by Shenzhan/申展
Cover photo: A Street in Oaxaca, Mexico. May 2019 by Shenzhan/申展
Now, after all the experiences, research and writing, it is time for a literal traveler’s log: what, when, how and how much.
Day 1, May 22: New York - Dallas, Texas - Oaxaca, Mexico
In the street of Oaxaca, Mexico. May 22, 2019 by Shenzha/申展
Waking up at 4 am to catch a 6: 29 am flight from LGA airport in New York was not as bad as I thought. A less-than-one-hour layover at Dallas was great. And the airport at Oaxaca City, Mexico is lovely yet surprisingly tiny for an international airport! A MX$90 ride per person to Centro Oaxaca was NOT BAD at all! (AND a friend by the name of Ben, whom I just met in New York City two weeks ago came to the airport to meet us and helped with transportation. Isn’t life full of surprises?!)
My Airb&b had a water problem, which might have been a dire situation, as the hottest season here just started. But we got an upgrade to a nicer Bed & Breakfast, Estancia De Valencia, owned by the same owner, which was amazing! And we soon found out the homemade breakfast here was out of the world!
Resting in the courtyard of the Airb&b. May 22, 2019
Walking in Centro, Oaxaca could be as brief as one hour, or the entire afternoon (which we did after dropping off our luggage around 3 pm local time - one hour difference between NY and Oaxaca), or endless hours getting lost in the streets and boutique shops and a variety of markets (which I made several attempts in the following days).
Got some Taco (MX$18 each) and Guava juice (MX$35) from the street, some fruits (MX$44) in the market, dinner somewhere (MX$350 for 2) that I couldn’t remember, and ended the day at Gozobl with Mezcalines, a cocktail with pineapple, jalapeno and mezcal (MX$85).
Women selling Chapuline (crickets, grasshoppers and locusts, a delicacy in the local diet). May 22, 2019 by Shenzhan/申展
Chapuline with Guacamole on a plate. May 22, 2019 by Shenzhan/申展
Somehow I felt pleasantly surprised that very few people speaking English.
Mexican dollar to USD exchange rate is about 19:1.
Read more about the first day : Entering Mesoamerica (1) : Exploring Oaxaca and Mexico City - Preface
Day 2, May 23: A Bike Tour with Carlos in Oaxaca
Carlos giving an explanation of a street mural. May 23, 2019 by Shenzhan/申展
Booked the tour (9 am - 2: 30 pm, $30) from Airb&b prior to the arrival.
Started the day with breakfast made by Male, our amazing chief chef and everything else of the house. Name: Tamale (Banana leaf with corn beef)
Got a latte (MX$45) while waiting for Carlos at Punto Paz Cafe.
See details in WORDS: Entering Mesoamerica (2) : Exploring Oaxaca and Mexico City - from the Street to the Church
Lunch at a local market (MX$35)
Visited Santo Domingo (free) at 4 pm, as it’s closed between 1 pm and 4 pm for siesta.
Visited the Botanical Garden of Santo Domingo (MX$50)
Dinner at an unmemorable place (MX$375 for 2)
Post dinner ??
Meeting a local wood-print artist in a studio on the bike tour. May 23, 2019
In the Botanical Garden. May 23, 2019 by M.J.
Day 3, May 24: Monte Alban and Markets
Home-made breakfast chillaquiles con huevos (eggs on chilly) by Male the chef. May 24, 2019 by Shenzhan/申展
Started the day by jogging in Centro Oaxaca and ran into kids doing rehearsal for a dance competition at Zocalo Oaxaca (a central plaza at Oaxaca)
Had Chillaquiles con huevos (chilly with eggs) for breakfast, of course, made by Male
Joined a van from Rivera del Angel to Monte Alban (MX$75). See more details in WORDS: Entering Mesoamerica (3) : Exploring Oaxaca and Mexico City - A VERY Brief Glance of the Ancient Civilizations
Talked to Ben, my new friend from NYC and went to the food market for Tlayudas for lunch (and ran into a new American friend Nick from the bike tour there!) upon his recommendation;
Got a beautiful bag (MX$180) from the Artisan Market near the food market, and some more fruits (Gunaana, Ranbutan, Durazno, and more Guava), fruit juice (Aguas Susi)
Wondered in Zocalo Oaxaca again and found it’s packed with a dance competition the kids were rehearsing for in the morning. And a seperate parade followed the competition for no apparent reason!
Did I mention it’s the graduation season for high school students there? Temple Santo Domingo was the place for the graduates to take photos, of course!
Ended the day after two bars: Bienvenidos, where we met a young man called Alfredo selling his photographs (which I bought a few), and Bulenc, recommended by Nick the American.
（Slide: from the market. May 24, 2019 by Shenzhan/申展）
Tlayudas Con Tres Carnes, a tradition Oaxaca food. May 24, 2019 by Shenzhan/申展
Day 4 (really just Day 4?) , May 25: A Day Trip to Hierve el Agua
Tacos Dorados. May 25, 2019 by Shenzhan/申展
Breakfast: Tacos Dorados
Booked a day trip to Hierve el Agua with the same tour company at Rivera del Angel, led by a nice tour guide Miguel, who spoke fluent Spanish and English. (And I was the only person on the tour whose Spanish is basically just “Hola”!)
Stopped by a number of places all very different and interesting, in the following order:
Santa Maria del Tule, a giant tree that got on Guinness World Record (and where a public bathroom costs MX$5.00)
Teotitlan, a textile village where vibrant colors based on plants like Indigo (blue) and grana cochinilla (an insect living in cactus) are handmade for dying.
A mezcal vineyard and tasting. Distilled from agave, the alcohol was obviously on every tourist route;
And finally Hierve el Agua, a natural spectacular with lime-stone waterfall and water holes to swim in, surrounded by unbelievably beautiful mountains.
Hierve el Agua， May 25, 2019, by Shenzhan/申展
A traditional way of making natural color from grana cochinilla (a bug in cactus). May 25, 2019 by Shenzhan/申展
A discussion on site at Mitla with Miguel. May 25, 2019 by Shenzhan/申展
The day trip was long and I had to reschedule a planned dinner with Ben; got into a fight with M about finding a place for dinner and ended the day with a pineapple pizza from a street stand.
And finally booked a flight to Mexico City on May 27.
Day 5, May 26: A Day on My Own in Centro, Oaxaca
A street in Oaxaca. May 26, 2019 by Shenzhan/申展
Breakfast: Molletes
Tried and failed to find postcards
Visited Museo Del Templo Mayor (MX$75), with pre-columbian and colonial exhibitions next to Templo Santo Domingo. Fascinating!
Went to the food market for lunch again, this time ventured into the “alley of smoke” where grilled meat and veggies were freshly ordered and made from vendors. I eventually managed to order beef and chorizo, with a few plates of veggies (total MX$124). An unforgettable experience for the delicious food, beyond reasonable price, and navigation with ZERO Spanish.
Walked up through a street of art galleries and got myself an art work, “Peonia I” by Violeta Juarez from Mexico City (now in my living room with a frame costing twice of the art! Ridiculous!)
Had dinner with Ben and M in a restaurant with hot stone soup of seafood. Found out M would take a bus to Mexico City the next day.
Ended the day with a big fight with M on the travel schedule and EVERYTHING in life. M “fled” to Mexico City on a 1am bus.
Peony I, Violeto Juarez, Mexico. Photo by Shenzhan/申展
Day 6, May 27: from Oaxaca to Mexico City
With Male the chef. May 27, 2019 by Shenzhan/申展
Breakfast: Empanadas de Vegetales
Had my last stroll in Oaxaca City and a BIG surprise to run into Miguel in Zocalo Oaxaca!
Chatted all the way on the flight with Paco, a gentleman who had a quarts business and works for the government. The flight encountered some bad turbulence but was nothing serious compared to the flight back to New York.
Settled in an Airb&b in Condesa; Walked around the upscale neighborhood and went to a rooftop bar and a local hangout for international visitors with M. We both agreed that the neighborhood felt like Madrid, Spain.
Running into Miguel at Zocola Oaxaca, May 27, 2019 by Shenzhan/申展
Day 7, May 28: A City Tour in Mexico City
Breakfast: a restaurant in Condesa (unmarkable)
Went on the North Route of Turibus
Got off the bus and jumped on a 3-hour call with Department of Education in New York State (unbelievable!)
Jumped back on the bus and went on its South Route (A university hosting a Confucius Institute was on the way!), which took over 4 hours to complete!
Ended the day with entering a gentlemen’s bar for dinner by mistake! The service was nice, music was entertaining and the experience was oddly fantastic!
Day 8, May 29: La Casa Azul/Frida’s House
Moved to Coyoacan, southwest of Mexico City and hometown of Frida Kahlo
Checked in at La Concepcion, an Airb&b
0complex with individual apartments. Quite modern and nice!
Visited La Casa Azul (MX$230) at 3: 30 pm and managed to get myself a ticket (MX$120) to the evening dramatization with the help of a museum staff Andrea! Amazing experience and can’t recommend highly enough! See more details at WORDS: Entering Mesoamerica (4) : Exploring Oaxaca and Mexico City - La Casa Azul/ Frida’s Blue House
Ended the day in the apartment, spending some final hour trying to figure out the plan for tomorrow!
Day 9, May 30: Teotihucan
From Coyoacan, I figured out the public transportation to Teotihuacan: from line 3 to line 5 to the Autobuses del Norte (the North Bus Terminal), where I got a ticket (MX$52) to Teotihuacan. The subway experience was quite smooth. There were carts just for women and children, which was nice during peak hours ( I hate filthy men touching you by accident, or just breathing!)
Hired an English speaking tour guide, Manuel, which cost me MX$1,500 but it’s worth the money to hear Manuel talking about local legends and beliefs. See more details on Teotihuacan (MX$75) : WORDS: Entering Mesoamerica (3) : Exploring Oaxaca and Mexico City - A VERY Brief Glance of the Ancient Civilizations
Got back to Mexico City early afternoon and paid my tribute to Roma. Ended up in a beer garden in an upscale international market called Mercado Roma.
Ended the day with a dinner by myself in an upscale restaurant Los Danzantes in Coyoacan with the following menu:
First: Hoja Santa, a soup-like appetizer with Mexican pepper leaf with melted goat cheese with spicy tomato and chilli source
Second: Sopa de Guias, a VERY nice soup based on a traditional Oaxaca recipe, zucchini and its flowers in a broth with tender corn kernels. Absolutely delicious with rich flavor from the corn yet not overpowering the crunchy zucchini. The flower is more for the look than the taste, I guess.
Entree: Huachinango Estilo Tikin-xic (don’t ask me how to say it!): Red Snapper accompanied by tacos with plantain and avocado in black mole, a chocolate based source. The fish was juicy and the Tacos added a right touch of natural sweetness; the avocado was a nice lubricant. I am not a big fan of Mole but it’s nice to have something so international and so traditionally Oaxaca!
My end word: I finished everything! The young and Spanish-speaking waiter overcharged my tip but it’s all good in the end.
I took a cab back to the AirB&B, packed everything and got myself ready for an early flight tomorrow.
Day 10, May 31: Back to New York City
The Uber driver was on time and pleasant.
Never felt unsafe the entire time in Mexico.
The most unsafe time was on the flight (through Viva Aerobus) back to New York City, which apparently had some landing issues and got everybody talk to each other to ease the nerve (and I got to know the good-looking gay man sitting next to me flew to NYC every month to be with his partner and this was his worst flight too!)
I landed in NYC safely and was happy to see Xiaomi, whom, as a cat, was naturally mad at me for being absent for 10 days.
The End