Considering the vehicles that have found a home in my garages, one can correctly surmise that I have had a long-time leaning towards European autos. Lately, however, I have developed an appreciation for new Detroit iron flouting Yankee flair, characterized by bold, love-it-or-hate-it lines, macho design cues, and sometimes a bit of nostalgia thrown in for good measure.
Mexico, therefore, was a delectable feast for my eyes. Continue reading »
This evening was the famous festival that made Sarah want to come to Oaxaca in the first place: La Noche de los Rabanos. Rabanos are radishes. What is so exciting about pink and white root vegetables, you might ask? One can carve them into delightful sculptures! Continue reading »
Today we headed to Milta which (according to Wikipedia) is “the second most important archeological site in the state of Oaxaca, and the most important of the Zapotec culture.” Here we explored ruins with a 70-year-old native tour guide who was so proud of the local history that he talked on and on for over an hour. Afterward we ate flautas and quesadillas that were grilled outside the ruins, a welcome reprieve for my weary Spanish-to-English translating mind.
Sarah absolutely loved the tour, but what turned out to be more exciting for me was a 1.5-hour, second-class bus ride back to Oaxaca. Continue reading »
After hiking in the Sierra Norte, we came back to Oaxaca for a lower-key day. First on the agenda was taking a cooking class that included a trip to the local market and making salsa verde asada, sopa azteca, chiles en nogada, and flan de coco. Next, we went down to the Zócalo and looked at exhibits about evolution and earthquakes inside a free museum. Then I attended a wonderfully relaxing late-evening yoga class while Sarah did some shopping. Finally, we ended the night by having dinner at Biznaga — a Oaxacan restaurant where we could finally eat some vegetables — with Ron, an Israeli diplomat whom I met at yoga and invited to eat with us.
For more about the cooking class, here’s a write-up by Sarah. Continue reading »
She was a person I was looking forward to visiting all day: the healing lady. But when she gave me a diagnosis of the “problems” I had that required healing, I had to ask Marie the Tierra Ventura guide for an English translation because what she told me in Spanish didn’t sound quite right.
“You have too much air,” Marie confirmed. “And you have a fright.” Continue reading »
Today we did a 12-kilometer hike through the Sierra Norte with Tierra Ventura Ecoturismo. Starting in Latuvi and ending in Lachatao, we learned about many medicinal plants from Javier, our native, Spanish-speaking tour guide. After the hike we sat inside an ancient temascal (steam bath) where we sweated away stress and toxins for 75 minutes. In between all this, we enjoyed gorgeous scenery and munched on sublime Oaxacan food. Continue reading »
