We were at the bus station soon after 7.30am this morning. Forty minutes before our ADO bus left for Oaxaca; just time for breakfast. We grabbed some pastries, coffee and Jalapeño crisps.
The five hour journey passed quickly thanks to the dubbed films showing on the bus 🙂
No seriously, the scenery was fascinating. Puebla slowly giving way to agricultural fields, winding mountain roads and deep valleys and gorges, cacti, wide sky and vultures. We saw some pilgrims making their way to Mexico City. They now have just four days to make it to the Basilica of our Lady of Guadalupe.
Our hotel is a short walk from the bus station and a good 25 minutes away from the town centre.
Oaxaca is everything I had hoped it would be. Cobblestone streets; colourful low rise colonial buildings home to galleries, cafes, bar, restaurants and great museums.
You can’t really talk about Oaxaca without mentioning the ongoing protests in the town square. Teachers have been protesting since 2006 asking for a pay increase and greater benefits. The state of Oaxaca is one of the poorest states in the whole of Mexico. The protests take the form of sit-ins – in the middle of a street, where under canvas tents, you’ll find teachers conducting classes or in the zocalo, which they have occupied for a number of years now. On the other side of the square, couples were dancing to a live band.
We shared a tlayuda regional (a crisp tortilla with nopales, courgette flowers and cheese), quesadillas de quesillo (a local cheese similar to mozzarella), and refreshing glasses of hibiscus water at a market stall for lunch.
After more aimless wanderings, we stopped at the Centro Fotografico Alvarez Bravo museum. A very small museum which was quite inspiring. I particularly liked the Tiradores series of Andres Figueroa – portraits of rubbish collectors.
Back in our room, we organised our bags for tomorrow serenaded by the sounds of Cuban music from a local band practicing, and a cold beer.
Andy found his doppelgänger!