Oaxaca Mexico: What Had Happened Was…pt. ii

       

I think this is one of the best photos I’ve taken yet. This crazy.black.chic is falling in lurve with photography. Not that I need ANOTHER hobby. As Alison says: I already have many and keep discovering new ones all the time. Too true. Too true.

Monday I spent the morning running around town checking out internet cafes in preparation for work on Wednesday (yes Momma D, I actually am doing work!) and trying to find a place to send a fax back to the US for one of my clients. Traffic (foot and auto) was tied up due to a march/rally for teachers day. I finally found a place to send the fax from and was pleasantly surprised that it was only $1US per page. I tracked down Andrea in the hammock deck back at the hostel to see if she wanted to go with me on a tour of the Jardin Etnobotanical (Ethnobotanical Garden) in the late afternoon.

I have to stop here and talk about traveling with other people. Jorge, Andrea and I met almost 4 weeks ago in a totally different city. Finding people you can travel like this with is pretty rare. The three of us work because we are all very independent, very low key and into totally different things. Jorge’s family is from Mexico, he’s in lurve with the Archealogy and History. This dude spent ALL.DAY.MONDAY at the ruins at Monte Alban (Andrea and I knew better than to go with him on this tour). Andrea is really into the music and culture, she always gets us into the places where the locals hang, we dance, eat and drink with locals as much as possible and her blond locks and blue eyes have gotten us invited into many a local haunt. I am really into the Anthropology and the cuisine. So we like doing different things, and even better we never feel compelled to invite one another or join one another in any of our pursuits. Case in point: neither of them like to cook so the idea of cooking classes made them roll their eyes. But every now and then we’ll join up and do something cultural together like going to the Palacio yesterday with Jorge, or going with Andrea to see some live music by local musicians. Or they will indulge me my desire to eat at all 4 of the restaurants on the Zocalo, or to eat at the same restaurant 3 times in 2 days when I find one I like.

I ended up on the botanical garden tour without the other two, but in a group of about 6 with the cutest.little.guide.ever, who struggled some with english, but was funny and well learned about the plants. When she told us the tour was an hour and a half, I thought to myself “i’m outta here in 45 minutes tops” because I couldn’t see how we’d spend 1.5 hours in the place. Boy was I wrong. She let us eat the hottest.peppers.ever and then cool our tongues with some locally grown mint. The garden is much bigger than it looks from the front gates. And the cacti, tropical flowers and vegetables were so interesting that at the end of the tour we were all kind of sad that it was over. So, I highly recommend Oaxaca’s Jardin Etnobotanical when you get here.

I met up with the other two for dinner and we were all in pretty low key moods. We hung out in the Zocalo and people watched and did a couple of shots of mezcal. This lead to the crazy idea that sent the night (and the rest of the week) downhill. We decided it would be a good idea to head back to the hostel. BUT. We would do a shot of mezcal at EVERY bar between the Zocalo and the hostel (a distance of about 1.5 miles with easily 20 bars in the vicinity). I don’t know whose idea this was, but we must have been in a fit of mutual insanity because we all thought this was the best idea we’d ever heard. 6 bars and 8 shots later…we end up at Free Bar, which is not even close to free and barely a bar. We made friends with tourists and locals alike and danced the night away (hey, weren’t we on our way back to the hostel?) to a mix of Mexican hip-hop, US hip-hop and salsa tunes. And I thought to myself as I went to sleep: “Today couldn’t have been more perfect.” And it was true.

*yeah, i know i still haven’t gotten to the 4 ft. people, yada yada. its coming people. i promise.

6 thoughts on “Oaxaca Mexico: What Had Happened Was…pt. ii”

  1. Hey,
    Just checking in to say “Hello”. That is a beautiful picture of the flower. You truely captured the essence perfectly. I have been following your adventure, and it sounds like this story has much potential for the top seller list. Let’s see, we’ll call it: Crazy Black Child “Doing it my way”…smile. Well, continue on your journey, discovering, and enjoying life, maybe next time you are in the states we can hang out. Since you have discovered photography. I am always looking for a reason to shot the wonders of the world. Take care.

  2. Dia,
    Great pic of the flower – BEAUTIFUL.
    I know you really work hard (and play hard too – just as it should be)
    Glad you have a tight trio of friends. Real friends don’t have to be joined at the hip – just respect and accept each other.
    Sounds like you have had quite a few “perfect days”.
    Looking forward to seeing you in VA.

  3. Hey Girl! I love that pic! What equipment are you working with? I leave for China tomorrow and have so not packed yet. I’ll send you a link to my blog so I can be like you!

    Peace and hair grease, (not the perm, please, not the perm!!)

    Selena

  4. great pics – like the pics of the peppers too (Are they habineros? (sic)). Travelling companions are important – that’s why Linda and I had to take a long train trip together before we moved in together – to find out the likihood of each other going postal when things go bad. I like the way you make every day a new challenge “Today, a shot at every bar to the hostel…tomorrow a shot for every time I see a chicken!” – course my friend decided to have a drink at every lesbian bar in NY, ended up locking herself in the bathroom at rubyfruit (they had to use power tools to get her out) and calling every number on her cell phone. Please try to live up to this heroic tradition!

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