Thursday, March 15, 2007
¿Cuanto fue el daño?
Blair got up early to go with two guys he met at our hotel who do missionary work here in Oaxaca. They´re from Oregon and helping to build a school for a village outside of the city. The school had dirt floors, and they poured concrete floors. Men and women from the village are helping with the project. The guys said you can do more good with a couple of hundred bucks here than you can in the U.S. They´ve been coming here for about 20 years. I believe their group is called Mission Oaxaca.
This morning, I heard the door to the room next to ours shaking. I thought one of the kids who was staying there was having trouble opening the door. However, one of the guys came out to see if someone was trying to get in. The shaking was caused by a little earthquake. I was laying in bed didn´t feel anything, but Mila, whose room is on the second floor, said she could feel the trembling. More drama!
Karen, Mariana and I had breakfast at Marco Polo (of course), but I did branch out. I had fruit, yogurt and granola instead of my normal huevos rancheros. We made plans to eat at a Mexican buffet for lunch, and I wanted to pace myself. Good thing I did. The lunch at La Escondida, which is in a village on the outskirts of Oaxaca, was endless. Food for as far as the eye could see. Nine types of moles, about 20 different salads and side dishes, soups (a yummy green pozole), bar-b-q, sausages, and a dessert table for days. (The arroz con leche was especially delicious.) Mary, Daniel, Gail, Mariana, Karen, Blair and I ate and drank jarras de limonada until we nearly popped. The taxi ride home was hair raising. I´m always happy to survive those trips.
On the way out, I spied another gorgeous rug from Teotitlan de la Valle, and the woman said it was 450 pesos, approximately $45. I wanted to buy it, but Blair said that we´d already bought one...for more than twice that amount. As we climbed into the taxi, the woman asked me how much I would give for the rug. I said 450 pesos, but we´d already bought one. She said she´d give it to me for 300 pesos. I asked Blair for the money, but he balked. Karen was sitting next to me, and I asked her for the money, which she generously gave me. (The Bank of Karen´s customer service is second to none.) The rug is absolutely stunning, and I know I would have regretted not getting it for the rest of my life. I´ll post a picture of it later. The colors are sublime.
Before we left for La Escondida, Karen, Mariana and I managed to hit a few more shops. Karen and Mariana both got a gorgeous pair of shoes at a store called Las Raices on Garcia Vigil. From there, we went up to ARIPO, the government-run casa de artesanias, and found even more goodies. (Mariana walked away with a beautiful bedspread.) I then took Karen and Mariana to a shop near Santa Domingo that sells incredible earrings made from bottle caps with images of Frida, La Virgen de Guadalupe and more. We all got at least one pair. We then went down the street Cinco de Mayo to the shop where Karen bought a beautiful calla lilly top. Oaxaca is definitely a power-shopping town. (I´m happy Blair was with the guys. He said that he´s shopped out.)
When we got back to our hotel after La Escondida, we noticed that there seemed to be a lot of police activity/build up. We wanted to go to a church near the Governor´s Palace* that has a portrait of the Virgin Mary and Jesus made out of feathers. On the way there, I asked a police officer (state or federal, I don´t know) what was going on. He said there was going to be some sort of demonstration in the zocalo at 5 p.m. He didn´t know what for. We decided to make sure we weren´t around for that. We had enough experience with the police our last trip to last us a lifetime.
*I forgot to write in yesterday´s entry that we went into the Governor´s Palace to see the giant mural that details the history of Oaxaca. Impressive. Benito Juarez and his wife were given the place of prominence in the center.
Tomorrow, we will go with Eloy to visit the sisters who create figures out of clay. We´re also going to a big market. After our huge meal this afternoon, I doubt we´ll eat dinner tonight. It´s so hard to believe that our week in Oaxaca is almost up. It´s flown by. Asi es la vida.
This morning, I heard the door to the room next to ours shaking. I thought one of the kids who was staying there was having trouble opening the door. However, one of the guys came out to see if someone was trying to get in. The shaking was caused by a little earthquake. I was laying in bed didn´t feel anything, but Mila, whose room is on the second floor, said she could feel the trembling. More drama!
Karen, Mariana and I had breakfast at Marco Polo (of course), but I did branch out. I had fruit, yogurt and granola instead of my normal huevos rancheros. We made plans to eat at a Mexican buffet for lunch, and I wanted to pace myself. Good thing I did. The lunch at La Escondida, which is in a village on the outskirts of Oaxaca, was endless. Food for as far as the eye could see. Nine types of moles, about 20 different salads and side dishes, soups (a yummy green pozole), bar-b-q, sausages, and a dessert table for days. (The arroz con leche was especially delicious.) Mary, Daniel, Gail, Mariana, Karen, Blair and I ate and drank jarras de limonada until we nearly popped. The taxi ride home was hair raising. I´m always happy to survive those trips.
On the way out, I spied another gorgeous rug from Teotitlan de la Valle, and the woman said it was 450 pesos, approximately $45. I wanted to buy it, but Blair said that we´d already bought one...for more than twice that amount. As we climbed into the taxi, the woman asked me how much I would give for the rug. I said 450 pesos, but we´d already bought one. She said she´d give it to me for 300 pesos. I asked Blair for the money, but he balked. Karen was sitting next to me, and I asked her for the money, which she generously gave me. (The Bank of Karen´s customer service is second to none.) The rug is absolutely stunning, and I know I would have regretted not getting it for the rest of my life. I´ll post a picture of it later. The colors are sublime.
Before we left for La Escondida, Karen, Mariana and I managed to hit a few more shops. Karen and Mariana both got a gorgeous pair of shoes at a store called Las Raices on Garcia Vigil. From there, we went up to ARIPO, the government-run casa de artesanias, and found even more goodies. (Mariana walked away with a beautiful bedspread.) I then took Karen and Mariana to a shop near Santa Domingo that sells incredible earrings made from bottle caps with images of Frida, La Virgen de Guadalupe and more. We all got at least one pair. We then went down the street Cinco de Mayo to the shop where Karen bought a beautiful calla lilly top. Oaxaca is definitely a power-shopping town. (I´m happy Blair was with the guys. He said that he´s shopped out.)
When we got back to our hotel after La Escondida, we noticed that there seemed to be a lot of police activity/build up. We wanted to go to a church near the Governor´s Palace* that has a portrait of the Virgin Mary and Jesus made out of feathers. On the way there, I asked a police officer (state or federal, I don´t know) what was going on. He said there was going to be some sort of demonstration in the zocalo at 5 p.m. He didn´t know what for. We decided to make sure we weren´t around for that. We had enough experience with the police our last trip to last us a lifetime.
*I forgot to write in yesterday´s entry that we went into the Governor´s Palace to see the giant mural that details the history of Oaxaca. Impressive. Benito Juarez and his wife were given the place of prominence in the center.
Tomorrow, we will go with Eloy to visit the sisters who create figures out of clay. We´re also going to a big market. After our huge meal this afternoon, I doubt we´ll eat dinner tonight. It´s so hard to believe that our week in Oaxaca is almost up. It´s flown by. Asi es la vida.
Labels: La Escondida, police
