Aaaahh, Oaxaca (10/12/10-10/13)

north of Oaxaca

Having had my fill for a while of small towns and endless topes, I took the toll road south to Oaxaca. A beautiful day (it's now Tues., Oct. 12) and a very scenic drive thru the mountains, about 5 hours and 225 miles. Things got pretty green the closer I got. Once I found my way to the small campground in San Felipe above Oaxaca, the owner Doug (an expat.) told me the exceptionally rainy season had only ended a week, or so, earlier. Quite different from when I was here during a dry February, 2006. And like all other campgrounds in Mexico so far, I'm the only guest.

Oaxaca was one of my favorite spots from the first trip and it feels good to be back. The next day I take the local bus down to the centro and have a nice lunch on the very busy and very shady zocolo. It's another torta, this time with chorizo oaxaqueno. The only thing I need to remind myself of when ordering a torta: no mayonesa, por favor. Everything else: muy bueno. Afterwards, I cruise over to the Mercado de Artesanias where you can find much of the textiles and pottery of the surrounding villages being sold in one convenient spot. For once, I wish I still had a house to put some of this stuff into. As a sign that I may actually belong in Oaxaca, today I see 3 FJ's, one of them yellow!


my mellow site above Oaxaca

Back at the campground, I decide to buy some mezcal from Doug. He makes a brand called Scorpion. We try a shot of his anejo - aged for 5 years - and it's much smoother than the silver I had tried last time here. He says if it's just for drinking (and it is!), he'll sell me a litre of it in a plain plastic bottle for 250 pesos (about $20). He says a bottle of this in the States goes for around $180. It has a smoky flavor not unlike good scotch, except it's mezcal. His website offers much more complex descriptions, etc. http://www.scorpionmezcal.com/ .

As the night settles in I sip on the mezcal while puffing away on a fine Cuban cigar I bought in town. Both are mellow and so am I and I'm feeling pretty good about life right now, up here in San Felipe overlooking the lights of Oaxaca.