las moscas!

If you're like me and know very little Spanish beyond cerveza, tacos, and enchiladas, maybe you don't know that "las moscas" means "the flies." And boy have we had a lot of encounters con las moscas. At our hotel, breakfast is served on the largest palapa, right by the pool and overlooking the ocean. Up in the peak of the palapa is a ceiling fan, and the ocean breezes flow through the palapa -- maybe this is why we didn't encounter them at breakfast on our first morning. Also: it's very clean.

But yesterday we ate breakfast and dinner in town, and for both meals (and at dinner the night before) we were swarmed with flies -- from the moment we sat down, but especially once our food arrived at the table. Last night was the worst, by far; there were looming storm clouds out over the ocean, scattered raindrops, and lightning in the clouds with occasional booms of thunder, so we were a little worried about going into town for dinner. If we were going to have dinner, though, we'd have to walk into town, so off we went, umbrellas in hand. The place we wanted to go wasn't open for an hour, and we didn't feel comfortable waiting since the storm was just looming right over there, so we picked a little place that looked ok. Marc ordered garlic octopus, and I ordered shrimp ceviche, and we got guacamole. (Sidebar comment here: that was the best guacamole I've ever had in my entire life. It was exactly the way I prefer it, slightly chunky with avocado, and filled with chopped tomatoes and onion and lots of cilantro, and squirted with fresh lime juice. I don't like the pureed stuff.)

Anyway. We sat waiting, waving off flies, and then our food came and we were swarmed. I think I have a reputation for exaggeration, but there's no way to exaggerate the swarming. The owner brought an electric fan to the table to try to blow the flies away but it didn't work. I felt like Tippi Hedren in The Birds, and like I was racing to see who would eat more of my ceviche -- me, or the flies. I'm a fast eater, but I ate in record time. It was maddening, and I felt like I had to keep my mind straight or I could've become overwhelmed and gone crazy. Our main courses weren't as good as the guacamole, but they were good enough.

No post yesterday because we were just too busy doing nothing but swimming (ocean and pool), napping (Marc) and reading (me), walking, relaxing, talking. And it was the same as the day before. The ocean was too rough for me, and in fact I hated it (and was still digging sand out of random places a few hours later), but Marc had a blast and I enjoyed watching him. I enjoy walking at the edge of the surf, and watching the ocean from a distance, but the force is too overwhelming for me. Today the sky is dark off to the left, but lighter to the right so who knows what the weather will hold. Whatever happens, we'll relax one more day here in this paradise, and then be up and at 'em very early in the morning for our flight back to Oaxaca. We've decided to come back here next spring, for a week, it's really so wonderful. Casa Pan de Miel, if you're interested.....

Monte Alban and the rest

We keep thinking of Ricardo Montalban whenever we talk about this place, which is one of the largest archeological ruins in Oaxaca state. When we get home, I'll dig up some of the information from Lonely Planet and fill out the post -- for now, some pictures!

cute hat, right? And some cool ruins behind.

ruins

beautiful foliage -- the  light was just so nice on this

carvings -- the originals were in the on-site museum, for protection

this little guy was trying to sell us a "real authentic" thing from the site. sweet little guy,

pretty cool looking joint

this was the center of the site

one of the bigger temple sites

the playing field -- they used rubber balls, not human bodies like at Chichen Itza

the largest stele on the site -- used to mark the astronomical year

When we got back to our hotel, there was a wonderful mariachi band serenading a large birthday party. I have a video too, I'll upload it when we get home and put it here. The music was amazing.

nothing like a good mariachi band!

We ate dinner at a wonderful little restaurant called La Olla. It was sweet, the service was sweet, and the food was magnificent. We'll go back, when we return to Oaxaca.

it was a sunny, beautiful space -- these are candles hanging against the green wall

we started with guacamole -- the way I like it, limey and chunky. those dark bits? We think they're fried grasshopper. It was with all the appetizers.

camarones al diablo -- YES. HOT. DEVIL HOT. Delicious.

Then we went to the zocalo, where we listened to a wonderful marimba band. Even better, though, were the people who came to dance.

the saxophonist was full of heart

the band was GREAT. Seriously.

This couple was very formal with each other, but gorgeous dancers.

these were just so lovely -- light and loving each other while dancing.

the cathedral at night -- stunning!

Tomorrow we fly to the coast, in a little plane that seats 11 people. Over the mountains (kinda low, we hear, so we hope it's nice weather so (a) we can see, and (b) it's not scary!), to the Pacific coast. The place we're going, Mazunte, is a charming little beach town, and the place we're staying looks amazing. More tomorrow!

Sunny Sunday

Sundays in Oaxaca are great; everyone comes out to the zocalo, there's always lots of live music (symphonic, marimba, guitar, guitar and pan flute, accordion, harmonica, various combinations), people buy balloons and toys, and they dance. I'd love to live here.

We walked away from the zocalo after breakfast and found a really beautiful, large church with giant tamarind trees shading the sidewalks. It was getting hot and my white legs were starting to burn, so we decided to stop and people-watch for a while. Well! Up came this enormous parade of people in traditional dress, heading for the church. We have no idea what was going on, but it was beautiful to see:

at first we just thought it was a small parade

the women had shiny ribbon woven through their braids, and their dresses were beautiful

so much color!

the all gathered in front of the church for a big photograph

they were so patient, posing and smiling in the sun

here's a close-up of the women, really wonderful-looking

after the photo, they lined up and started dancing. there wasn't actually any music playing!

It was such a great treat, getting to see this, because they weren't doing it for tourists. We don't know exactly what it was for, but it wasn't for a spectacle. We just had wonderful timing.

Then, we went back to the zocalo and had appetizers for lunch, and happened onto more dancing.

a little Aztec dancin

full-on symphony orchestra, every Sunday!

and then a little more skirt twirlin

The internet connection is so slow it's taken way too long to get these photos uploaded so I'm cutting this short. It rained a good bit this afternoon, and unfortunately we decided to walk a ways to a restaurant for dinner, in the rain, and got there only to find it wasn't open on Sunday so we turned around and ate at our hotel. Marc got a three-mole tasting sampler, and the negro mole sauce was amazing -- rich with chocolate and spices and heat and layers of flavor. The other two were good too, but the negro was amazing.

Our goal tomorrow is to head out to the ruins, so that'll be a fun day. And then Tuesday we're flying to the coast. I hope to have a better internet connection so I can get some photos up. It's really wonderful here, sweet people, good food, lovely life filled with music and walking around the zocalo. Lots of live music everywhere, my kind of place. Buenos noches, y'all.