OAXACA
November 2021
November 2021
We flew in on Wednesday night and had some dinner and drinks in town. Thursday morning, we had coffee on our rooftop terrace, then took a walking tour around the historic center. We stopped for a snack at Mercado La Cosecha and I tried tejate (a traditional maize and cacao beverage) and a memela with squash blossom. We continued walking around el Barrio de Xochimilco and had a late lunch at Mercado Sánchez Pascuas. In the evening, we ate at Criollo and enjoyed the seven-course tasting menu.
Friday morning we rode a bus to Monte Albán, about 30 minutes outside the city. The site was a major city of the Zapotec civilization. First founded around 500 BCE, the city peaked at an estimated population of 17,200 from 100 BCE to 200 CE. After heading back to el centro, we ate lunch and relaxed on our rooftop. In the evening, the ladies went to a wine bar while the guys had a guided mezcal tasting at La Mezcaloteca. We ended the night with some cocktails, tlayudas, and tacos de lechoncito.
On Saturday we took a mezcal tour to visit three palenques where mezcal is produced. We stopped first to see how barro negro (black pottery) and Oaxacan wood carvings are made. We visited three palenques to see various stages of mezcal production, and of course to taste several mezcales.
We walked to Mercado Benito Juárez for a breakfast of chilaquiles, and did some more shopping and more eating in the nearby Mercado 20 de Noviembre. A little later, we saw the Museo Textil de Oaxaca, then continued to el Barrio de Jalatlaco. We walked around and had cocktails on a terraza. In the evening, we had one last nice dinner at Casa Oaxaca and ended the trip with a dessert featuring a gold-dusted chapulín (grasshopper). It was a great trip!
© 2021 Will Krieger