Wahaca....

....as the London restaurant chain is spelt. I've travelled another two hours to Oaxaca---the proper spelling---a city of a over half a million and a fascinating cultural centre. Even the main bus station boasts a Gothic-style vaulting, harking back to when railway stations were compared to cathedrals. Oaxaca enjoys an excellent climate---at least in the dry season, which this is---rarely too hot by day or too cold by night. It's attracted numbers of expats, both snowbirds and digital nomads.

My room with a view is an early morning shot of contrasting colours. It's said that wrought-iron balconies like this are custom-crafted and that no two are the same. The next image shows that it's only days away from St. Valentine's Day, as seen near one of the outdoor restaurants on the Zocalo (central plaza). The central streets of Oaxaca are rich in 17th and 18th century architecture, built in the local "cantera" stone, tinged greenish from volcanic ash. They're also rich in street art, much of which is painted but these seem to be fashioned from paper and stuck on to the building.

One reason for my Oaxaca visit is to meet my friend Doree, whom I last saw in Brazil a few years ago and has now settled here. Her partner Enrique and she invite me to dinner at an upmarket restaurant where I'm introduced to tlayuda, a local dish with a large triangular base of fried tortilla filled with---more or less anything you like. The next morning she shows me round her local area, including an excellent bakery and the owner of a chocolate shop---chocolate of course having originated as a drink in ore-Columbian Mexico.

The final image shows the small bus station where camionetas---minivans holding about 15 passengers---complement the first-class buses for shorter journeys outside the city.Meer informatie