A local market, downtown Oaxaca
Living in Oaxaca for five years puts “favorites” into perspective: creature comforts, uncrowded, lovely places, quality service, unique experiences…and food!
This list is by no means complete (I will probably have to add more favorites right away as there are so many!) and they are in no real order as it is hard to rank favorites! Starting with the first installment of five:
1. El “Pepe”, the most wonderfully refreshing drink on a hot day. Go to Cafe Brujula, Garcia Vigil #409-D (no, they are not my friends!) and order this smoothie drink made from cucumber and lime juice with a bit of sweet… They also have wifi and the best coffee in town.
2. Easiest parking lot: on Matamoros and Garcia Vigil. For those of you with anything larger than a small SUV you know what I am talking about! This garage is downtown, close to everything and has a WIDE entrance with great clearance! (I know, a bizarre favorite, but you have to drive a truck to understand this one!)
3. La Bisnaga: Wonderful “new” Oaxacan cuisine with the best mojitos in town. They serve up traditional Oaxacan fare (and more) with contemporary flair. The service can be sketchy but it is worth throwing yourself in front of the wait staff to order.
4. The Zocalo: No trip to Oaxaca is complete without drinks or a meal in the town square. My favorite place is La Primavera but there are plenty of choices to sit and people watch. If you are not indigenous looking I guarantee you will be barraged with offers of everything from rugs to back massagers but the phrase “ya compre, gracias” (I already bought (it), thanks) works well…
5. Amate Books, Alcala 307 The Alcala is a great pedestrian street that connects the zocalo to the Santo Domingo church area and is blissfully car free. You will find lots of tourist shops, a few good restaurants, and Amate books. This small store hosts probably the best collection of English language books on Latin America, from art to architecture, culture, fiction, and even Oaxacan recipe books. If you are simply looking for a good read for the bus or a coffee table book on ceramics of Oaxaca, this is the place!
Stay tuned for the next installment!
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.
