A specialty of Oaxaca is a drink called mezcal, which is made from the same plant as tequila and tastes pretty similar. Walking through towns, a dozen stores sell it, and basically give you unlimited free samples. There are lots of different flavors, and between all the samples I am pretty sure we tried them all. We bought a big bottle for the few days we are here (flavored chocomente) and I bought three tiny bottles to take home with me (coco, pina colada, and nuez).
Today was absolutely amazing. We left first thing in the morning to go see Hierva el Agua, one of two petrified waterfalls in the world. We rode a bus for about an hour into Mitla, then took a collective taxi from there to the waterfalls. First we hiked around and to the base of the waterfall, which was absolutely gorgeous, then to cool down we went swimming in the pools at the top. Jumping in was one of the most relaxing moments of my life, and when I was swimming around it was like all of the stress from this past term dissapeared. I wasn´t thinking about money, about tonsillitis, about final papers, any of that. I was enjoying the view. The edge of the pools look out over the hills of Oaxaca. It is absolutely gorgeous. I want to go back, right now.
When we were done swimming we bought some tamales for the road. We headed back to Mitla for lunch. Driving into Mitla I was not impressed, it looks like a tiny boring town in the middle of nowhere, but we walked a few blocks in and it was really cute. We had lunch then headed back to Oaxaca. Unfortunately we didn´t get to check out the archealogical site there, maybe another time.
One of my favorite parts of traveling is the food. I love trying new food. So much. Friday night we bought some jicama with chile and lime (that is not new, we eat it all the time in Guanajuato), then sat in the park to eat it. For dinner we went to a little diner type place and I had a chorizo torta (have I mentioned how much I love chorizo?). Afterwards I was still hungry, so I finally decided to try some helote, which is roasted corn on the cob slathered in mayo, cheese, chile, and lime juice. They sell it everywhere in Guanajuato, I just have never gotten around to trying it. And it was surprisingly good, even though I hate mayo. By far the best new food I have tried so far was the tlayuda, which is a little like a crunchy quesadilla filled with cheese, meat, beans, salsa, lettuce, and some other stuff. Washing it down with a cold beer after a day of swimming and hiking makes for the perfect day.
Tomorrow is our last full day in Oaxaca, and we aren´t quite sure what the plan is. On accident we budgeted for seven nights in a hostel when we are only staying four nights, so we have a little breathing room. We were going to go to the beach, Puerto Escondido, but it is a six hour drive both ways. Not worth it, sad. Instead, I think we are checking out the market to buy some food then headed to another place to hike and swim. This is the most relaxing vacation ever.
Off to Chiapas on Tuesday!
Can I just stay on vacation forever?
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