Oaxaca

We arrived in Oaxaca around 8:00 this morning, after a fairly uneventful ride. The town is a lot like San Cristóbal but larger, with narrow, cobbled streets and plenty of colonial buildings. It´s surrounded some beautiful mountains, with a huge town plaza full of tall, shady trees, lots of nice restaurants and shops, and tons of churches. We got the feeling it is one of the more glamourous cities in Mexico with a huge music and modern art scene (and prices to match).

After some walking around, we found ourselves a hotel and took our time getting organised before heading out for the day. We had a late breakfast and then wandered around town. We browsed some of the many craft shops, walked along the pedestrian malls, and ended up at the Iglesia de Santo Domingo. This is an old Dominican monastery built in 1608 by Mexico´s most talented artisans.

Oaxaca is also known for its fine cuisine, especially spicy moles (sauces) and chocolate. We spent some time searching out possibilities for a cooking class. Although it would have been fun for a day, what we found were totally overpriced and didn´t cook the main things we wanted. So we decided our money would much better be spent on a few good cookbooks rather than a class. As my mother has always said, ¨If you can read, you can cook!¨

Tired because of the overnight bus ride, we went back to the hotel to rest for a while and watch some TV before having a light dinner and heading to bed.