Upon arriving, I felt a sense of disappointment: the outskirts are dry and poor and blah. The Old Downtown is where it's at: it's pretty, well-preserved, rich in churches and food markets and crafts stores.
Oaxaca is famous for its dark green and black ceramics, sold everywhere. But I had more fun wandering the streets and checking out the locals, many of whom are Zapotec Indians (they look it, too).
Women tend to be short and wear long braids tied with colourful ribbons, long skirts with aprons, while the men favour wool ponchos. The Zapotecs and other local indians speak nearly 50 different dialects!
The greatest oeuvre of the Zapotecs still stands today. Monte Albán, a 20 minute taxi ride from town, are amazing ruins. Not only have they withstood the test of time, but the pyramid-shaped structures are proof of the power, wealth and engineering prowess of the ancient Zapotecs.
They've left a heritage of a strangely delicious cuisine: fried grasshoppers, chayote and corn soup, pork and beef stews, and tortillas stuffed with huitlacloche, a fungus that grows on corn and has a truffle-like depth of flavour. My favourites were the memelas, open-faced tortillas topped with a myriad things:
Then there are the famous moles - thick sauces made with 10, even 15 different spices, such as chocolate, chilli and onions. They're usually served over chicken, beef or pork, with rice on the side:
The local drink is the mezcal, a lesser-known cousin of the tequila, which sometimes comes with a worm (gusano) in the bottle. It's complex in flavour and quite delicious:
Posts
