Mexico Day 1-2 Oaxaca and Monte Alban
And so it begins, my epic travel blog about my holiday in Mexico! I doubt anyone will read it but I've been writing it up on my tablet for the past month and want it here, because that's what my Dreamwidth account is for. Its a long diary and I will add one or two photos to brighten it up but I do hope that anyone who reads this will also check my full photo gallery on SmugMug too - all the colour, it deserves to be seen!
It started potentially disastrous when I checked in online and they couldn't locate the second leg of my booking. After calls to Expedia, AirFrance and Aeromexico, I was assured that I did have a flight and was given a second booking code. Still a bit stressful at the airport when I couldn't print my boarding card but from then on it went smoothly, albeit exhausting, flying from London to Paris, Paris to Mexico City, Mexico City to Oaxaca. My first experience of a long haul flight, I found it very uncomfortable and didn't sleep a wink, distracting myself by watching the amazing Isle of Dogs and slightly meh Ferdinand ( my fuzzy brain couldn't take more than cartoons!
Landed in Oaxaca at 7am, such a tiny airport, we got a collectivo (shared taxi) with ease and was dropped off at our hotel at 7.30am!
First impression was where the hell are we, as our hotel, Casa de la Tia Tere, was located on a quiet street, the door was locked and nobody answered the door. A quick phone call and the door opened with a warm greeting. They let us check in that early and by 8.30am I was in their picturesque little swimming pool, squeeing over the humming birds flying around us. Could have stayed there all day but we decided to brave the outside world, still unsure what to expect in a country so different to the UK.
After a few minutes we'd fallen in love with Oaxaca. So pretty, so laid back. We went for breakfast/lunch at Cafe El Nuevo Mundo, having checked the menu online and it seemed a good place to introduce ourselves to real Mexican cuisine. I had chilaquiles (tacos covered in tomatillo sauce, cheese and cream) and Rob had a steak burrito. Rob maintains that this burrito was the best dish he had in our week in Oaxaca, it was pretty delicious, so different to the UK equivalent ( no rice, just a wrap filled with steak, bacon, avocado and oaxacan cheese.)
Full of food we went to the Templo Santo Domingo. It was closed for a service so we peeked in the entrance and then browsed the market outside, not brave enough to ask the price of anything!
The museum attached to the church contained an array of artefacts from the area but it's main appeal was to explore the building itself and look down into the stunning ethnobotanical garden.
Outside of the Templo, there was also a special Dia de Los Muertos artesan market, showcasing the works of some of the top crafts people in the area. Got braver talking to people in my bad Spanish, stallholders being very patient and helping me to understand them, and realized all these beautiful works of art we're actually quite affordable. Bought some cute Skelly dog earrings, planning to come back for more after realizing they only cost 50p!
Next plan was our daily dose of ice cream and I'd heard about an interesting parlour to the South of town, so we strolled there via lots of stops along the main pedestrianised street, Calle Macedonio Alcala and the Zocalo (central square), peering into courtyards and entrances to see the altars already set up for Dia de los Muertos
Got to Nieves de la Soledad and realized it was not a single store but a whole square full of ice cream stands, all touting for business! We.picked the one with the biggest Muertos decorations and i ordered tuna ice cream, with a topping of mescal ice cream. Tuna is not fish, but prickly pear and it might be the most delicious ice cream I've ever tasted, one of us had a scoop of that flavour every day!
We we're flagging by this point though, so headed back to the hotel so Rob could have a sleep, and I planned to sit in the garden and start writing this blog. That didn't go to plan as first I was tempted back into the swimming pool, then I was invited to sit with a group of Americans and partake in their mezcal purchases! They were a lovely group, quite bohemian and open minded and we mutually shared our adventures and excursions throughout the week.
We'd booked a table at a nearby mezcal bar for dinner and headed out a little early as we learned there would be a comparsa (parade) that evening. Little did we realise this would be the first of many and it was great fun to watch
The meal sadly was a little disappointing. The highlight was sampling chapulines (grasshoppers) over the guacamole, but my octopus main managed to be both slimey and chewy, with some tepid congealed green sauce.
Had an early night after dinner, as it had been a long long day!
Monday
Had a delicious breakfast in the hotel, fresh papaya, Mexican scrambled egg and the tastiest refried beans that I've ever had (must learn how to make this myself, as it beats the tinned stuff hands down!)
Set off early to find the bus to Monte Alban. This took us to the area south of the Zocalo, which was grittier and more of the real living city instead of the tourist area. Found the bus shuttle service, realised I'd got the timetable wrong and we had to wait nearly an hour for the next one. It was still early though!
The bus took us uphill through winding roads on a hillside packed with houses, fascinating whilst also a stark realisation of the poverty in this country (however, we learned later in our trip that this shanty town look is not so much down to poverty but how families aquire housing here. When a boy comes of age he is gifted a plot of land to build a home, which gradually gets built as and when he has the funds, a wall here, a window there etc) eventually arriving at Monte Alban archaeological site / pyramid on the top of the mountain.
One of the oldest sites of the Zapotec empire (yes, there was more than just Aztecs and Mayas in Mexico), they had carved off the top of this mountain to build this awe inspiring series of temples and palaces.
No matter how many photos I'd seen before, nothing prepared me for the majesty of this place. I had downloaded a guide to Monte Alban but typically Kindle app failed on me and I couldn't open it - thankfully there were enough signs in English to give us an understanding of what was what as we explored the site.
First we climbed the north platform and took in the panorama of the complex which had emerged before us,
then gradually made our way to the “Dazantes” carvings of men apparently dancing (more likely to be responding to torture)
and then headed to the south platform - which was a lot bigger than it looked from the other side and the steep steps quite a challenge, but I managed to drag myself up to take in the incredible view.
We'd been given three hours before the return shuttle, which should have given enough time to visit the museum too, but we couldn't tear ourselves away from that platform and sat for around 30 mins at the top of the steps. For us when we're on holiday, atmosphere and ambience mean so much more to us than things in cabinets.
The bus took us back to the shopping/market end of town, a bit late for British lunchtime but just right for Latin/Spanish lunchtime! (2pm) Headed towards the market for a street food experience but instead were distracted by a chocolate cafe. Here we had our first Oaxacan hot chocolate, with a tlayuda for lunch. A tlayuda is kind of a Mexican pizza - a massive crispy tortilla base, topped with pork lard, refried beans, salad, cheese and meat of choice - I had pork and Rob had beef. Both were amazing but so big, I was very sad not to be able to finish it
We spent the afternoon wandering around the markets, possibly more exhausting than Monte Alban! Headed back to the hotel, via ice cream, to cool down with an early evening swim. Got talking to another couple of Americans, this time a bit younger, who worked in the bar industry and were primarily visiting for the mezcal.
we weren't brave enough to try this (maybe next time!) - you order the meat you want, they cook it for you and bring to your table, with tortillas and an array of condiments
Our evening was spent wandering the streets in search of comparsas, ending up at a rooftop bar for cocktails.
the main altar in the Zocalo now constructed
Being the busiest time of year, finding somewhere to eat was a challenge and we ended up at a restaurant called Zandunga which I'd previously dismissed thinking it would be too expensive. After a short wait, we were offered seats at the bar, which offered us fantastic service direct from the barman. Ordered plantain moljetes (dumplings) and I had mole chicken, whilst Rob had a grilled fish after being assured it wasn't spicy. Turned out my mole wasn't spicy at all and Rob would have loved it, so chocolatey, but it was all mine!
Sunday's full photo gallery is here on this link
the gallery for day 2 - Monday, is at this link
It started potentially disastrous when I checked in online and they couldn't locate the second leg of my booking. After calls to Expedia, AirFrance and Aeromexico, I was assured that I did have a flight and was given a second booking code. Still a bit stressful at the airport when I couldn't print my boarding card but from then on it went smoothly, albeit exhausting, flying from London to Paris, Paris to Mexico City, Mexico City to Oaxaca. My first experience of a long haul flight, I found it very uncomfortable and didn't sleep a wink, distracting myself by watching the amazing Isle of Dogs and slightly meh Ferdinand ( my fuzzy brain couldn't take more than cartoons!
Landed in Oaxaca at 7am, such a tiny airport, we got a collectivo (shared taxi) with ease and was dropped off at our hotel at 7.30am!
First impression was where the hell are we, as our hotel, Casa de la Tia Tere, was located on a quiet street, the door was locked and nobody answered the door. A quick phone call and the door opened with a warm greeting. They let us check in that early and by 8.30am I was in their picturesque little swimming pool, squeeing over the humming birds flying around us. Could have stayed there all day but we decided to brave the outside world, still unsure what to expect in a country so different to the UK.
After a few minutes we'd fallen in love with Oaxaca. So pretty, so laid back. We went for breakfast/lunch at Cafe El Nuevo Mundo, having checked the menu online and it seemed a good place to introduce ourselves to real Mexican cuisine. I had chilaquiles (tacos covered in tomatillo sauce, cheese and cream) and Rob had a steak burrito. Rob maintains that this burrito was the best dish he had in our week in Oaxaca, it was pretty delicious, so different to the UK equivalent ( no rice, just a wrap filled with steak, bacon, avocado and oaxacan cheese.)
Full of food we went to the Templo Santo Domingo. It was closed for a service so we peeked in the entrance and then browsed the market outside, not brave enough to ask the price of anything!
The museum attached to the church contained an array of artefacts from the area but it's main appeal was to explore the building itself and look down into the stunning ethnobotanical garden.
Outside of the Templo, there was also a special Dia de Los Muertos artesan market, showcasing the works of some of the top crafts people in the area. Got braver talking to people in my bad Spanish, stallholders being very patient and helping me to understand them, and realized all these beautiful works of art we're actually quite affordable. Bought some cute Skelly dog earrings, planning to come back for more after realizing they only cost 50p!
Next plan was our daily dose of ice cream and I'd heard about an interesting parlour to the South of town, so we strolled there via lots of stops along the main pedestrianised street, Calle Macedonio Alcala and the Zocalo (central square), peering into courtyards and entrances to see the altars already set up for Dia de los Muertos
Got to Nieves de la Soledad and realized it was not a single store but a whole square full of ice cream stands, all touting for business! We.picked the one with the biggest Muertos decorations and i ordered tuna ice cream, with a topping of mescal ice cream. Tuna is not fish, but prickly pear and it might be the most delicious ice cream I've ever tasted, one of us had a scoop of that flavour every day!
We we're flagging by this point though, so headed back to the hotel so Rob could have a sleep, and I planned to sit in the garden and start writing this blog. That didn't go to plan as first I was tempted back into the swimming pool, then I was invited to sit with a group of Americans and partake in their mezcal purchases! They were a lovely group, quite bohemian and open minded and we mutually shared our adventures and excursions throughout the week.
We'd booked a table at a nearby mezcal bar for dinner and headed out a little early as we learned there would be a comparsa (parade) that evening. Little did we realise this would be the first of many and it was great fun to watch
The meal sadly was a little disappointing. The highlight was sampling chapulines (grasshoppers) over the guacamole, but my octopus main managed to be both slimey and chewy, with some tepid congealed green sauce.
Had an early night after dinner, as it had been a long long day!
Monday
Had a delicious breakfast in the hotel, fresh papaya, Mexican scrambled egg and the tastiest refried beans that I've ever had (must learn how to make this myself, as it beats the tinned stuff hands down!)
Set off early to find the bus to Monte Alban. This took us to the area south of the Zocalo, which was grittier and more of the real living city instead of the tourist area. Found the bus shuttle service, realised I'd got the timetable wrong and we had to wait nearly an hour for the next one. It was still early though!
The bus took us uphill through winding roads on a hillside packed with houses, fascinating whilst also a stark realisation of the poverty in this country (however, we learned later in our trip that this shanty town look is not so much down to poverty but how families aquire housing here. When a boy comes of age he is gifted a plot of land to build a home, which gradually gets built as and when he has the funds, a wall here, a window there etc) eventually arriving at Monte Alban archaeological site / pyramid on the top of the mountain.
One of the oldest sites of the Zapotec empire (yes, there was more than just Aztecs and Mayas in Mexico), they had carved off the top of this mountain to build this awe inspiring series of temples and palaces.
No matter how many photos I'd seen before, nothing prepared me for the majesty of this place. I had downloaded a guide to Monte Alban but typically Kindle app failed on me and I couldn't open it - thankfully there were enough signs in English to give us an understanding of what was what as we explored the site.
First we climbed the north platform and took in the panorama of the complex which had emerged before us,
then gradually made our way to the “Dazantes” carvings of men apparently dancing (more likely to be responding to torture)
and then headed to the south platform - which was a lot bigger than it looked from the other side and the steep steps quite a challenge, but I managed to drag myself up to take in the incredible view.
We'd been given three hours before the return shuttle, which should have given enough time to visit the museum too, but we couldn't tear ourselves away from that platform and sat for around 30 mins at the top of the steps. For us when we're on holiday, atmosphere and ambience mean so much more to us than things in cabinets.
The bus took us back to the shopping/market end of town, a bit late for British lunchtime but just right for Latin/Spanish lunchtime! (2pm) Headed towards the market for a street food experience but instead were distracted by a chocolate cafe. Here we had our first Oaxacan hot chocolate, with a tlayuda for lunch. A tlayuda is kind of a Mexican pizza - a massive crispy tortilla base, topped with pork lard, refried beans, salad, cheese and meat of choice - I had pork and Rob had beef. Both were amazing but so big, I was very sad not to be able to finish it
We spent the afternoon wandering around the markets, possibly more exhausting than Monte Alban! Headed back to the hotel, via ice cream, to cool down with an early evening swim. Got talking to another couple of Americans, this time a bit younger, who worked in the bar industry and were primarily visiting for the mezcal.
we weren't brave enough to try this (maybe next time!) - you order the meat you want, they cook it for you and bring to your table, with tortillas and an array of condiments
Our evening was spent wandering the streets in search of comparsas, ending up at a rooftop bar for cocktails.
the main altar in the Zocalo now constructed
Being the busiest time of year, finding somewhere to eat was a challenge and we ended up at a restaurant called Zandunga which I'd previously dismissed thinking it would be too expensive. After a short wait, we were offered seats at the bar, which offered us fantastic service direct from the barman. Ordered plantain moljetes (dumplings) and I had mole chicken, whilst Rob had a grilled fish after being assured it wasn't spicy. Turned out my mole wasn't spicy at all and Rob would have loved it, so chocolatey, but it was all mine!
Sunday's full photo gallery is here on this link
the gallery for day 2 - Monday, is at this link