Our first stop along our 16 day journey was the city of Oaxaca. If someone told me this would be the only stop we made, and that was the trip… I would be okay with that.
I had romanticised Oaxaca to the point where I was both nervous and excited at the reality that awaited. Luckily, Oaxaca was everything I had envisioned and much more. The state itself is magical… this arid terrain that lures you in, woos you and promises you very little in return for your admiration but you are in awe nonetheless. 7 hours away from anything, in any direction, the isolation of Oaxaca made it feel like a treasure you had to earn… and how. I was a bit worried about being on the road with my friend for so long. I am used to travelling alone; I’m my favourite company. Even on the few occasions travelling with friends, we have split off and done our own thing, touching base in between. While my friend and I had years of catching up to do, how would we fare for so long on the road? Our 7 hour journey into Oaxaca proved: quite easily. I forgot that we were both massive bass-heads, and basically the entire drive was a swapping in and out of ipods and a lot of, “Oooh, sick!” “Oy, check this one out!” “Yea yea, that’s a dope album!” “Hmmm… never heard this one…” “Whaaaaaa! Haven’t heard this in ages! That was my JAM!” The road was MADE for test-driving new music, and one album that got some serious rotation on this trip was Chronixx – Dread & Terrible. I can see this one becoming an instant classic… if readers are interested in a “Road Trip Soundtrack” post, leave a comment below and I will go into more detail of some of the music that got me through these 16 days on the road. 7 hours flew by with views of vast hills and drops, expanses covered in giant cactus plants, and sprinklings of the small agave shrubs ubiquitous to Oaxaca state… which I fondly called ‘baby mezcal plants’ or mezcalitos. We pulled into Oaxaca City just after 6pm and took a quick walkaround. The good ole’ interwebz recommends 2 great hostels: Hostal Don Miguel, and Hostel Alcala. Reality is, almost any hostel or posada near the old town centre, will suit the budget traveller just fine. If you’re an AirBnB fan, as I am, they’re all listed there as well. Almost all of them offer hot water showers and wifi (bonuses in my books), and a clean bed, and lockers for belongings (necessities). At roughly 150 pesos a night, we walked a few blocks outward from the town centre, and found a lovely family-run posada for 100 pesos a night. In fine newbie blogger form, I can’t tell you the name of it because I didn’t know I would need to report back to the world: but it’s a white facade with a beautiful blue brick entrance. If you’re lucky, you might also be greeted by the young toddler whose warm smile told me, “stay here.” The good thing about staying a few streets out of the town centre, aside from the drop in price, was also that it was almost deserted. Aside from a handful of german travellers who kept to themselves, and a Mexican jeweller, who was on the road through the country peddling his wares, the place was tranquil. While my friend Rico was captaining a chunk of our road trip, he still had to work, so on evenings we parted ways and while he and his laptop set up shop in one of the many coffee shops, I explored. As with most Latin American towns and cities, you will have the modern zone, and the old town. I beeline straight for the old town. As dusk hit, and the air still warm, the setting sun gave way to the rising zocalo, or square. Mariachis played, older couples danced, friends and lovers strolled around, children whizzed by. All the signs of life I witnessed were actually… alive. There wasn’t a cell phone or tablet in sight. Nobody was snapchatting their elotes or marquesas, people were simply just living in the moment, enjoying the evening air. I have a love/hate relationship with The City. They are grand and packed with booming culture and variety, but there is something about the emphasis on lifestyle conveniences that irks me. By that, I mean that cities are designed to run more efficiently than our past settler developments, and modern cities now emphasise so many amenities and aides to ease our way of life. Which is fine… that’s the whole point of a metropolis. But there is something about a simpler nature, balanced with just enough hard work to earn your harmonious environment that appeals more to my humanity. Could take the girl out of the island… As soon as I traded my Mexico D.F. boots and jacket, for some Oaxacan shorts and flip-flops… I felt way more at ease. Wooooosah. Everything slows down. And only what matters bubbles to the surface. My first night in Oaxaca could not have been more peaceful; the city couldn’t have been more welcoming. However… I had yet to set foot into my very first Mezcaleria. Spoke way too bloody soon…
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