• The main church, founded in the early 1700's
    Front viewLooking south toward the town of CapulalpamEstafania awaiting our food, condiments at the readyA breakfast in the forest! Every Sunday ladies from Ixtlan set up an elaborate meal.Tortillas, posole, black beans, memelas--so delicious outside!The forest is dry, but the trees are alive with bromeliads.An example of one of 1768 varieties of bromeliads in the Sierra Norte.And some are blooming!This beetle is called a "maya."We sighted this man repairing the town's official announcement system.Here is how he appeared from where I took the photo.And I managed to catch him as he was leaving work--a job he has had for 27 years in Ixtlan.Above the town of Ixtlan: a "mirador," viewpoint. We walked shoeless on the acrylic platform.The town of Ixtlan from the mirador.

    A Weekend in the Sierra Norte

    12. mai 2022, Mexico ⋅ ☀️ 20 °C

    Hello Everyone! It’s been 13 months since I wrote my first post in my new home of Oaxaca. I’ve found that International Living takes a lot of psychic energy. It is as different from traveling as listening to violin playing is from actually playing the violin. In other words, I’ve been busy learning how to BE in Mexico. Now I’m ready to write about it.

    I manage my own apartment, first rented as an Airbnb property from hosts Paulina and Julián. In April 2021 I became an actual renter, separate from Airbnb, and have remained so. I now have friends, a team of doctors and a dentist for my every need, markets and shops to patronize, a Mexican bank account, a “Circle of Mexican Literature” which I formed, and most importantly, a dear Mexican pareja named Enrique.

    Enrique and I have been a couple since March 2021. We started traveling together last year. Now, as I restart writing in this blog, I feature our latest excursion to the Sierra Norte, to Ixtlán, about two hours and 400 curves into the mountains from Oaxaca. With us were my great friend Vicky and her daughter Estefanía. I hope you enjoy the photos!
    Les mer