Sylvie's Travels Home

March 26 and 27, 2024

We left early at 7am for a day of exploring. Max had arranged for Victor, a friend of hers, to drive us around for 2 days. Victor was also a guide so he knew where to go, where to park and he had all kind of suggestions and information as well. While driving, we noticed a lot of giant quiotes, flowers growing from agave, and found out that they were used at Easter time as decorations.

We drove until 8:30am and stopped in Roaguia for breakfast. We had memelas, also known as memelitas. They are similar to corn tortilla but thicker and in an oblong shape and they are made of masa flour topped with different fresh ingredients. They are usually cooked on a hot comal (large round griddle). Max picked for us regular memelas (this restaurant was serving them with black beans spread, tomatoes and avocadoes) with a side of chorizo, fried pork and eggs. We all had cafe de olla or hot chocolate.

We arrived at Hierve El Agua (petrified waterfalls) around 10am. We had to hire a guide as per the park rules. He spoke only Spanish but thankfully Victor was with us to translate. Pogo had paid 500 pesos to get the permission to drone so he took advantage of it. The site was spectacular although more crowded than usual according to Max, probably being the beginning of the Easter holiday.

We stopped in Mitla, a little town with an archeological site but we didn’t visit it. We just walked around and did a little shopping. Next, we stopped at 2 palenques (small mezcal distilleries). We had a small tour at the first one called Gracias a Dios and it was very informative and interesting. We also had a tasting. We bought a small bottle of Cuishe, made with a wild agave that takes between 10 to 13 years to grow. We then stopped at Salvadores, one of Max’s favorite brand of mezcal. They were not really opened to the public at the moment because they were doing renovations but Max had contacted the owner and he was waiting for us before leaving for a meeting. Last year, Max had brought some of his mezcal home and I really like the one made with chocolate and coffee so she wanted to make sure I could buy a bottle. We sampled a few more, Max bought a few bottles and we left. I was starting to really feel the effect of mezcal, especially in the 98F heat but Victor wanted us to sample a bottle of mezcal he had picked up at his friend’s palenque. It was made with marijuana. I have to say that it was quite delicious and mild tasting.

Our last stop of the day was in Teotitlan, a town known for its weaving. We stopped at a place where Victor knew the family. It was interesting to learn how they dyed the wool. They used small dried insects attached to cactus, squish them to get a red color. Then they added lime, limestone powder, mezcal or ashes and magically the color changed. We saw tons of beautiful rugs of different sizes but I felt in love with one that had a tree and multiple colorful birds. I had to have it!!! We went to the center of town, walked by beautiful stalls where Max and I could have bought everything.

We got back to our hotel around 6:30pm. We were exhausted but also hungry. We went across the street to a brewery. It looked like a new restaurant. There was only one couple there. We decided to go to the rooftop and noticed that the moon was full and red so we took a bunch of pictures. We all order pastrami sandwiches. It ended up being a thick slice of pork with a lot of fat. Max and I couldn’t eat it so they offered to switch them for pulled pork sandwiches instead and they were very good. We had one of the donuts Max had purchased during the day for dessert and went to bed early.

Tuesday morning, after a quick continental breakfast at our hotel served by Beatrice, our lovely and attentive waitress, Victor picked us up at 8:30am. We drove to Central de Abastos, the biggest indoor market of Oaxaca, to go have the famous memelas of Doña Vale. Since being featured on the Netflix’s Street Food show, her stall has been busier than ever but even though she could have expanded her space, she has refused. She has been making memelas for 39 years at her small stall. She is know for her morita salsa. We had them with ribs. They were sooo good!!!

The market was enormous and a maze. Thank goodness for Victor knowing his way around otherwise it would have taken us forever to find the car. On the way back, Max noticed a stall where she had taken a picture of a little girl 3 years ago. We stopped and she showed the picture to the mother. We ended up taking pictures of Max and them and they took pictures of the pictures we had just taken!! Haha!

We then went to Arrazola, a town famous for being the birthplace of Alebrijes, brightly hand painted and colorful Mexican folk art wood sculptures of mystical creatures. We first went to Angelico Jimenez and sat to see the process making the colors (same technique as the rugs), sculpting the wood, letting it dry, sanding, patching the holes, and finally painting the sculpture. They had 3 levels of painting, low, medium and high and the price varied with each level. Their work was exquisite. After visiting other businesses, we decided to have our own sculpture made at Angelico’s. It will be a mystical blend of a rabbit and a hummingbird. We agreed on the size and colors. The owner will send me a few drawings soon. We should receive the final sculpture in about 4 to 5 months.

Back in Oaxaca, we stopped for a quick late lunch then were back at our hotel at 3pm, just in time to meet with an artisan that Max had asked to bring us some handmade clothing to look at. She had bought a beautiful blouse from her with a band of beaded tiliches (carnival performers wearing costumes make of torn strips of fabric.) and at that time, had ordered one for me. Unfortunately the girl had sold it instead of shipping it to Max so she came to meet us with what she had left in my size. I bought a blouse and a pair of earrings for Max.

Pogo took a nap while Max did some work then we got ready to have some of Max’s friends over on the rooftop for mezcal and snacks. We had bought a bottle of mezcal at a fair in PV called Besa and wanted to share it with them. 7 of her friends showed up and it was nice catching up with some of them and meeting a few new ones. Ian and Yumi came afterward to have hamburghesas on the street with us and an ice cream.