Next day we were off to Octotlan. There was a little confusion over the taxi going as although it was a collectivo or shared taxi, it just took us, and while the price was cheap compared with UK prices, we felt we may have paid over the odds. Nonetheless it was a good trip and 40 minutes later we were dropped off at the entrance to the weekly market, which attracts people from all the neighbouring villages. It was huge and bustling and sold everything and anything and we can only have walked a fraction of it. These were the highlights – the tortilla making machines, one that makes the masa and others that roll the tortillas …
… a lady preparing cactus …
… hats …
… the Cocina de Frida a popular food stall in the same family for 70 years with its very own Frida …
… huge piles of embroidery thread and beautifully hand embroidered dresses …
… and lots of lovely veg.
Apart from the market, we were also on the trail of Rodolfo Morales, an artist born here in Ocotlán who became one of Mexico’s greatest artists, then used his earnings to restore buildings and create cultural centers throughout the valley. Morales made sure that much of the restoration work was done by local women who developed skills for later work and established a computer training center for young people. First we saw the murals in the Municipal Palace celebrating 400 years of the town.
Just outside we also spotted a temporary health and wellness area, with a mobile mammogram van, optician doing eye tests and a hairdressing school providing a trim!
The C16th Dominican monastery next door, contains a Morales museum which shows more clearly that he was a surrealist who incorporated elements of magical realism into his work, which used a variety of media.
Time for lunch, and we started down the meat section, spotting the favoured thinly cut and lightly salted tasajo beef on the menu everywhere served grilled.
I was in search of lamb, always my favourite meat, and I hoped to find lamb barbacoa, which is slow-cooked, traditionally in a fire pit. Success, I had a bowl of lamb and vegetable broth, with chunks of cooked lamb added on top as well as a tortilla, filled with lamb. I was shown that toppings were needed, both in the soup and the tortilla – salsa, coriander, onion, shredded cabbage and lime. Both were delicious, and Chris manfully waited until his turn and had a veggie quesadilla in the food hall.
After lunch, we found the church, and spot the native grown ponsettias growing outside …
… and a craft market with rugs …
… and the whimsical painted wooden creatures called alebrijes which come from the nearby town of San Martín Tilcajete.
Our returned journey was more successful and we ended up in the back of a collectivo with a lady, while two chaps shared the front with the driver … and the fare 40 peso each, just £3.50 between us!
Walking back to the hotel we spotted activity at La Soledad, a huge group preparing for a parade to celebrate 65 years of a local school, with many of the students in local dress and large balloons and paper mache figures to be carried.
Dinner was at La Olla, a long standing local restaurant with veggie choices and in fact we both had a yellow mole flavoured with yellow chilhuacle chili and thickened with corn.
On our last day in Oaxaca, we had a slow start, packed our bags and went to visit a couple of museums – The Textile Museum with contemporary exhibits …
… and their collection of local huipils …
through the San Pablo Cultural Centre …
… to the Museo de los Pintores with its eclectic mix of exhibits. Leonora Carrington was a famous British-Mexican surrealist and some of her drawings were on display including this one of Carrington Hall …
… but I was drawn to these colourful images by a local artist called Fulgencio Lazo filled with images of weaving and cotton reels!
Later, we spotted a wedding procession in the street, with the banner round the ball at the front with their names, two huge paper mache bridal figures, a band and colourfully dressed dancers who would all have been hired, mingling with the weddding guests behind. No doubt they also have to pay to have the police stop traffic on their route!
There was also dancing at La Solenid, maybe a class or practice for a show!
We picked up some bits for later … three small bottles of mexcal so we could have a little tasting session on the bus to help us sleep …
… and snacks just in case …
… and had an early dinner at Taniperla before heading to the bus station.
With a 12 hour trip ahead of us, we had booked the front seats in the posher purple ADO bus …
… with complimentary water, in seat entertainment … only in Spanish, and reclining seats with footrests.
Mind you, our planned mexcal tasting didn’t quite happen as the bus was in darkness once we left. We took turns necking one miniature, I listened to a couple of podcasts and was eased into sleep by Bill Nighy’s dulcet tones.
See you in the morning!
Off Travelling Together 