Oaxacabound

Day 7

Quite a sight when I arrived the night before…

I haven’t done many organized tours so far, but I don’t know anything about this city so I checked out what was available. I immediately stumbled on a prejudice I never knew existed against the solo traveler. Several of the more involved trips like horseback riding and the wine country required a minimum of two people. Seemed a little odd, but I booked a walking city tour for the morning and a taco & tequila tour for the evening.

About 30 people showed up for the walking tour, mostly American tourists. The guide started by having us arranged in a big circle, then going around and asking us to say where we were from and why we were in the city. The first 20 said their piece…”vacationing from Colorado, vacationing from Phoenix, vacationing from Austin, etc.” I was getting excited to crush it with my story, but right when it got to my turn, she skipped over me and went thru the last 10 people. I politely waited to jump in, but then she began the tour.

What the…? Was I invisible? Then I realized, everyone else was in a group of at least two people and she must’ve assumed I was with some of the others. Then about 15 mins in she made this announcement:

“We will be going through several buildings and crowded areas. Please don’t get separated from the others in your party. We only have one person going alone. Jeffrey? Jeffrey, are you here? You have nobody, is that correct?”

Jajaja (Spanish for hahaha)! Awkward.

I said “Yes, thanks for pointing that out.”

That broke the ice and I was adopted by a family from Boston. Turned out perfect because the dad was big football fan and New England is playing Houston in NFL playoffs next week.

The city is spectacular…winding streets over low rolling hills, cobblestone streets, cathedrals, markets, incredible restaurants etc. For most of its existence, it was an undiscovered gem, then Conde Nast included it in an article on the 10 Most Beautiful Streets in the world and tourism exploded. Here’s the street…I don’t get it.

As stunning as the city is during the day, it’s even better at night. I won’t bore you with a bunch of cathedral pics, but I’ll show one at two different times to show what I mean.

The taco & tequila tasting tour took us to five different places in 3 hours. A dozen people signed up but only five showed up. Again, the guide began with a where & why question. One couple went first, “vacationing from Michigan”, then another couple “vacationing with them from Florida,” then…the guide skipped over me, told his own story and started to tell us the history of the city. I kid you not. C’mon! I can somewhat understand overlooking me with 30 people, but 5? Thank God, one of the women said “Wait, we haven’t heard your story…” Whew.

The first stop was the seediest saloon I have ever seen. There was a tiled trench at the base of bar that was installed 100 years ago so patrons would not have to get up to take a piss. Women were not allowed to enter until the 1970s.

They served us what they called a medicinal mezcal, supposedly a type that is specially prepared to address specific maladies. It was by far the worst alcohol I have ever tasted. No way it was mezcal.  I am no connoisseur, but Oaxaca produces 90% of the mezcal in the world and I have had more than my fair share. To me, it’s tequila (same ingredients) with a little more body, sweetness and less bite. This was brown and tasted like turpentine.

The next few stops were fine, nothing special. The food was standard fish tacos, tostadas, etc but at least the drinks were drinkable. The final stop was for barbacoa street tacos, fantastic. Overall, it was a great night. The guide was a philosophy major who attended Georgia State, and he was extremely knowledgeable about a wide array of topics from ancient commerce to current world affairs. And my companions were a blast, storytelling, joking and laughing for hours like we had known each other for years. Thanks Herb, Peggy, Steve & Sara!