The Wandering Chocoholic

I am completely in love with Oaxaca! Can I move here?

This charming colonial city (pronounced wa-HAH-ka), with its Zapotec influence, is a UNESCO World Heritage site in the central southern part of Mexico. It has a great vibe all year round, but on Christmas it’s really something special. Of course, Mexico is a country where Christmas is a Really Big Deal (TM) everywhere. But I’d venture to say that this is the place to be right now. Hey, it sure beats my usual Christmas plans of Chinese food and movie marathons.

Feeling welcomed

We arrived here last night after a five-hour bus ride through the mountains. Once again, the hotel we’re staying at is quite nice — it has a swimming pool and a rooftop bar, and we were greeted with welcome tequila sunrises. Can’t argue with that!

For dinner last night we went to a mostly vegetarian restaurant with a five-page long menu of delicious salads, sandwiches and veggie options. Decision paralysis! Carolina and I, as the mostly vegetarians on the tour, were thrilled. So was everyone else when they tasted the giant cocktails and delicious food. We all ate ’til we were stuffed.

We headed back through the cobblestoned streets, stopping off for some buñuelos on the way back. Buñuelos are thin fried corn crackers, served drizzled with honey. It’s traditional after eating them to break the plate by throwing it against a wall, and to make a wish in the process. Vanessa gamely threw our plate and it smashed near a pile of broken pottery.

Lots more coffee, crafts and chocolate

This morning, a few people went on a tour to Monte Alban, but most of us opted to stick around and check out the city. We slept late, lazed around, and eventually got up and got breakfast and some of the best coffee I’ve had so far on the trip. And then we set out to visit the markets.

The markets here are really something. The ones in Mexico City and Puebla that I’d seen so far were pretty small and low-key. Here in Oaxaca it’s the real thing. Rows and rows and stalls and stalls of foods and handicrafts and clothing and spices and fried grasshoppers and ceramics and woven blankets and ponchos and jewelry and leatherworks and… and… and… well, you get the idea. We bought a few things here and there — some Santa hats for tonight, some gifts for our tour gift exchange — but I think when it came to any serious shopping, we had decision paralysis because none of us bought very much. It was just about the experience of looking. Well, except chocolate: Oaxaca is famous for it, so of course I had to sample and purchase some. It’s delicious here, dark, rich chocolate gently spiced with chili. Yum.

A few things I noticed about Oaxaca on Christmas Eve: One, there are police everywhere — like, hundreds of them. Some directing traffic with loud whistles, others just standing around looking bored, getting ready for crowd control at tonight’s festivities. It was pretty amusing to see what happens at lunchtime where they all crowd around the lunch truck en masse, though. I also noticed a tradition of flying kites near the main squares and churches. Kids, adults, whatever — they were all holding giant kites that must have some holiday significance.

Back to the hotel mid-afternoon. We considered catching a taxi up to Monte Alban, but we were all feeling a bit too lazy for more sightseeing. Then we thought about having a swim in the hotel pool, but it was pretty cold out so nobody bothered. Hey, I’m on vacation; laziness is basically a requirement. We had beers on the rooftop terrace and just relaxed.

Late afternoon, Courtney, Carolina and I wandered over to the Zocalo and got some hot chocolate and people-watch for a while. Late afternoon, the clouds in the sky darkened and it actually started to rain a bit. First rain of the trip so far. But we decided to view it as a sign to go back and get ready for dinner.

Christmas Eve in Oaxaca

Most Mexicans celebrate their holiday on Christmas Eve, so tonight was the big night for festivities. Milton booked us dinner at a local restaurant, but before going there, we went walking around town to see the festivities. And wow, do they ever celebrate here. The streets were packed with people, most of them holding some sort of lights or sparklers. A parade passed by outside the hotel, with musicians and floats. People set off firecrackers everywhere, making us jump every time one exploded.

The Zocalo (main square) was completely transformed from earlier in the day. Gone were the tents and political protesters, and instead, there were lights strung up everywhere and a crush of people dancing and playing music and holding lights. In front of the Cathedral, we watched Oaxaca traditional dancing, with women in brightly coloured costumes spinning around next to kids in giant puppet heads. We bought sparklers off a street vendor and joined in the fun. Gao even tried on one of the giant heads and danced around for a bit.

Dinner was fairly low-key, but nice. We had traditional punch, heated in bowls and served with fruit and mezcal. The carrot soup had snowflakes or Christmas trees or greetings written in it. After dinner, we exchanged Secret Santa gifts of small items we’d purchased that day in the markets. Good times.

After dinner, things quieted down outside. Most bars and clubs were closed tonight, so in grand backpacker tradition, we held a makeshift party with drinks and card games in the hotel lobby. Eventually, Milton returned to say he did find a bar that was open where we could go out and continue the festivities. But by then it was past midnight, and we have a long day tomorrow, so I decided to call it a night.

To my friends back home who celebrate Christmas, I hope you have a great one.