Oaxaca

While reluctant to leave Mexico City, at least I had Oaxaca to look forward to. I'd heard good things about Oaxaca and it didn't let me down! Oaxaca City has a beautiful old colonial centre that has been truly made Mexican by the bright colours, plentiful street art, and lively culture. Oaxaca was another place that you could happily walk around for hours and never get bored of looking at the cool street art, visiting little shops and cafes, and discovering hidden markets. It also has it's fair share of impressive cathedrals and churches, including the 16th century Templo de Santo Domingo, which is heavily guilded on the inside and glows gold as the sunsets. You also never know when you will come across the mojigangas, 10-15 foot tall puppets that make the centre piece of a wedding parade. The puppets are usually followed by other strangely dressed figures, a giant spinning ball, a mariachi band, and a huge crowd of partygoers and hangers on.

Oaxaca is also a region known for its food, often considered the best in Mexico. The most famous traditional dish of the region is probably the mole, a complex sauce made from many ingredients such as fruit, nuts, spices, and chocolate, often eaten with chicken and rice. The central market was a great way to further explore the cuisine of the area. Traditional drinks are made in huge terracotta vats, I tried a peculiar one called agua de chilacayota, made of shredded squash and walnuts and served with a spoon. Another favourite of mine was horchata, a creamy drink made from rice or nut milk and flavoured with cinnamon. The food section of the market was hot and rammed with hungry locals, you just need to find space at a bench and order from a basic menu. I had a vegetarian tlayuda, a large tortilla topped like a pizza with bean paste as the base, with veg, avocado and courgette flowers, and then the stringy Oaxacan cheese. A classic meal eaten in the night market outside was barbacoa de borrego, slow cooked barbecue lamb made into a soup with veg, chickpeas, and loads of spices.

I had learned only a week or so earlier that the eclipse was passing over Mexico while I was there. I wouldn't get to see totality which was passing over Durango where I had been only a couple of weeks earlier, but there was going to be 60% coverage in Oaxaca. So this seemed like a fitting day to head to Mount Alban, ancient Zapotec ruins from around 500 BCE. Mount Alban was one of the first major cities in mesoamerica and was created by levelling off the top of the mountain, which makes a striking site. Not being prepared for an eclipse and not wanting to look at the sun, I spent most of my time watching the reflection of the eclipse in my phone screen. But it was still pretty cool to witness it sat on top of an ancient temple with other people going the same, some people even let me use their glasses.

When in Oaxaca I had to go and see Hierve el Agua, one of only two petrified waterfalls in the world (the other is in Turkey). They are formed by natural springs that are oversaturated with calcium carbonate which precipitates out as the water runs over the cliffs. The top of the waterfall has some natural and artificial pools that you can spend some time in while taking in the valley below. Next up was Mitla, another site of ancient Zapotec ruins, followed by Mezcal tasting. Mezcal doesn't quite do it for like tequila does so I was quite reserved this time and didn't end up with a hangover!Читать далее