Mar 7 – This Mexican trip is a result of my wanting to go to Oaxaca (pronounced wa HOCK a). Jim has been after me to go to Mexico for years, but I didn’t want to go until I read about Oaxaca in The NY Times. I put down the article and said, let’s go to Oaxaca!

Although we hated to leave the beach, Oaxaca was calling our name. We took a 15 passenger minibus that went north up through twisty narrow mountain roads, and got us to Oaxaca in about six hours. Other travelers said it was a scary and / or nauseating ride, but compared to other bus rides we have taken, it really wasn’t bad!

We walked from the bus station to our Hotel Parador del Dominico in our beach duds, then realized we were back in the city and should be wearing long pants. Easy to fix – we just zipped our pant legs back on! Lovely big room with a private patio, great air con and hot water! Jim does it again!

There are colorful buildings and unusual things to see here:

This man appears to be made of meat. I wonder what he is advertising?

All over Mexico, there are Farmacias Similares, where you can bring in your prescription and have it filled at a much lower price than in the US. This was the first time we saw a dancing pharmacist!

For our first evening in town, we wanted to try tlayudas, a very popular regional food. Two grilled tortillas filled with meat or vegetables as you choose, in brown sauce, sprinkled with Oaxacan white cheese, and served with a variety of salsas to suit your taste. Yum!

We’ll have a few days to explore this pretty city. Stay tuned!