Alleged to be a pleasant, exciting, authentic Southern highland town, Oaxaca stands as one of the few large cities in the area, and it was my next stop. The bus ride was immediately a clue that this place wouldn't be as relaxed and nice as I thought. A group of girls in their mid 20s decided to talk loudly the entire trip, annoying me for both the volume and quantity and also for the fact that they effortlessly switched back between French and Spanish, with a bit of English thrown in, making me jealous. Fortunately, we had an interesting movie showing called Bienvenido Paisano, a comedy about a Mexican-American family returning to the problems of their native country. The scenery along the way was also impressive, more like what I had expected from Mexico before this trip. Dry canyons and rock formations covered in tall cacti lined the roads, giving way to some lowlands covered in low scrubs before finally rising back into the highlands around Oaxaca. Along with too many other tourists, I got off and bus and headed for the city center. My hostel was basic and cheap, just providing an uncomfortable bunk bed for the night in a large room shared with about ten others, including some Mexican workers that had come down to do a week's worth of worth before heading back North to their homes. They didn't seem to mind that people were trying to sleep as they continued talking into the night, and I remembered why I've been trying to stay in cheap, single rooms instead of hostels. For my second night, I found a quieter place just down the road, and they had a private room for just a bit more, so I was happy to make the change.
In the middle of Oaxaca, two main plazas connected to each other and fronted by a church and rows of restaurants and museums form the social center of the city, so that's where most of my time was spent. People hung out under trees and on the shady benches, walking around and feeling the excitement grow for the upcoming Day of the Dead celebrations. In Mexico, November 1 is All Saint's Day and the 2nd is the Day of the Dead, both days used as a celebrations and remembrance of passed relatives and loved ones. Altars appear in homes and shops, varying from simple to incredibly elaborate. They typically include some typical or beloved foods and drinks as an offering to the dead, along with candles, beautiful orange and purple flowers and anything else characteristic of their family. In the town square, the altars were going up the day I arrived, mostly made by local villages in the area, representing and serving as a point of pride for those villagers. During the afternoons, small parades of children dressed in costume and other revellers made their way into the plazas, playing music, dancing and just having a good time. Not as much a time to mourn the dead as a time to celebrate life, the Mexicans in this area and many throughout the country take great pride and joy in this holiday. Most of the children were dressed up as devils, skeletons, angels or La Catrina, a sort of skeletal woman with a black dress and hat with a veil that represents death to the people.
In addition to the Day of the Dead celebrations, I also decided to explore some of the indigenous markets in town, offering some interesting varieties of food. My first stop took me to the food market where I once again found the local specialty called tlayudas. Tlayudas are large, slightly hard flour tortillas covered in black bean paste, melted cheese, lettuce, tomatoes, salsa and some type of meat, steak in my case. This one was more of a tostada than a quesadilla like before, meaning that it was served with an open face, instead of being folded over. Just as great, this filled me up for about $4, and I moved into the adjacent market for a bit of ''dessert.'' Hearing about this local delicacy, I had to try the chapulines...grasshoppers. There were stands and stands of them, little red pyramids of the insects, divided by size into large, medium or small bugs. When prepared, they are cooked, purged of digestive matter (if that's even possible on such a small insect), and lime juice and chili powder are added. Not really sounding all that bad, other than the potential for legs and antennae being stuck in my teeth, I decided to go for it. I bought the smallest bag that I could of the medium sized ones...big enough to tell what they are, yet small enough to not have to take bites out of each one, I paid my dollar and took the bag to a bench in the plaza for this authentic experience. Taking a handful, I was excited, yet hesitant, to try the little guys. Luckily they all appeared dead and dried, so I slowly moved the handful towards my mouth, wincing a bit at the prospect. I tossed in the ten or so grasshoppers and tried to discern the taste. As expected, they had a tiny bit of crunch and bits and pieces of who knows what roamed around my mouth. The lime taste was actually the strongest flavor, though it was a bitter, sort of bad lime taste, as I was hoping for better. Chewing the remaining pieces of deceased insect, I swallowed it all and went for a bit more. Another handful or two was all that I could take, though I was happy to be able to say that I tried them. I don't think I'd recommend them, but I've eaten a lot worse things.
Later on that night, I returned to the town square for dinner, finding a good taco place that was much better looking than the expensive tourist options next door. Wanting to try another, more appetizing specialty, I went for the tacos de nopales (cactus tacos). I'd seen these in various places around Mexico, and I finally had a chance to eat them. They seemed to be prepared by removing the spines and boiling them, creating a sort of green vegetable not too different from types of squash. Cut into small pieces and mixed with some tomato and onion chunks, the veggie tacos were quite good, and I would recommend them to anyone in the future, especially vegetarian sisters and girlfriends with a love for similar vegetables. In addition, the green plant is said to be full of fiber and nutrients, excellent for the body. Besides these adventures, my other main attraction of Oaxaca would be my upcoming day trip to another set of well-known ruins, Monte Albรกn.
(The stone cathedral along the two main plazas, connected by pedestrian malls.)
(Back again...my beloved tlayuda. This was so good.)
(The scary food stalls of the chapulines...grasshoppers with chili and lime.)
(Chocolate skulls to celebrate the Day of the Dead. I definitely had a few of the small ones at just a few pesos a piece.)
(A beautiful altar celebrating the lives of those who have passed away, located in the town square.)
(Crazy, huge, dancing lady turned out to be two guys with a big costume. The town square was full of people and kids in costume.)
(The procession of children, most dressed as skeletons, devils, etc.)
(A nice mouthful of tasty grasshoppers.)
(Another Day of the Dead altar with the traditional yellow/orange flowers.)
(A huge altar dedicated to the unibrow...and Frida Kahlo.)
(The altars traditionally contain offerings of food and drinks, along with burning candles during the vigil.)
(The other old church in town. I tried to go to the ethnobotanic garden within the walls of the compound, but you can't enter without an expensive guide. Oh well.)
(My plate of cactus tacos, along with the usual condiments of onion and cilantro, red salsa, green salsa, guacamole, pico de gallo and limes. The cactus is chopped and mixed with other vegetables.)
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