The road to the coast

Oaxaca is known among biologists and botanists as the state with the largest biodiversity in the country of Mexico.  It has many climates represented including mountainous regions, dessert regions, and tropical regions.  It has high forested mountains and deep valleys as well as a long coastline.  It is the location where North American plant species meet and mix with plant species coming from Central and South America.

To travel from Oaxaca City to the Puerto Escondido, we took a very windy two lane "highway" over the mountains.  It was a trip of roughly 180 miles, where our maximum speeds due to the constant switchback turns was around 45 MPH and an average speed closer to 35 MPH.  It took about 8 hours to traverse the mountains.  And we had various cases of severe car sickness, despite reaching for Dramamine.  Hence...the camera pretty much stayed packed for the duration of the trip.

All that said, the scenery was fantastic!  The mountains were incredibly steep, going straight up on one side of the road and then down on the other.  And yet, even on a 60 degree incline, there were countless patches of corn planted on the mountainside in clearings between the trees. 

Leaving Oaxaca City the temperature was a dry 85 degrees.  When we stopped for lunch in a mountaintop village, it was not even 60 degrees.  Then as we drove down the other side of the mountains, we watched the evergreens give way to coffee plantations and eventually banana and coconut palms.  By the time we reached the coast for dinner, we were back up to around 90 degrees with high humidity.  Quite a trip!

Laundry Day

When traveling with kids, especially young ones, there will inevitably be laundry.  In Mexico, you will find a wide range of laundry choices. 

While many families will wash clothes in a washing machine like you find in the US, there are many additional options.  Just like you might drop clothes off at a dry cleaner, you can drop your clothes off at a laundry service to be washed if you are short on time.  Typically they will weigh your dry clothes and charge you by kilogram.  Then you come back later (usually later that afternoon or the next day) to pick up your completed laundry.  We tried this option and for less than what we would have paid at our local coin Laundromat back home, we had clean and folded clothes in hand.  A great option for anyone who prefers to use their time exploring instead of washing and folding!

Additionally, most homes in Mexico will also have a utility sink with a built in washboard.  This was a great option for us to use when we wanted to wash just a handful of items right away. 

 

We had fun showing the kids how this would work:
- Wet the clothing item
- Soap it up
- Rub it on the washboard
- Rinse and repeat until happy with the results
Juliana couldn't believe that her mom washed *all* her clothes this way when studying for a semester abroad in college.

Finally, when it comes to drying clothes, everyone has a clothesline in their house.  Whether it be on a rooftop or in a patio someplace, solar is the way to go!  And bonus - your whites stay white and everything smells really fresh when it comes off the line!  :)

 

Life on the street

There is always something going on in Oaxaca city.  The town is full of little plazas and everywhere you turn, people are outside doing things. 

Friends and families are always out and about and there is always something to do or see.

 

A sample of our experiences...

On our way into town, we ran into a little puppet show in a nearby plaza.  They were doing "The Frog Prince" with a bit of Mexican flair.  :)

 Balloons for the kids to admire...

 

Lots of cafes for a drink, a meal,

or just a snack...

Trees to play in...

 

Musicians to listen to...

 

Nice weather for an evening stroll...

Mercado Day

We spent a lot of time at different markets (mercados) throughout Oaxaca.  They were lively and colorful places full of new sights, sounds, and smells.

 

Generally, you can touch, smell, and sometimes even taste before you buy.

 Mercados are where people go to shop, eat, and just hang out. 

Going to the market for a breakfast of Barbacoa tacos (goat or lamb cooked for many hours underground) and soup is something very common in central and southern Mexico.  But you have to get there early, or the good stuff will be all gone! 

We enjoyed ours with traditional hot chocolate Oaxacan style.  It was served in a bowl! Mmmmmm!

You can find just about anything you need in the Mercado.

There are whole sections dedicated to fruits,

 

vegetables,

baked goods,

meats,

cured fish,

dried shrimp,

 

flowers,

 

hand tools,

cooking tools,

 

 pottery,

clothing and shoes,

beans, spices, and sugar (piloncillo),

chocolate in any form from pod to finished - made to order,

 a million types of chilies,

even live animals,

and many other local delicacies you may have never seen before.

 

...Or wouldn't expect to see...

It's a great place to learn and ask questions: "What's that and what do you do with it?"

...And try something new!

Traditional Zapotec Rug Weaving

Our guide Juan took us to see a demonstration of traditional Zapotec rug weaving.

Jesus Hernandez, whose family has conserved the traditional way of weaving rugs for many generations, walked us through the steps.

First the churro sheep wool is washed to remove the lanolin and any impurities.  Traditionally it was placed in a tall basket and was submerged in the river where the current can flow through the basket without the wool washing away.  A saponine containing root was used to rub against the sides of the basket and create suds.

 

Once the wool was clean and dry it was carded.

The carded wool was then spun into yarn.

After that the wool was dyed.  Red tones were made with cochinilla insect, as described in a previous post.  Lime juice (acid) is added to make it more orange and baking soda (alkaline) is added to make it more purple.  Blue tones are made with the indigo plant.  Yellow was dyed using marigolds.  Green tones are created by using either alge or mixing indigo with marigold.  Brown comes from the walnut.  Juliana's hand was used as a palate to demonstrate the different colors. 

 

 

Tree leaves containing tannic acid are used to make the colors in the died wool color fast.

 

The dyed wool is then woven into a rug. 

 

 

 

Children begin learning to weave around the age of 7, working on small pieces and repeating the same geometric designs over and over again until they are memorized.  As they get older they learn more and more complex patterns and work on larger pieces, and eventually learn how to weave curved designs and their own inventions.  Once they master all the weaving "building blocks" they can then weave any design that is desired.
 

 

 

 We had great fun looking at all the designs that were available in the rug studio.  The kids also enjoyed rolling themselves up like tacos in these masterpieces.  (Good thing they had permission to do so!)