Oct 9, 2010 - The first week

So today was my first day in Oaxaca without school. I used this day to participate at a tour organized by a NGO called En Via (http://www.envia.org/). It was a very special tour. Envia uses the money brought in by the tours to give interest-free loans to groups of local women in Teotitlán, so they can improve their business. The tour consists of six visists to women who applied for a loan, so they can present their business, their ideas and the their plans. Teotitlán is famous for its weaving products, mostly carpets, so most of the women...

Oct 4, 2010 - The first "normal" day in Oaxaca

So after a quiet night in my 4 bed dorm (which I had completely for myself), I was walking to my spanish school, the Instituto Cultural de Oaxaca. It is a really beautiful old building, with a nice park around it and some separate smaller buildings. During the breaks you can sit under a tree in the park or get a free coffee at the cafeteria. Very nice! After 4 hours of spanish classes there was a introduction where the "subdirectora" explained some things about the school and the city, tomorrow I will have an "intercambio", where I meet a...

Jun 30, 2010 - Oaxaca - Mexico

June 29, 2010 Just found a great internet place so I thought I should take the time. I arrived in Oaxaca City yesterday early in the afternoon. After coming from a hot dry Puebla and San Miguel this wet and gloomy city is kind of a bummer. To get to El Centro I had to drive through a grimy part of town that reminded me of a clean India. I found the bed and breakfast I wanted to stay. It´s called Las Bugambilias and the book reads, “decorated with…antiques and folk and contemporary art. Free Oaxacian two course breakfast. Free phone calls to...

Jun 11, 2010 - Oaxaca

Our first stop on our trip was to Oaxaca (pronounced like Wahaca) in the south of Mexico. We had heard that it's one of the most beautiful towns in the country and bohemian with lots of markets and craft shops. The town itself is really small, but the streets are filled with stalls and people selling things so there's lots of people around. The undercover markets were really nice, with lots of different types of food and handmade crafts. The area is famous for its mole and style of hot chocolate and these are sold everywhere. The only down...

Apr 6, 2010 - Day 4-6 Oaxaca

On the way to Oaxaca we stopped at some massive cacti and got pitcures. Drove through 30,000 sq km of protected cactus land. Once we got to Oaxaca the roads where very dirty and crowded. After Puebla, it was a bit of a shock how dirty this city was. Zocola was full of trees and people and srounded by cafes. (more here on our day trip to Mitlan , Zapatec Weavers, petrafied waterfall and Mescal factory) That night, due to a group vote, we stayed at the hotel, drank beer and got take out pizza. I at least had the Mexican pizza ;) Last day...

Feb 5, 2010 - Mexico City - Rain Delay

I have had an offer I just couldn't refuse. A fellow motorcycle traveler, Garry Dymond, lives in Mexico City and contacted me through this website: "If you want to come to Mexico City we will lead you in, put you up and show you around." How nice is that! I always said I would never attempt to ride into Mexico City but with this much help I can hardly wait. I understand that about 20% of Mexico's population lives there. I have also heard that Mexico City is like the sun; everything else in Mexico revolves around it! To say you have...

Jan 28, 2010 - Oaxaca

Staying at Hostel Paulina...very new, very nice, great showers, and lots of traveling folks. Looked at our expenses so far in MX and it is more per day than in E. Europe which was one of the most expensive areas so far...$30 US+/day! Perhaps 50% goes for transport. What makes up for it is that Mexicans are much more helpful and friendly so far which makes the $$$ pain somewhat more acceptable. Perhaps we could save some driving our own vehicle but then that removes us from mainstream MX. 1/29 Head for Monte Alban, earliest inhabit 200BC...

Jan 25, 2010 - Ciudad de Oaxaca

I have sort of settled in here over the past few days. My hotel is very comfortable, close to everything in the historic center of the city and very reasonable. I negotiated a weekly rate that works out to 250 pesos (about $20.00 CDN), which is extremely good for this hotel, especially this close to the Zocola in Oaxaca. I have been taking in the sights and visited a couple museums during the day, then enjoying the various entertainment that goes on nightly in the square. I also established a bit of a study routine for my spanish. I have...

Jan 22, 2010 - Puerto Escondido to Ciudad de Oaxaca, Oaxaca

I did not sleep well last night and this morning I was feeling a little “off”. Not sick, mind you, just off a little. It could be a little too much sun yesterday I suppose. I was moving slow and did not get on the road to Oaxaca until 9:30 AM. The 250 km trip should take about 5 hours so I still had plenty of time. I decided to take Mex 131 which is the same road I took the other day to Juquila. It is rough and slow but on my motorcycle that just adds to the fun. The first part of the road to El Vidro, the turn-off to Juquila, turned out to...

Jan 15, 2010 - The Dissapointment Of Stereotypes

We spent a few days in Oaxaca (pronounced Wa-haka, which makes one feel like a surf dude in Hawaii). It’s the centre of art in Mexico, but with a bit more hustle and bustle than Puebla. There are lots of colourful markets, streets lined with bored looking bandidoes who look at gringos with squinty eyes that spell disdain at one thousand paces as if they’re waiting for an opportunity, like a fisherman with his line in the water may sip on a cold beer but when that line takes he’ll throw that beer down and start reeling, or he’ll lose his...

Dec 15, 2009 - Oaxaca

Hallo iedereen, Na een hobbelige rit (waarbij verschillende slaaphoudingen werden uitgeprobeerd, maar tot nu toe geen enkele ideale gevonden) om 5.30u aangekomen in Oaxaca, taxi gevonden die ons bracht naar een goedkoop hotel, ingecheckt, bagage afgesmeten, op bed geploft om "onze tuk" uit te slapen. Door het zonnetje gewekt rond 9.30 u, gedoucht en energiek aan onze dag begonnen. Te voet naar het historische koloniale centrum van Oaxaca. leuke pleintjes vol kerststerren (de planten dus, niet de hemellichamen). Straks met de bus naar de...

Nov 22, 2009 - Oaxaca

Nous arrivons dans la ville de Oaxaca. La temperature est super agreable et un ciel bleu immacule nous accompagne toute la semaine. Oaxaca est une tres belle ville, ou du moins son centre historique. Nous restons nos sept nuits dans un petit hotel et nous apprecions beaucoup la vie a deux et le fait d’etre pose dans un endroit fixe. A Oaxaca il y a beaucoup a voir: le centre ville et la fameuse eglise de Santo Domingo, dont tout l’interieur est recouvert d’or pur. C'est une ville tres vivante et tous les jours il y a des l’activites, des...