| Don't ask me how we got from San Cristobal to Oaxaca - it was a journey of epic, perhaps biblical proportions! We decided to go from San Cristobal down to Puerto Escondido or Huatulco on the Pacific Coast, which is a journey of some 10 hours or so. However, as we crossed the isthmus it got hotter and hotter and hotter (the bus stopped for over an hour so the driver could take on board a full cooked lunch in the searing heat while we sweltered inside the bus because it was the only available shade) and we decided to just shoot through. So, at Juchitan we hopped off the bus and into the clutches of the only other 2 English speakers in the bus station, who happened to be a couple of zealous born-again-christians out proselytizing amongst the indigenous folk. After successfully getting a seat on the next bus out to Oaxaca (which is via some wierd lottery system) we escaped with our (ir)religion intact and embarked on the next 6hr leg of the journey. We arrived at about 9pm after setting out at 6am from San Cristobal. There was a humungous thunderstorm going on when we arrived and enough rainwater to renact Noah's flood (maybe we displeased Someone in Juchitan??!). Next day, when everything dried out, we went exploring around Oaxaca. This is one of the many food markets where you can buy all sorts of things, one of which is the local snack food: chapulines (which is dried crickets to you and me). Personally, I was on a mission to locate the nearest chocolate purveyor. In Oaxaca, they have stores where they grind chocolate, cinnamon and sugar into a paste and sell it by the scoopful. There is one street which is lined with these shops and the aroma is just to die for - foodie heaven! Our other big foodie experience was to go to a nice restaurant upstairs above the Zocalo and try the moles. The waiter tied a great big white napkin around my neck as I protested it wasn't necessary, but as soon as I applied fork to mole, and huge big squirt of sauce landed squarely on the bib! Surprisingly, I resisted the chocolate mole (but I got some anyway cause Greg had it!). |
