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December 20 – We arrived at Agrado Guest House in Oaxaca City fairly early in the afternoon, most likely because the drive was smooth and ordinary. But Agrado is not ordinary. It’s a moist jungle inside thick stone walls. This is like one of those places you simply don’t want to leave. Just grab one of the many chairs that won’t to let you go once you sit, read a book and talk out loud in Latin. People will think you’re smart… or drunk. Anyway, this is a nice, rustic, artsy place. We were so early that our room wasn’t ready. The girls that run the place politely asked, in squeaky little voices, if we could give them a couple hours to get it together. No problemo.
It was a mere 5 blocks to the main square. That means we walked about 18 blocks, but upon arrival, the square was green and buzzing with activity. We decided to sit at one of the cafes, have a tequila and a beer and shew off the hundreds of pesky vendors. Leslie, the lady at the next table, took a liking to us. Somehow, I impressed her with my Spanish when I ordered bebidas. She asked if we liked Mezcal, to which we replied, “You bet cha!” Besides working for the government and being a landlord for some townhomes back in California, Leslie is a Mezcalera. She makes her own and packages it for international sales. She sent her son off to the bowels of the city. 30 minutes later, he returned with “her product” and a couple of shot glasses, all of which she graciously gifted to us.
I think we’re gonna like this town, again.
After we officially accessed our room, we went looking for El Quinque, a little speck of a restaurant that is off the radar for most. Cheap and tasty, just like we like it. The chef is friendly and chefy. His cochina skills make this place deserving of a Michelin star, a Zagat award or at least a fancy plaque with glitter. !Muy, muy sabroso! It is also across the street-ish from the Lucha Arena. The “Arena” is difficult to access empty lot that was swallowed up by the surrounding building. We seriously considered tickets for about 24 hours but then declined.
Let’s get back to the splendid gastronomic roll I was on. We walked through the Mercado Vente de Novembre food stalls, passing through the smokey asada aisles where vendors competed for our attention. The smells were tempting, but we held out for lunch at Levadura de Olla where you can get guacamole with grasshoppers, a fabulous tamal smothered in rojo and negro mole and a platter of native tomatoes on a bed of beet purée.
Yes… a tray o’ tomatoes. We passed on the guac but indulged in the tomato dish and tamal. Have to say, those were some mighty tasty tomatoes, 11 different heirloom types with savory flavors. Que fancy.
We’ve been to this city numerous times, explored the villages, rode the horse trails and drove and drank on the mezcal trail. This time we parked the car. Tammy deserved a vacation too. Our days in Oaxaca City were mostly spent just walking around, checking out the multitude of shops and markets, but on Saturday, the 21st, the festivities reached maximum party level. There were weddings and quinceanera and anniversaries and each with their own party band. The “calenda” (a walking party) are a thing here in Oaxaca which includes mezcal, mojigangas (giant dolls for comic relief) and loudness. We saw the same party bands for Day of the Dead here a few years ago. Feel free to join in, plus there’s no chance of a DUI.
After the tomato incident, we leaned more towards the street food like cup o’ corn, hamburgers (with ham) and bacon wrapped hotdogs all from carts that come rolling in to a nearby street corner each night. Really cheap and mighty yummy. When not being street connoisseurs, we took our pesos back into the food markets. We had breakfast one morning with a family from Eugene Oregon, all of us sitting in quite close proximity in the crowded Fonda Rosita’s.
December 23rd – The oddest festival of them all. Let’s celebrate the lowly radish, Noche de Rábanos. If you’re imagining those cute little orbs, the color of a fat white kid’s cheeks then you’d be wrong. On this day, Oaxaca celebrates mutant radishes that have been over fertilized and pumped with veggie steroids and are inedible, then given in heaps to local artists. Carve away, boys n girls. The festival only last 6 hours or so while the artists try to keep their creations supple with a regular mist of water that doesn’t need to be potable. Thousands line up to see their work. I’m not here to knock tradition but… it was odd. And rather macabre the drier the radishes got. I think the organizers of this noticed so they added a corn husk art section.
Christmas Eve, drizzle covered all of Oaxaca and lasted the entire day. That morning, we bundled up and headed back to the market for a simple breakfast of Pan de Yema (sweet bread) and hot chocolate con leche. The rest of the day was spent in our jungle room with cocktails and Backgammon and writing this silly thing. One gets hungry being slaughtered at backgammon, so we checked out the nearby Vino & Vinyl. What a cool find! They had shelves of great albums that you could pick from or just let the boss guy spin his choices. There wasn’t a bad tune the whole night. Every head in the room bounced to the beat between pizza bites.
Merry Christmas to all. Some would even say it glows. Roast those chestnuts. And what exactly is a sugar plumb fairy all about?
Oaxaca is a foodie city, but give me a food cart any time. Can’t go wrong a good hamberguesa.
Cochina Skills ? LOL . . Glad yall are havin a great Journey !
Ok, so you’re in the land of Oz where everything is magically delicious. What a beautiful place to be. Glad you’re having a wonderful holiday and it’s not even New Years yet. I guess your next stop will be Shangri-La. Happy Trails!