First day, the sights of Oaxaca

This was a day with a ton of little snippets and no through line, if that makes sense. Parks, markets, street musicians, the Stamp museum with its VW covered in stamps and a treasure trove of Frida Kahlo letters, a few markets, more parks, lots of street vendors. You can’t go for more than a block without running into something that makes clear I’m far from Illinois.

Mostly joyful with a few sad parts thrown in. A woman in tears because she had been robbed, and a wooden wall with many posters snd graphics protesting the disappearance of loved ones. Two men going at it in a square. My phone tells me I’ve walked 17 miles and Joe’s 10., so there were a lot of steps from one street scene to the next. I loved it.

Oaxaca is bursting with tourists, lots of cheap trinkets and guys hawking tours or mezcal tastings. I can’t compare it to how things were before the invasion. But I’m loving it just how it is!Read more