The 1200 km drive we made from Merida to Oaxaca took us across a cross section of Mexico’s geography: from the pancake-flat Yucatan peninsula into the swamplands of the Gulf Coast, then steeply up the sodden jungle-clad eastern slopes of the Sierra Madre de Oaxaca and finally into the Valles Centrales – the high arid valley that contains the city of Oaxaca (pop. 450,000).
Here we spent the next 14 days staying at the Posada Don Mario (hotel/hostel); with me working on a design project for Cactus Equipment back in NZ (their 2010 product catalogue) and Hana doing a Spanish language course. Oaxaca’s a cool city to hang out in: there’s an abundance of affordable restaurants serving local specialties such as mole and chapulines – grasshoppers that is – which are in fact super tasty! It’s a busy place but has a vibe more like that of a town than a city with its narrow cobbled streets and lively zocalo (town square). If anyone is looking for a great place to stay in Oaxaca check out the link above: great location, friendly owners and a good rate (with fast wifi!).
The catalogue project kept me busy for the first 12 days, but we couldn’t leave Oaxaca without checking out the reputedly excellent mountain biking, but for that you’ll have to see the next post. in the meantime, here’s a few photos from Oaxaca…
