Day 7 – Driving in the Oaxacar (Actually it was a Bus)

My loyal followers my have noticed I am quite prolific today – three posts in one day! I am on a 9 hour bus to Palenque and finally have time to catch up on my blog posts. It gets quite difficult to pack them in. You may be getting the idea that I don’t sit down much. I do – mostly just to buy a coffee somewhere to use their toilet! The rest of the time I tend to be up from 6 and then we get to our rooms 9-10pm depending on what we’re doing. Then there’s often packing or photo backup. Or sometimes actual sleep!

Today was rise and shine – meet at 7 in the foyer to grab taxis to bus station for a 5 hour bus journey to Oaxaca (wa-ha-ca). Too early for the hotel breakfast so opted for risky business at the bus station, picking up a 16 peso (4 bucks) pastie. Chicken mole flavour.

Was I taking my life in my hands? Would I rue the day I wrapped my gums around mole? Would the mole be ratty (Wind in the Willies joke)? Actually, it wasn’t too bad. Needed more filling if anything. I could have gone back for mole. Then it was time for 5 hours of bus antics that won’t bore you with. When we arrived in Oaxaca, it was hot!!! We all stripped off down to one layer! Sun! Glorious!

Tanya led her ducklings around on the mandatory orientation walk, but I was hungry. One pastie and a bunch of snacks just can’t cut it. The Hocking metabolism and blood sugar demands real food like the Aztec gods demanded blood. So a lot of the walk was a dizzy blur to me as I concentrated on trying not vomit and to keep conscious. Tanya took us to a German place???? Yes, German!!! I basically have no idea what I ordered. The waiter couldn’t describe a shaslick in English. This is what emerged from the kitchen but it was 4pm which is not lunch. I nearly threw up into a pot plant waiting. Naturally, our table was the last to be served.

After sausage-based reinvigoration, I was humN once more! I noted with great mirth that the restaurant had the same cushions from H and M as me. Ria and Ali then decided to wander around. We saw a street vendor selling a local drink called Tojate – the chocolate drink of the gods! How could we resist?!?! We decided to share one. First, she scooped a ladle of a suspicious looking clear mead-type nectar substance into the cup and then added powdered water. The gods drink powder?? You would think they would prefer protein powder.

Not sure which gods drink this. Possibly the gods of bad taste?? The gods of earthly punishment upon humanity? It was simultaneously malty but bland and weak. We passed it around for a bit before walking down Aways and ditching it in a bin, but then this happened.

The foil brew leaked through a hole in the bin and dropped everywhere. We fled the scene of the crime as far as the street corner before we turned around to see a bin cop on the case. Uh oh. Busted. We ran. He pursued us in his halo pu of a clean up cart. We hid in a craft shop until he wheeled by with a clatter.

When it was safe to come out, we headed for the zocalo. Oaxaca is famous for its street art. Case in point.

Then we walked past the mezcal store where they lured us inside with free samples and then plied us with lots more free samples of straight mezcal but also loads of flavoured liqueurs. We told our lies that we would come back and headed for the market. Say cheese! I sampled some of this cheese in an omelet later – it’s stringy like mozzarella. This pic also shows the variety of colourful mezcal liqueurs

We were pretty full after having only eaten at 4pm but the group met for dinner and squeezed in these bad boys. I had the steak but other meats were available. Dave excelled here, ordering a side of grasshoppers and only eating a few. (I don’t mind them. I put some in my dinner. Crunchy. ) And making us all piss ourselves laughing with a fake stretchy tongue that he had been saving to play a practical joke on us all.

It was dinner and a show with lovely costumes!

It was a pretty short day, given the 5 hour bus ride. So I shall leave you here, dear reader and we can pick up at a later date!