shopping | onesmallboat

I love this city. It is vibrant, fairly easy to navigate, bursting with culture, and so beautiful. It also has a great temperature. Warm in the day and comfortably cool in the evenings.

We spent about 2.5 weeks there, most of it in the Centro and 5 days in the most beautiful housesit EVER. I was working in the day and in the evenings we would explore different barrios, occasionally eat out, or go to the zocalo to people watch. Not sure what Nick did with his days but it definitely involved art galleries and most likely looking for panaderías.

By and large it was a quiet few weeks, early nights and early mornings. There are several large mercados in Oaxaca and we explored Mercado Benito Juárez (opened in 1894) and Mercado 20 de Noviembre. Both focus primarily on fresh produce, meat, and flowers with the periphery an assortment of clothes, housewares, plastics. They also have several family run restaurants within the market along with elderly ladies selling tlayudas at the entrances. The selection of spices, cocoa, chiles, moles, etc. speaks to the rich diversity of indigenous Oaxaca culture. It feels and looks like the traditions of the different regions of Oaxaca is alive.

We also went to the Central de Abastos de Oaxaca. This market was created in 1974 to lessen the traffic in and around the other more central markets. It is located about 20 blocks southwest of the Zócalo and across the street from the second class bus station. Be forewarned. This market overwhelms the senses and is as inspiring as it is chaotic. It’s also impossible to see it all. It’s just too big. It covers 4 acres and has over 2000 businesses. The area itself is a little seedy, for example, we walked down a street to get there where the bars were open and the girls were working outside. It was 9am. I was warned by a woman in the market to put my phone away as pick pockets and snatch and grab is common. Nevertheless, I loved it. So much going on, friendly people, and beautiful fresh food. We tried to navigate it in a grid but it’s impossible, there are too many nooks and crannies.

Oaxaca has a reputation of being a very politically active city. There seems to be protests daily, women’s rights, indigenous rights, student protests, and of course, the marches to demand action on missing people. Almost everyday we would hear the shouts and banging of drums, road closures and megaphones from the square. And honestly, in the current state of the world where free speech is being taken away it is refreshing to see people taking it to the streets.

All in all, it was a great to be back in the City and we have already decided to spend some time there. Bring a car and explore the surrounding areas. Perhaps spend a winter.

This is a city of artists, writers and a lot of ex pats. We were told about 15000 live there year round. Our approach into the city was a bit chaotic plus I was struggling with airbnb and a reservation we had. Needless to say, our first impression was not a good one.

Our plan was to stop for lunch somewhere with wifi and confirm the address of our place in Queretero but by the time we got settled it was too late in the day to get back on the road. So we now had the problem of finding a place for one night in San Miguel. We were feeling road weary and grumpy. We popped into a little cafe called Cafe Oso Azul for some homemade yogurt and granola for the kids and a coffee for me. We must have been there for some time as the owner approached to see if we needed help.
We explained our predicament and after a few minutes he graciously took us to his apartment and that was where we stayed for the night. What a lovely man, his name is Jen, he his Danish and has been living there for 18 years. His apartment was great, just down the street from the main market.
In San Miguel we walked and walked and walked. The city is hilly, the jardins numerous and the churches are gorgeous. We bought a BBQ chicken, some tortillas and had a great feast. In the evening we went to the square for a wander, G bought a hat from the hat man and mariachi bands were playing everywhere. The hat man first started trying to sell Nick a hat and when Nick asked for a specific one, he dropped all his wares and said he’d be right back. So there we were with all his stuff in the middle of the plaza. When he was coming back Nick pretended to be selling them yelling,”sombreros, barato, barato”. It was pretty funny.
The kids remember the tacos and a parade that we decided to join. A group of people were singing, all dressed in baroque style, following first a burro, then a man who had a costume on of a paper mâché woman that stood about 10 feet in the air. Then there was an older couple walking together and then the rest of the parade. We walked down a few streets to an entrance to a restaurant where everyone started to chant for them to kiss. “Beso, Beso”. We still don’t know what it was about but it was fun. By then it was almost 11pm and although the streets were still busy with people strolling, we called it a night.
The morning brought a beautiful sunrise and we went up on the roof to feel the cool mountain air and drink coffee. A lot of life exists on the roofs in Mexico. Firstly, it is where all laundry is hung, it is also where the dogs and cats tend to hang out. We watched the merchants waking up the city, opening their stores and having a chat with the passersby. We also watched a hot air balloon floating over the city. Very cool, I never realized how loud the fire is or how big the flame is. I think I would like to try that.
We went to a gallery and artists studio on the outside of town called Fabrica de la Aurora, it is a massive old textile mill that now houses artists from the area. We could have spent hours there, we spoke with a few artists themselves, looked at a wide range of styles and I almost bought a painting from a local artist named Azuela. The painting was very vibrant and depicted typical rural life in the area around San Miguel. I felt rushed so I passed on it but I’m now kicking myself.
There are only a few inland towns that I can see myself living in and San Miguel is one if them. Everyone was so friendly and it just has a really good vibe about it.