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As soon as I realised that I would be having spare time in Central America, I knew I had to come to Oaxaca. I was suppose to visit in 2006 but as we approached the city we were turned away by the police. The streets were blocked off, there were protesters everywhere and more worryingly, missiles were being thrown. We ended up in a coach that drove for over 24 hours over the mountains to get us safely to our next destination. I still remember the coach driver's name - it was Billy. This time I was determined to get in and I booked a week's accommodation. A week in one place is a lifetime when backpacking. I remember the protests had something to do with teachers and some teachers had been killed. I spoke to a young woman in the city who had been a school girl at the time and she told me that that six months had been a scary time. All the schools were closed for over six months. Parents ended up sending children to private schools so they could get an education. Oaxaca is still known for its many protests but thankfully these days they do not involve bloodshed.
One of the first things I did after arriving was to visit the ruins of Monte Alban. This was the centre of the Zapotec civilization, built around 500bc and eventually abandoned around 750ad. I made sure I was on the first bus to the site so could explore the site before hoards of tourists arrived. Another plus point about going early is that you do all the strenuous climbing before the temperature reaches 30 degrees. Oh yes, turns out Oaxaca was going to be the hottest place I had been in for 2 months!
There are many tourist agencies around the city offering many activities and I decided to go for the jam-packed multi centre day. What a fantastic day it turned out to be. The first stop was El Tulle, site of the biggest tree in the world. It's over 2000 years old and it really is big. I was not expecting to feel so moved whilst walking around the tree but it was simply magnificent. Then we visited an award winning weaver, who makes rugs in the centuries old traditional way. All the dyes are natural and I was used to demonstrate the vivid colours that are achieved when cochineal beetles are crushed. These beetles live on the leaves of the cactus, they look a bit like white mould but when crushed they produce a vivid red colour. Add lime or bicarbonate of soda and you produce purple. Even after vigorous scrubbing, the stain took days to disappear.
Mitla was the main religious site of the Zapotecs and looks completely different to all the other sites. The Spaniards destroyed the majority of the site when inflicting control on the local population. The palace here is covered in intricate fretwork, each piece perfectly crafted out of stone.
The real high point of the day for me though, was the spectacular hierve de agua or the petrified waterfalls. These are a natural rock formation. The only other similar site is Pammuke in Turkey (which I also heartedly recommend). Standing below these rocks, looking up is disorientating, it makes you feel unsteady on your feet. What a sight though. It is truly one of the most impressive things I have seen. Natural pools have been created on top of the rocks at the top of the "waterfall." If you don't mind the rather chilly nature of the water, you can take a dip over looking the spectacular mountain ranges.
Oaxaca is well known in foodie circles. People come from all over the world to taste it's amazing food and it was here that I had my only real food failure. I was reading a menu when the waitress told my that the special of the day was vegetarian. I was surprised because finding veggie food in Mexico can be tricky. After confirming that the meal did not contain meat, pork, beef, chicken, turkey, sausage or ham, I ordered it. Obviously all this is in Spanish. I got a starter of nachos with a pesto dip. Then a mango gazpacho soup. So far, so lovely. I knew that the main was cheese and spinach on tortillas and as it approached, it looked lovely. Then I noticed little red things mixed into the cheese. Lots of them. It was the Oaxacan delicacy of deep fried grasshoppers! I regretfully told the waitress I could not eat them, but she was not convinced. They are not meat I was told, they are too tiny! Anyway, I now know the Spanish for grasshopper and that is added to my list of things to check for!
Apart from the grasshoppers, Oaxaca is famed for its 7 different sorts of mole (pronounced mole lay) sauces. These are a secret blend of spices, fruits, nuts and sometimes chocolate. Some have over 30 ingredients. I was lucky to find a veggie restaurant that made these sauces and could advise me as to which contained nuts. The moles were gorgeous but the green mole was my favourite and not too spicy.
Oaxaca also has a drink it is famous for. It is metzcal. This is a spirit made from the agave plant (the same plant tequila is distilled from) and I visited a metzcal distillery. It is all made in the traditional method, ie horses powering the grind stone. We were allowed to taste many many samples and I am pleased to report it is a far nicer drink than tequila. It is smoother with a much better taste. The passion fruit metzcal in particular is superb. A final word of caution though, if you are offered the red salt to go with your drink, be aware that the red colour comes from the roasted and crushed worms they put into it for added flavour!
Oaxaca town
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