My Trip Through The Mountains Of Oaxaca

living.boondockingmexico@yahoo.com

I apologize for not blogging for quite a few days. I got so wrapped up in being home and doing work around the quinta and in Allende I pretty much put it off. Now I am in Kansas City and have taken today as a rest day. I am in a nice hotel on the Country Club Plaza which is a nice area of town if you get a chance to look it up. I have just about everything I want here and I got up early and out for breakfast fighting a huge downpour and windstorm. It was wonderful to feel the cool, wet air as we haven't had either in such a long time at home.

So here I was in Oaxaca and as you could see by the pictures of the mountain roads it was a scary ride at 100 kms or more per hour. I guess I need to let people know I don't do that anymore being in my 50s and wanting to see my 90s. I saw many things that I had never seen before. The mountains of Oaxaca are beautiful, the food is a delight and the people the nicest in the world.

I passed through the area known as La Ventosa. This is along the Isthmus and the winds spin the turbines and create that ever addictive energy that we all crave whether we are on 110 or out in the middle of nowhere and want to use our rvs to the fullest.

The above pics make me proud to know that Mexico is taking steps to help save the environment and yet I doubt we will see electric cars any day soon as we rely so heavily on petroleum sales to the U.S.

One of the great things about my trip was that we always stayed in very nice hotels. In these smaller towns the hotels are not abundant but are very accesible for any budget. We didn't stay´in any of the hotels paying over 55 dollars a night. Take a look:

Resort hotel in Puerto Escondido, there is more info about this hotel below.

Hotel Calli in Tehuantepec, Oaxaca.

Each of the campuses we visited were very nice. They belong to the COBAO state system of secondary and high schools. In many of the towns, Spanish is a second language as Zapoteco and Mixteco are their native languages. That makes English language learning their third language. It makes for an interesting classroom. I had a teacher in my presentation whose native language is Zapoteco. She comes from the mountains and teaches English. She has never studied in the U.S. and her English is impeccable. She loves her job and also loves preserving her culture and language.

Country life up in the mountains. Their homes are simple but beautiful.

Since I like to escape from reality, this would be the spot. Build a cabin in the mountains, equip it with solar and satelite internet and tv. The mountain views are spectacular.

We headed down to the coast stopping in Huatulco for lunch. Huatulco isnt what I had expected although it is luxurious, laid back and the seafood the best.

Unfortunately, I was on a work trip so it was "eat lunch and lets go". Off we went down the highway and headed for Puerto Escondido. Now this is a place I could stay for a couple of weeks. I know there are some rvers that hang out here along the coast and in fact I think Linda from Canada bought a condo in this area. I was pleasantly surprised when we arrived. Beautiful beaches, lots of surfers from all over the world and that wonderful friendliness of Mexicans.

We spent the night right on the beach at the Hotel Santa Fe. Nice hotel, small resort type, wonderful rooms and service. The beach areas here are broken up into several tourist zones based on the geography of the coast. So our little part of the beach has a boardwalk that is about half a mile long and filled with restaurants, surf shops and coffee shops. Food prices are relatively inexpensive. A nice Mexican breakfast with coffee is less than 55 pesos. You cant beat that.

After working at the school we headed back to Oaxaca via the mountains. Man was that a nice drive. I had become accustomed to the roads and the fast driving. We stopped for lunch at a small restaurant at about the 6000 ft level. It was an open air restaurant with a palm roof. We had tasajo which is a very thin piece of beef that is lightly fried in spices, a bit salty, served with a bowl of black beans, queso seco, and giant homemade corn tortillas (fresh ground corn). Including the soda it was 40 pesos. I ate like a king.