What would Oaxaca be without its famous roasted grass hoppers, also known as “chapulines”. Local lore has it that if you eat them when visiting Oaxaca, you will most assuredly return!
We had a meeting with some of the local ladies before heading off to Santo Tomas Jalieza on the other side of the Oaxaca valley in search of the makers of a new bag we discovered in the market. This is a small town which specializes in back strap weaving in cotton. The style is very distinctive and rather than try to explain it, I will upload images later today.
For those of you who are interested in traveling to Oaxaca or just learning more about it, here are a few interesting links to whet your appetite!
Traditions Mexico – www.traditionsmexico.com. The enthusiastic owner, Eric Mindling, has lived in Oaxaca for many years and is an expert on the ceramics of Oaxaca, textiles, and, well, the back roads. He offers amazing day tours surrounding Oaxaca City as well as longer trips.
And then there’s Seasons of my Heart – www.seasonsofmyheart.com. Susana Trilling, an American woman living in Oaxaca, has established quite a reputation as an expert on Oaxacan cuisine. She has written cook books on the subject and has a gorgeous cooking school out in the countryside surrounding Oaxaca City. She offers day long cooking classes which tour the local markets first, then spend the remainder of the day at her school.
Oaxaca Calendar – www.oaxacacalendar.com — A simple list of activities going on in Oaxaca, day to day, month to month. It doesn’t include everything, but it’s a good start! 
Artist, traveler, and social entrepreneur, Adele Hammond divides her time between Hood River, Oregon and the home where her heart is, Oaxaca, Mexico. The raw texture and color of Mexico became a part of her life when a year abroad with her family in a small Zapotec pueblo outside the city of Oaxaca gradually evolved into an extraordinary five.
Adele blogs about the culture, the crafts, and the people of Oaxaca and Chiapas, Mexico as well as her experiences in working with indigenous artisans there. Her travels take her down the back roads and into the workshops and homes of these people, where their diverse, ancient traditions and crafts are still being practiced today.
Her business, Latin Threads Trading, showcases and brings to a world market the work of these talented artisans while encouraging enterprise and empowering individuals to flourish independently and through their communities.
