We have come to the end of our three week visit to Oaxaca, so let’s wrap up with some overall impressions. There are a few things that stand out and can’t help but be appreciated. First is the weather. We were here during late November and early December. The temperature was between the mid- 70’s […]
Oaxaca, Mexico 7 – Mezcal Distillery Tour
When I think of Mexico, I typically associate it with moles, salsas, tostadas, beer… and tequila. When we asked friends what they would like us to bring them back from Mexico, tequila was the only thing that came to their mind. It turns out that Oaxaca is most known for mezcal, and tequila is merely one […]
Oaxaca, Mexico 6 – Fundación En Via Tour
We took a tour today with Fundación En Via, a charity empowering women in Oaxaca to improve their livelihood. They provide tools and interest free micro loans to women in 6 communities surrounding Oaxaca, helping them start and grow their business. While we drove to the first small town, Villa Diaz Ordaz, the spokesperson told us […]
Oaxaca, Mexico 5 – Thanksgiving Dinner
Oaxaca Lending Library is a long-standing nonprofit with 450 members in Oaxaca founded in 1966 that primarily caters to the English speaking expats. It has a lending library with some 20,000 English and Spanish language books. OLL also organizes tours, hikes, yoga, Spanish and English language classes, and is generally a great place to meet […]
Oaxaca, Mexico 4 – Monte Albán & More
Today we took a private tour with our Crespo cooking school friends, Elizabeth and Jonathan from New York. This was a chance to see some of the major archaeological ruins and villages outside of Oaxaca. We hired Zapotec Tours to set up the trip, though our guide was actually an independent contractor, Gabriel Sanchez Garcia, a […]
Oaxaca, Mexico 3 – Concert and Wandering
The symphony is free in Oaxaca. However, you must get advance tickets to see it, and by the time we tried, all those tickets were “gone”. We were told later that tickets were available for a 50 peso bribe (about USD $2.50), or you could stand in the long line the day of the concert. Fortunately, the Oaxaca […]
Oaxaca, Mexico 2 – Cooking Schools
We attended two different cooking schools while in Oaxaca, both recommended by our AirBnb host. The first was Seasons of My Heart, founded by Susana Trilling who starred in a 13-part PBS Series on the Oaxacan culinary experience and authored a book, both by the same name. This class was held in Villa de Etla, […]
Oaxaca, Mexico 1 – City Walking Tour
This is only the second time we have visited Oaxaca, recognized by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site. Oaxaca is also known for the best food in Mexico, along with its vibrant arts and crafts. We first visited Oaxaca almost 40 years ago, and were eager to see the changes. We frequently take “walking tours” […]