.   Pilar took us to the market before we did any cooking and we listened as she explained some of the very local food like the chilies and the cheese, chocolate etc. She also explained that she liked to spread her business around so she bought a little from each vender.  Our meal was delicious but there were 11 people in the class so we didn't get to do much cooking. We definitely prefer the smaller hands on classesThat evening we were still full so we walked to the zócolo for a drink and an appetizer.  We met the folks from S/V Inspiration before they headed to the bus station to go back to their boat.

Next we visited the town of Teotitlán where the main industry is weaving wool rugs.  We were given the names of two different well known artists to visit so we took a taxi for 200 pesos the 22k to the town and walked around until we found our first artist, Isaac Vásquez García, who was 74 years old and who in Spanish explained how he made all his dyes. We went to the church and to the small local museum where we learned even more about this craft. Finally we ended up at another artist, Nelson Perez Mendoza who had traveled to many parts in the states explaining the dyeing process.  He went to UCSC for a talk and he had some college students and their instructor visit just before we had arrived.  Anyway he spent about an hour showing us how they made natural dyes, the red being made from cochineal, a larva that eats certain cactus leaves.  It was all very fascinating.

We took a local bus back to town ate a late lunch at Los Pacos where Hank had a Tlayuda with 4 different moles. In town we visited a shop/ workshop that was owned by the famous weaving artist, Arnulfo Mendoza.  This shop was called La Mano Magico, and the weaving were really magic, and expensive!  We bought a book on this artist and I had it autographed by Arnulfo’s brother who was there at the shop.  That night we ate at María Bonita where Betsy had a chile relleno which was stuffed with beans and cheese and covered with a tomatillo, gusano sauce.  Gusano is the larva that lives in the heart of the agave plants, it is the same “worm” that may be put in a bottle of tequila.  The whole dish was delicious and you wouldn’t know that there was any unusual ingredient in the sauce.   

The following day we did the Museum of Oaxacan Cultures which is housed in the restored Dominican monastery of Santo Domingo de Guzmán.  We paid for the audio guide system and wondered through each room hearing about the exhibits or about the room itself.  This museum included the Mixtec treasures for Tomb 7 at Monte Albán.    The botanical garden can be seen from the church or the museum windows yard. 

One of our objectives in Oaxaca was to learn how to make Mole Negro and how to properly make Oaxacan tamales in banana leaves.  We talked this over with our B and B hostess, Judith, and she called another teacher for us.  When she explained what we wanted to do, there was a slight hesitation. Both of these recipes are very time consuming and you can’t make the tamales with out having cool black mole.  Nora agreed but ours was going to be a private class since this was not a normal class day for her.  Our instructor was Nora Andrea Valencia who owes another B and B called Casa Mis Recuertos. Her cooking school and tour guide service website can be found at Cocina Con Nora.   Nora had done some preparation the night before so that we could make the mole and tamales before we even went to the market for the rest of our meal's ingredients.  When we sat down to eat we had guacamole in tomato shells, corn, squash soup, tamales filled with black mole and chicken and mango pudding dessert.  We were at her house from 10 to 4:30; it felt just like family since there were only three of us in the class.  This was what we wanted and we learned so much it is hard to discribe.  No we arn't going to open a Mexican resturante when we get back on land but we will be able to cook some great food for friends and family, as long as they supply the cervesa and tequila.  Solomente buen tequila y cervesa.!!

Since Nora also does tours we also decided that we would join her the following day on a tour to the town of Ocotlán for their Friday market.  Wow, I have some pictures of people carrying turkeys and chickens as then head home from the market.  We went through the market and Nora pointed out good stalls that we might want to come back to but we were only going to have 20 minutes to shop. So you had to pay attention to where you were going and decide what you might want to purchase so you could do it all in your 20 minutes.  The interesting thing was that everyone was able to get back in 20 minutes and no one grumbled about the time limit.  The market was just so fascinating! We visited the cathedral and the museum of Rudolfo Morales to see all his art work. The monastery that was connected to the church had also been a jail before it was a museum.  Luckily many of the beautiful wall frescos were still preserved.  Rudolfo Morales 1925 to 2001 was a very interesting artist and one that the Oaxcan people are very proud.  We even go to walk over and see his house for his sister in law is the only remaining family member and she invited Nora in to see the house.

Next we were back in the van and heading to the small dirt street town of Tilcajete that is known for their wood carved animals.  The wood is the copal tree and the artist that we visited was Jacobo Angeles. He explained how their natural dyes were made and they were very similar to the wool dyes.  His designs and the ones of his family are so intricate. When you see all the work that goes into an animal you can understand the prices. While we were there he was interviewed by a Mexican TV station, so I guess he is well known throughout the country.  Many local artists use acrylic paints and bright garish colors.  We saw how the figures were carved out of the wood, allowed to dry, dipped in gasoline to kill any bugs that might be hidden in the wood, and finally if any cracks appeared they were filled. 

Our last stop was to see black pottery and it was not that great for this artist didn't fire her work twice so it had a tendency to break!  We were finally back to town about 6.  Now there are so many great places to eat in this town that I won't go in to all them, but we had great meals.  Two places I can’t skip are La Biznaga where Hank had a filet mignon with huitlacoche on top and we shared a soup with mushrooms, onions and chapulines (grasshoppers), and Casa Oaxaca where we had mezcalinis (martinis made with Mezcal and cucumber) to drink and venison with orange mole sauce. 

On Saturday we headed off to the market to purchase chilies, nuts and some green spices that we knew we would only find in Oaxaca.  We also bought a kilo of coffee that was the brand used at our B and B.  We then changed into tennis shoes, got water and cameras to visit the ruins of Monte Albán. We got a taxi out to the sight, and found an English speaking guide who gave us an hour and a half tour.   It is hard to believe that such a structure could have been built without any steel implements. There is also evidence that they were doing surgery, not sacrifices, used a sun dial, calendar, and had a pentagon shaped building. All the treasures from tomb 7 are in the museum in town and much of the site has not been explored.  It was really a great trip and we were happy that we had done it ourselves with out paying for a day tour, for we were able to stay at the sight as long as we wanted.  To return to town, we took the hourly green bus for 18 pesos and it took us right back to the center of Oaxaca. 

 Our last day we walked to the bus station to get our tickets, and were very surprised to find ourselves right in the middle of a bike race. It was the Vuelta mexico, an eight stage race, this being the first stage and the final stage to be held in Mexico City.  We watched and listened to the announcer, we found out that Lance Armstrong was in the VIP stand and that they had some great bargains on biking clothing. Juan Pablo Magallanes of Mexico’s national squad won this opening stage in an exciting finish by outsprinting his fellow breakaway companion, Francesco Rivera.  It was refreshing to see a local win the race and the crowd went wild.

 Since we had checked out of our room, we left all our things at the B and B and spent one last afternoon exploring the town. We met some cruising friends who had just arrived and we all went to dinner together.  We said good night, wished them a wonderful time and headed back to Casa Ollin to rest before they called us a taxi to take us to the bus station.

Our bus trip from Oaxca to Huatulco was at 11:45PM and we arrived back at the bus station at La Crucita about 7:15AM, we took a taxi to the marina and were very happy to be home on our boat.