Judy. We are often asked, when friends learn we're in Oaxaca for almost four months, "But what do you do all day?" I think they forget that, more than being tourists, we go places to live there for a time, to understand cultures and enjoy a different lifestyle. What do we do? Well, we live.
We go to the grocery store, take our laundry to the laundromat, attend church, walk, read in our apartment, play games, watch television--most of the stuff we do if we're in the States.
But there's more. Life is full here. Oaxaca offers a plethora of opportunities, and we try to take advantage of those as well.
The Oaxaca Lending Library offers several options. On Saturday morning, there's an intercambio with Spanish speakers and English speakers helping each other to learn the language. Spanish speakers correct our fledgling attempts, and English speakers correct mistakes the Mexicans make. It's also a great way to meet people. Four years ago I met a young man named Adrian, and we've kept up through Whatsapp over the years. He's recently returned to Oaxaca from Mexico City, and we met up for dinner.
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| Adrian and I met at the intercambio |
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| So much happens at the Oaxaca Lending Library |
We've attended three lectures at the library, all interesting, but one, by David, really grabbed our attention. He explained how many of the forests here are owned cooperatively by indigenous tribes. Fascinated, we contacted him and arranged to have lunch, resulting in a two-day trip to Ixtlan and its forests and ecotourism program. David and his wife will be in Spain for the next few months, so we shared some of our travel hacks with him.
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| Community forest sign |
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| David (far left) and the group he took to Ixtlan |
Back in the States, we hike when we can, and the library here sets up several hikes each week to the neighboring countryside and villages. It's how we got to see the Great Tree of Tule as well as beautiful canyons and rugged mountains.
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| Cypress knees in Los Sabinos Canyon |
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| One of many incredible vistas |
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| The Great Tree of Tule |
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| Glorious day in Los Sabinos Canyon |
By a strange twist of fate, I discovered that Phil, our grizzled old leader on every hike, taught documentary filmmaking at the University of Denver, and was there at the same time I was getting my MFA! We had a great time tossing out names and places to each other.
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| Phil and me |
On an "Out and About" tour with the library, I visited a gorgeous Xeriscaped garden carved out of an old dump, and only watered from the rain. From there we went to watch a silversmith work his magic, then on to the workshop of a man instrumental in the popularity of alebrijes and fantastically painted animal carvings.
Oaxaca is noted for its food and chocolate, so, in addition to finding the best chocolate drink in town, we explored restaurants. Since we ate lunch out almost every day, we developed a couple of favorites, and got to know some of the servers. I don't know how they feel about us, but we sure like them--and their food.
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| Food is delicious, but, oh, the smiles! |
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| One of our favorites |
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| Itzel at Humar Seafood Restaurant |
There are dozens of museums in town--the Archaeological Museum, Santo Domingo, San Pablo Cultural Center, the Textile Museum, Oaxaca Museum of Contemporary Arts, the Ruffino Photography Museum, and others. Almost all are free, and truly interesting. I spent $35 on a class of Shibori (Japanese tie-dye) at the Textile Museum, and came home with some cool fabrics.
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| The fabrics drying |
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| My finished products |
The neighborhoods of the city have their own flavor, and despite being gentrified, are home to some of the most beautiful murals I've seen. Spending a morning or an afternoon walking Jalatlatco or Xochimilco is well worth it. Then you can stop for coffee anywhere or chocolate at Oaxaca en una Taza or Corazon de Chocolate to rest.
We were here this year for Semana Santa (Holy Week), and I really enjoyed watching the processions and visiting the MANY churches in the city.
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Templo Santo Domingo
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| I loved these barefooted women carrying this trono |
Speaking of which, on any given Friday or Saturday--or other day, for that matter--there are weddings or just parades through the streets, always fun to watch. And if you go to the shady square, the Zocalo, there is music everywhere.
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| Quiet afternnon at the Zocalo |
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| And dancing in the Zocalo at night |
And we've attended concerts--auditoriums for classical and bars where pop music is played. Furthermore, there are street musicians, good and bad. You catch them all as you head down any given street.
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Sacred music concert outside the Cathedral
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| Theatro Macedonio de Alcalá for Beethoven |
Our friends Tony and Leeanne came down from British Colombia, and we spent some time together, eating, drinking, listening to concerts, and catching up.
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| Steak and wine with Tony and Leanne |
There's a baseball team here, the Oaxaca Guerreros (Warriors), so of course we had to attend a game opening week.
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| Guerros win! |
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| The beloved Guerros are hugely popular! |
You CAN'T come to Mexico and not see Lucha Libre, Mexican wrestling! It was so much fun, we went twice. And the luchadores are always willing to pose.
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| Want to keep these guys on my side! |
As Ted has mentioned, Oaxaca is on the path for the migrants heading to the US. Once a week we help make and hand out sandwiches, and give away toiletry items. It is humbling work. Drew, who manages the kitchen/phone charge station/clothing and toiletry station, asked for small toys and coloring books for the children, "Anything to take their minds off this life."
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| Drew in his kitchen |
We attend a tiny church here, Holy Trinity Episcopal church. There's not a full-time priest, so retired priests or some on vacation come down to fill in, or Craig (United Church of Christ) or Drew (Lutheran) fill in when needed. We took a couple of the visiting priests with us to Lucha Libre one night! There's a short service, then we fellowship for an hour or so with coffee and snacks.
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| Holy Trinity, Oaxaca |
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| And fellowship afterwards |
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| Vi and Sophie, two of our favorite people from Holy Trinity |
Tom, one of our acquaintances from church, teaches English in one of the universities here. I spent an afternoon with three of his students touring my favorite museum and having our own little intercambio.
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| My own private intercambio at a favorite museum |
When we were here in 2019, I took a Spanish class and adored my Spanish teacher, Sandra. She and her mother took me for nieves (a type of sherbet) one night, and a couple of days later, I had dinner with her and one of her friends, as well as her 12- and 14-year old goddaughters. It was fun speaking with Sandra and Josua, but I loved talking to the girls.
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| Sandra and her sweet mom, Julietta |
On Tuesdays, Ted plays pickleball, and has really enjoyed the group, some of whom are full time residents (both Mexicans and Gringos) and some who are, like us, short-timers. Ted and I spent some time with one young man from Wisconsin, Sam, who has three passions; food, travel and pickleball.
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| Ted, Sam (on the left) and friends at pickleball |
I practice yoga, and was able to take two classes from my old guru, Tonio, before the regular teacher returned and nearly killed me with dharma yoga. However, I located another great teacher, Joiee, and took her classes for over a month.
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| Tonio has the best yoga classes in Oaxaca |
Claudia, our landlady's rep on site, sees to it that we get our water (ordered weekly) and makes sure any problems are taken care of. Her smile greets us every morning as we leave.
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| Claudia at work at the business downstairs |
We don't know the name of this abuelita, but she sells fruit on the corner every day. We get all our fruit from her.
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| The best fruit lady |
I splurged and had both a massage and a facial. The woman on the left manages Casa Marla Sabina, and the beautiful Zapotec woman smiling on the right gave me the massage and the facial, using Zapotec herbs.
One day we even went nuts and tried the bar in our working class neighborhood. We survived it. Whew! |
| Corner bar |
So, yeah, we stay busy. And we love Oaxaca, but so does the world, and so, like so many cities the world has discovered, there are problems here caused by overtourism. It's a hard call, because the tourism has, in many ways, enriched the lives of Oaxacanians. Still, water is a problem, and mescalerias and artisan shops have driven out local shops. Yes, we are part of the problem and, I hope, the solution. It's hard to say if we'll be back, as much as we love it. Time will tell.
Meanwhile, we've had a heckuva ride.
