Diary of 3 Weeks in Mexico

Monday 8:30am
June 18th

An early and wet morning here in Oaxaca. We flew in last night, finally arriving at about 9:30 into our hotel. Our flight was delayed 3 hours and it was the strangest delay Ive ever experienced.

We arrived back at our hostel in Guadalajara at about 8 Saturday night; showered, snacked, and chatted with some of the people we´d met the previous week... sharing our adventures and hearing theirs. A low key night once again, I woke up around 8 and read in the courtyard, awaiting the 9am breakfast and opening of the computer lab. It didnt happen. In fact, Kristen and I were the only ones up before 11:30. Granted not many people were staying that night, but it was a super quiet morning.

Venturing out for a quick walk, we noticed the City of Guadalajara (again the 2nd largest city in the nation) shuts down one of its main streets - Calle Vallarta- from the church and university plaza through Calle Federalismo and Parque de Revolucion... about 10 blocks. Every Sunday from 10am-2pm they shut it down for community bike riding, rollerblading and jogging. Street vendors are out and families come and fill the street after church. It was such a fun tradition to discover.

We got brunch from a favorite cafe near the church with the bells and Jesus and his friends and watched the parishoners come and go.

Arriving at the airport just before 2, we expected to hop on a 3:40 flight and be in Oaxaca at about 5. We were told our flight was delayed about 2 hours at check in and that we´d begin a really quick boarding at about 5. Kristen and I proceeded to shop, play cards, have some margaritas and read waiting at our gate. Nothing happened at 5- our flight wasnt listed on the TV screens and we couldnt find Avolar´s - our airline- attendants. Kristen and I took turns hunting down information. We finally found a nice man from airport authority, who checked the computer system and said we´d be bording at 6. There were no overhead announcements, no vouchers and even more surprisingly, not very many angry customers. There were a few complaints, but by the time we were ready to board at 6:15, everyone was calm.

Our flight had come into Guadalajara from Tijuana and we joined those already onboard who were originally delayed due to bad weather. We took off around 7 and landed safely an hour and 20 minutes later in the small Oaxaca airport.

Our hotel this time- booked by Kristens parents- is called Casa Colonial. Its a big old house just west of downtown. Its shaped in a square with the rooms around the perimeter and a lush courtyard with hammocks in the center. There are maybe 25 rooms here and they offer a lot to their guests- including 3 meals a day, laundry services (which is great because we´re really beginning to be dirty), a library, lots of lounge spaces, and some sporadic internet access (the internet cafe has one computer and one phone and is open in hour increments before each meal).

Our room is filled with antique furniture and the whole place has tons of artisan pieces all around: mexican painted potteries, bright colored animals, weavings, masks, etc. Its very safe, quaint and cozy.

The city here, the capital of the province is known for just the opposite. Oaxaca´s people have been protesting the local government a lot... especially in the past year. There have been teacher and taxi strikes as the city is mad that the governor pays more attention to the surrounding artisania villages than to the city workers. While we hear they dont have a problem with and will not bother tourists, we will still be our most cautious. We´re here to see the villages and the ruins anyway.

Breakfast time.