The last two weeks in Oaxaca were chock full of activities! This part was planned with my friend, BJ. It was so fun to have her here! Oaxaca had its violent struggles around 2006, but by 2012 peace was on its way back and now the city is experiencing a boom of good fortune where, for the most part, residents are able to make a decent living. It is surrounded by smaller towns that are known for a particular artisan skill: black (green and red) pottery, tapestry weaving, alebrijes, etc. Hearing the Zapotec language spoken is quite common, as well as numerous other indigenes languages. The heat peaked at 90 degrees or more during the height of the day, but the mornings and evenings were delightful, and sometimes cool, dipping down into the low 50’s. We enjoyed the people, the art, the food, the drink, the architecture, the museums, and more!
Our Home . . .
Knowing BJ and I, you must know that we spent a great deal of time picking out our home last October. It cost about twice the amount of my usual homes, but we were sharing it, so it was within my budget. The two features we were most excited about were two bedrooms (which didn’t come to pass) and a large terrace (a real highlight!). The location was perfect, right near the Centro; but we were off the street, so not much street noise. The manager lived across the patio and was delightful. She and her husband have two adorable twin boys who celebrated their fourth birthday while we were there.
Our dinning room 
The view from our terrace 
The kid’s play area on the terrace 
more terrace 
Dinner on the terrace 
me in my bed! 
Our 2 am mescal party 
Looking out to the patio from our bedroom
Our School . . .
We also spent quite a while selecting a school, utilizing spreadsheets, of course. We settled on the Spanish Immersion School and paid our deposit in October. It has no campus, of sorts; however, it offers one-on-one instruction. It turned out to be the perfect choice! We met our teachers at 9 each morning for three hours. Usually I asked to go have coffee – which suited Alfonso just fine.
Our first day of school 
BJ with her instructor, Gadi 
Going for coffee! 
My instructor, Alfonso
One Saturday we signed up for a tour to two villages: San Martín Tilcajete, known for their alebrijes; and San Bartolo Coyotepec for their black pottery. You may remember alebrijes from the movie, Coco. They are brightly colored sculptures of animals and fantastical creatures. Two teachers served as guides and we took public transportation – a long day and much fun!
Our guide, Jacob, demonstrating characteristics of local plants 
Alebrije painters in training 
Crafting the alebrije form 
A view of the church through the windows 
Jacob, our guide, helping BJ talk with the vendor about the sweet figures she bought! 
A look at the “kiln” used by this family of black pottery artisans 
Jacarandas are coming into bloom in the plaza by the church!
Near the end of our time Alfonso drove me to one of his favorite towns, San Augustin Etla. The public building there used to be a textile plant built by the French. After it was deserted, it was purchased by a local, highly respected artist, Francisco Toledo. His name comes up a lot and he has a habit of purchasing beautiful old buildings and donated them for public use. He died last year and his influence is everywhere in Oaxaca!
The stunning Iglesia de Soledad Vista Hermosa is said to be the only one of gothic revival style in Mexico. 
Here’s the old textile building – again with the rich green cantera stone 
Colors: cantera when wet, pavement colored with cochineal 
old textile factory products still here . . . 
Creative stairs! 
I love this sample of black pottery 
I love these cute little guys hanging from the eaves!
Our last day of classes BJ and her teacher, Gadi, along with Alfonso and I, had breakfast together and then wandered around another ex-convent, Santa Catalina, that is now the Quinta Real Hotel.
Community laundry room from long ago . . .
Extra-Curricular Activities
One of the great things about enrolling in a school is that you have experts and other travelers that refer you to great local events. One of my favorites was a free concert by the Oaxaca Orquesta at the Macedonia Alcalá Theater. The building is beautiful on the outside and I was dying to see the inside. BJ left early to stand in line for seats. When I joined her, she was very near the beginning, so we had our pick of seats! We chose the first balcony and sat in comfy seats in our own box. When the curtains raised, I was confused by the instrumentation. They had two drum sets, bass guitar, electric guitar, two electric keyboards . . . Then I saw the conductor had a saxophone hanging from his neck and I knew we would be in for a treat. We hadn’t seen the poster, so we were surprised that instead of Oaxaca’s symphonic orchestra, we were listening to their “primavera” (spring) orchestra. This concert was a tribute to two of Mexico’s musicians. We later heard that one of them, Jose Jose, had a mixed reputation of being a drunk with multiple families at the same time, giving him much drama to inform his songs. BJ likened the over-the-top singer to Engelbert Humperdinck. He had the audience singing and they ALL knew the words to the songs. It was not what I was expecting, but such a delightful twist and so much fun!
(taken with my iPhone 10) 
(taken with BJ’s iPhone 11) 
One day after class BJ and I headed to Teotitlán del Valle to meet some friends of friends in Bellingham. Cheryl and Kelly have been coming to Oaxaca for some time and are now living at the Arte Seda. This family run business raises silkworms and harvests their cocoons to spin silk and weave it into beautiful fabric. BJ and I enjoyed the tour and bought some of their work. When decisions became hard, out came the mescal to help us along! Cheryl and Kelly gave us a tour and made sure we got home safe and sound. What a treat to meet such nice Bellinghamsters in Oaxaca!
itty bitty silk worms . . . 
Growing up silk worms . . . 
They love their mulberry leaves! 
Once they leave their cocoons, they are ready for harvesting. 
They are actually more like moths. 
These are the washed cocoons ready for spining! 
Again, natural dyes are used for pigmentation: añil for indigo and cochineal for the reds. 
Teotitlán del Valle is a calm & clean town! 
On our last night, BJ and I went out for a celebratory dinner at another wonderful restaurant recommended by one of BJ’s friends – yum! On our way home we ran into a street parade for a young couple getting married in the morning – just another Friday night in the city!
Gratuitous Street Art, Architecture, Windows and Doors (for Lesley)
beautiful green cantera stone 
I love the churches – only a few here: Iglesia de San Andreas Huayapam 
One of my favorites: Basilica of Nuestra Señora de Soledad, by the Zocalo 
Templo de Santo Domingo de Guzmán and cultural center – majestic! 
I love it when the bells ring! 
My México Travels 
Such color!! Did you like your language “school”? compare to Puebla? Rebeca
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It was different. The one in Puebla is more intensive – 3 hours in the classroom and 3 hours of conversation. This one had excellent people, and it felt less intensive. It could have been my attitude. I think it was excellent for BJ as a beginner!
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You will come home and want to raise silkworms, or take up pottery-making, I assume? Thanks for all the gratuitous photos of doors, windows and street art. I love these glimpses, and wish that we had more architectural interest here…. Lesley
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Yes – wouldn’t that be great!
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Thank you for sharing. I love the photos!! Oaxaca is pretty big for a small town. Is is subdivided by neighborhoods? If so, what neighborhood were you in?
On Sun, Mar 8, 2020 at 2:39 PM My México Travels wrote:
> KHNolan posted: ” The last two weeks in Oaxaca were chock full of > activities! This part was planned with my friend, BJ. It was so fun to have > her here! Oaxaca had its violent struggles around 2006, but by 2012 peace > was on its way back and now the city is experiencing a b” >
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Thanks for viewing and commenting! I tend to stay close to the Zocalo, or Centro because of safety, ease of transportation (walking!), and the most compact area of services and activities. The first two weeks I was in the Barrio Santa María del Marquesado – about a 40 minute walk to el centro. The last two weeks we stayed in el centro, within blocks of the zocalo.
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