Mexico - souvenirs

From the top left:
Colorful headbands - the best buy for my growing hair

Two purses, the smaller one with ornaments typical for Mitla ruins

Hand painted wood bowl from Arrazola

Earrings with beans

Silver earrings from Mitla - The Tree of Life

A silver ring with Mitla ornaments

Mexican cigarettes in a metal box with tiny matches

Colorful bookmarks

Alebrijes

Teatrical moisturizer in a retro aspired packaging

Mayordomo chocolate

Table-cloth





This is the last post about my trip to Mexico. All pictures are saved in Mexico collection on flickr.

Mexican Food

I will try to write something short about food of each country I visit and take pictures of souvenirs I buy.

First of all I learned that in Mexico the main meal is eaten late in the afternoon and it is called “comida”. “Cena” (dinner) is typically a very small meal.

In Mexico City I learned the difference between Mexican food and Tex-Mex food. Quesadillas, tacos and enchiladas tasted great and looked different. Quesadilla is the same thing as a taco, but folded. Add sauce on top of a quesadilla and you will get an enchilada. [disclaimer: the author of this blog has close to zero knowledge about Mexican food]

Oaxaca is known as the Land of Seven Moles even though many more moles are prepared here. Mole is a chili based sauce that often includes chocolate among more than 20 ingredients and takes many hours to prepare. The most known are negro (black), amarillo (yellow and very spicy), colaradito (rust-colored and medium hot), almendrado (mild, flavored with almonds), rojo (very red, quite spicy), verde (green, light, and full of herbs), and estofado (with sesame seeds).

I have managed to try red and green mole at home and six moles at a great restaurant Los Pacos, which gave six to taste before choosing the one for our main dish (chichilo not in the list above). Mole verde is hands down my favorite.

Juices, juices everywhere.

Of course, Oaxaca state is known for its mescal. Mescal is served with fried grasshoppers (called chapulínes in Mexico) that can be purchased on the market. Just like this:



Typical street food besides tacos and alike is elotes (cooked corn served on a wooden stick with butter, cheese and chili powder for $1 USD) sold out of wheel-carts in the late afternoon.

Another typical food for Oaxaca is tlayuda - huge tortillas topped with bean paste, copped spice beef and cheese. Here one I tried to finish:


Oaxaca is also known for its chocolate. Mayordomo is the most famous brand with multiple coffee shops, stores and prepackaged chocolate sold at supermarkets. To the south of Zocalo I have seen a number of small chocolate “factories” where they can create a special chocolate mix for you - maybe double the almonds and skip cinnamon for me. I actually walked into one of those factories one late afternoon to take a picture of a weird looking machine inside; instead I got a demonstration on how Oaxaca chocolate is made. Sometimes it is easier to show than to explain.

Oaxaca briefs. Part 5 - Oaxaca

So Oaxaca itself. Foremost, the name - I love it. Locals pronounce it almost like wohaca. Local cuisine - comida oaxaqueña. A local - oaxaqueño.

The historical part of town is shaped as a rectangular with the main city activity happening between Zocalo with its cathedral in the south and Santo Domingo in the north. This part of town is well-renovated and a lot of old colonial villas have been turned into boutique hotels with the most romantic gardens and corners. The old streets are not bad either. One story buildings in bright colors and spanking new paint on Cathedral and Santo Domingo make Oaxaca a postcard beautiful colonial town. For less glamor and tourists one can walk two-three blocks away from the main pedestrian street of Macedonio Alcala and enjoy buildings before they get "face lift".

Santo Domingo is the site in Oaxaca:






Political graffiti on the walls of HSBC bank that was painted over the next day.


Some street views:

Oaxaca briefs. Part 4 – Tlacolula

On my way back to Oaxaca from Mitla I stopped in Tlacolula, famous for its Sunday market. The good news was that the market was in general of no interest to tourists. Except for one row with carpets and textile goods nothing else in this big retail event of the week was dedicated to foreigners. One should watch the locals, the zapotec. Predominately women were selling and buying. I really liked that the majority of women were dressed distinctively, traditionally, very specific to the area - aprons, dresses, a shawl that becomes a bag for a watermelon or a baby (I've seen both), long black hear in braids and gold earrings (hasp works backwards, you put earrings from the back side of the ear, quite a skill actually!). Everything is being sold from everywhere. Live turkey, huge onions, fish, meat, fruits, smoothies, furniture, dishes - you need it, you will find it.

Some hectic shots, pardon the harsh light, it was 2 pm.






Iglesia de la Asunción de Nuestra Señora

Oaxaca briefs. Part 3 – Mitla

On Sunday morning I left the house at 6:30 am to catch the sunrise over the city rooftops. [Because Oaxaca is surrounded with hills, sunrise and sunset light does not last as long as in other places.] Usually Sunday is the quietest morning of all, but not Palm Sunday. Crowds would pure into streets at 7 am from a morning mass. Everyone was carrying a Jesus made out of reed.



My Sunday destination was Mitla – a city of ruins and textile. I caught a collectivo at 7:30 a.m., ecstatic about being the only person in a car. Not for long lasted my fake luxury – in 15 minutes we picked up a man and three women going to Mitla market. Women were carrying herbs that smelled like mint with a hint of cinnamon. That and gorgeous landscapes along the way made one hour drive (20 pesos = $2) to Mitla very enjoyable.


From downtown Mitla I walked to the ruins though bright sleepy streets of Mitla.




Mitla ruins were different from Monte Albán in scale, design and look and that’s why it is absolutely worth the visit. Beauty in simplicity – zapotec ornaments.

You can enter the palace and get a glimpse of how rich zapotecas lived centuries ago. Thick walls protect from the sun and cold. That's what I call real construction, nothing like my former residence, which is a good-looking high-rise where you either bake in the summer or freeze to death in the winter.







A few more pictures of ruins