Oaxaca Love
13 de junio
We also tried hot chocolate which, I know doesn't sound adventurous, is very unique in Mexico. Chocolate is a staple of Oaxaca, but it is nothing like your Hershey's chocolate. It's usually very rich, and either has some sort of bitter, and sometimes spicy, aftertaste.
After dinner, we walked around a bit on our own and explored the Zocalo. We didn't spend too much time out because we were exhausted and ended up coming back to the hotel to plan our next day.
14 de junio
Today we did more before 1pm than I have done any other weekend in Mexico. We woke up around 9:00 and grabbed breakfast from a restaurant near the hotel. A large group of us then made our way to the Zocalo to check out all of the stands and stores and plaza in general. Kaitlyn and I broke off and ended up exploring Alcala street, a pedestrian only street. We found a well-known cafe, a library, and a few museums on our way up to the Santo Domingo Cathedral. Like all of the churches here, this one was also absolutely beautiful. As we were leaving, a wedding was about to take place.
We ended up walking around randomly until we found ourselves in the Benito Juarez Market. We liked this market because it had everything from touristy souvenirs to produce. And the layout was so random.
And of course, the meal was followed with some delicious La Michoacana icecream.
15 de junio
I also ended up deciding to use Monte Albán as the topic for my assignment, and so I interviewed a few people there. My favorite, was Luis who, when asked about the significance of Monte Albán, said "La grandesa del pasado."
After our exhausting afternoon, we ended up back at the Zocalo for ice-cream and street quesadillas. Somehow, walking around the markets hasn't become completely redundant yet so we did that for a while before trying to watch a street performance. Six weeks later, and we are starting to catch on to the Mexican sense of humor.
The most exciting thing about tonight was Kaitlyn and I realizing at 10:50 that we were hungry and Oxxo closed at 11, and then running down the block to make it in time.
16 de junio
I never thought I would wake up early enough to see the sunrise, let alone early enough to hike up a mountain to see the sunrise. But I can't imagine having this experience any other way. At 5:45 in the morning, around 15 of us met in the "lobby" to walk up el Cerro del Fortin.
It was still a little dark when we made it to the ledge we used as our viewing point. Somehow, our crazy and loud group remained silent for over twenty minutes as we watched the sun progress--shining through the clouds and attempting the peek passed the mountains.
You know those sights that just can't be captured on camera? This was one of those (but being the tourists we are, we obviously attempted to anyway). Looking over the city of Oaxaca and the mountain ranges in the distance, I couldn't imagine a better way to end this trip with the best people.
Nothing beats an eight hour bus ride, right? It's even better when you don't stop for lunch! Despite the less than leisurely journey to get here, Oaxaca is PHENOMENAL. We dropped our stuff off in our very cute hotel and then made a walk through the Zocalo to a market-type place that had tons of eateries and enjoyed some traditional Oaxacan dishes. The meal was "tlayudas"--the best way to describe this would be a Mexican pizza:
We also tried hot chocolate which, I know doesn't sound adventurous, is very unique in Mexico. Chocolate is a staple of Oaxaca, but it is nothing like your Hershey's chocolate. It's usually very rich, and either has some sort of bitter, and sometimes spicy, aftertaste.
After dinner, we walked around a bit on our own and explored the Zocalo. We didn't spend too much time out because we were exhausted and ended up coming back to the hotel to plan our next day.
14 de junio
Today we did more before 1pm than I have done any other weekend in Mexico. We woke up around 9:00 and grabbed breakfast from a restaurant near the hotel. A large group of us then made our way to the Zocalo to check out all of the stands and stores and plaza in general. Kaitlyn and I broke off and ended up exploring Alcala street, a pedestrian only street. We found a well-known cafe, a library, and a few museums on our way up to the Santo Domingo Cathedral. Like all of the churches here, this one was also absolutely beautiful. As we were leaving, a wedding was about to take place.
We ended up walking around randomly until we found ourselves in the Benito Juarez Market. We liked this market because it had everything from touristy souvenirs to produce. And the layout was so random.
After the market, Kaitlyn, Vikrant, and I went to el museo de pintores oaxaquenos. This was also quite the experience with some very odd exhibits.
We went back to the hotel for a much needed descansa. A group of us went to watch the Italy-England game which was a blast because Elena is from Italy and therefore very passionate about its success. We finally realized that we were hungry because almost no one ate lunch, and walked back to the Zocalo for STREET FOOD. Kanchi and I consumed the most delicious and fresh quesadillas we will probably ever encounter in our lives:
And of course, the meal was followed with some delicious La Michoacana icecream.
The Zocalo is poppin' at night. There are just so many people out so much later than I would have expected. In Roma, the roads are pretty much deserted by 9pm. But in Oaxaca, there are all kinds of people out until almost midnight.
15 de junio
Another crazy busy day! The 9-credit program kids met with the professor about expectations for our assignments and expectations for the last week. But the exciting part of today was visiting Monte Albán--the socio-economic and political center of the Zapotecas. The view from here was absolutely breathtaking. Like at Teotihuacan, you feel like you're on top of the world. But Monte Albán itself is situated on top of this mountain and surrounded by other mountains. It's also not as big of a tourist attraction as Teotihuacan was, and thus the entire environment was just so peaceful. You could see for miles, and everything was just so still.
I also ended up deciding to use Monte Albán as the topic for my assignment, and so I interviewed a few people there. My favorite, was Luis who, when asked about the significance of Monte Albán, said "La grandesa del pasado."
After our exhausting afternoon, we ended up back at the Zocalo for ice-cream and street quesadillas. Somehow, walking around the markets hasn't become completely redundant yet so we did that for a while before trying to watch a street performance. Six weeks later, and we are starting to catch on to the Mexican sense of humor.
The most exciting thing about tonight was Kaitlyn and I realizing at 10:50 that we were hungry and Oxxo closed at 11, and then running down the block to make it in time.
16 de junio
I never thought I would wake up early enough to see the sunrise, let alone early enough to hike up a mountain to see the sunrise. But I can't imagine having this experience any other way. At 5:45 in the morning, around 15 of us met in the "lobby" to walk up el Cerro del Fortin.
It was still a little dark when we made it to the ledge we used as our viewing point. Somehow, our crazy and loud group remained silent for over twenty minutes as we watched the sun progress--shining through the clouds and attempting the peek passed the mountains.
You know those sights that just can't be captured on camera? This was one of those (but being the tourists we are, we obviously attempted to anyway). Looking over the city of Oaxaca and the mountain ranges in the distance, I couldn't imagine a better way to end this trip with the best people.
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