Mexico
June
25, 2012 - Aside from the rain, Oaxaca is lovely. This town
certainly ranks the highest so far in our Mexico visit.
Oaxaca is pronounced "Wahaka", something we needed to learn as people stared in bewilderment when they asked where we were going next after our emergency weather stop. We'd ended up unexpectedly in another unpronounceable place, San Francisco Telixtlahuaca, 39 kilometers from Oaxaca due to "inclement weather". Or rather, thunderstorms that shook our fillings and a downpour that could rival any in a tropical climate. We had a dubious dinner in a glass enclosed coffee shop posing as a restaurant where the owners were obsessively cleaning the same window over and over again while the paint peeled off other neglected areas.
We rolled into Oaxaca early the next morning and holed up in a hotel that looked way out of our price range but some internal miscommunication played out in our favor and we gladly accepted.
The buildings in Oaxaca are beautifully restored and streets are mostly one way or pedestrian only closer to the center of town. Similar to Phoenix, AZ, no obtrusive store signage is allowed.
Street vendors are everywhere and target locals and tourists alike. We saw some foreign tourists, but the majority of visitors seemed to be Mexican.
We picked up a tourist map and dutifully walked the brown, green and yellow paths. Some of the churches were worth a visit, but others were much more modest. They certainly don't need any more churches in Oaxaca. We must have poked our nose in at least ten of them.
Street signs and directions to places of interest are at hip level and include Braille, something I had not seen before.
Architecturally, Oaxaca has a lot to offer. The buildings are spectacular and in some ways it felt like a cleaned up version of Havana in Cuba. Some of that UNESCO heritage site money does end up in the right places it seems.
The art exhibitions in Puebla were a snooze, but Oaxaca, like Morelia, had a bit more spice here and there. This drawing made me think of the movie "Kissed".
Afterwards, salvation is close at hand if desired.
A random street shot while walking back to the hotel from the main square.
We ended up spending more nights in Oaxaca than planned but did not make it to Monte Alban, a local Mayan ruins site. The weather is what dampened our enthusiasm a bit here and there. From about four in the afternoon till about eight at night the rainy season kicked in. Aside from that, this was my favorite stop so far.