One Week in Oaxaca
Oaxaca de Juarez is the most beautiful city in Mexico, in my opinion, but I may be a tiny bit biased. The city holds a special place in my heart because it’s where my dad grew up for a large portion of his life and where some of my family still calls home. Growing up so far from a whole half of my family was kind of sad because I was only able to see my grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins for a few days every few years. Even so, the small amount of time we got to see each other we’ve really made count, and I am happy with the close relationships we’ve cultivated as time passes. My parents, my sister and I have been visiting Oaxaca every few years since I was born. As I got older and started developing my love for travel and culture, I started to realize how much Oaxaca had to offer in that sense. My family and I spent NYE 2019 with my Oaxaca family in Mexico and although over the years we’ve visited many of the main tourist destinations in the area, we got to go back to a lot of the places this time around and appreciate them in a whole new light. There was a lot of coffee drinking with my grandma and listening to her life stories, eating delicious traditional Oaxacan dishes, and watching a different movie every night with my cousin, but besides that, these are the highlights of my most recent trip to the beautiful city of Oaxaca.
I left my apartment early on Sunday morning. It was a December day in the weird time vortex between Christmas and New Year’s and the Austin streets were nice and empty because half the city is away on vacation. I bought a flight from San Antonio to Oaxaca with a layover in Mexico City because it was several hundred dollars cheaper than flying out of Austin. What I didn’t account for, however, was the several hundred dollars that I was going to have to pay in parking at the airport for a week and a half long trip. Next time I have to come up with a smarter travel plan. Traveling to Oaxaca, you kind of just have to accept the fact that it’s one of the more expensive Mexican cities to fly to from Texas because of the high tourist demand. I didn’t get to Oaxaca until around 7:30 pm, and likewise on the way back, so 2 of my vacation days were almost exclusively travel days.
Now, for the fun stuff: attractions!
El Centro: many of Oaxaca’s best and most popular spots to visit are centrally located in the City’s “downtown” area. El Zocalo is the City’s main plaza which is usually bustling with vendors, musicians, food stands, and people enjoying the typically lovely weather. Abutting the Zocalo is Santo Domingo basilica, Oaxaca’s main Roman-style Catholic temple. It’s beautiful and open to the public, and quite often you can catch a wedding party on their way out from the ceremony, celebrating with a band and huge bride and groom puppets. The Jardin Etnobotanico is located behind the church. It’s fenced off and only accessible through a guided tour, which are scheduled throughout the day, but tend to fill up so I’d encourage getting there about 30 minutes early. The difference between a botanic and etnobotanic garden, and what makes this place so unique, is that the latter contains only plants local to the region.
2. Jalatlaco - while a lot of the places we visited on this trip were repeats from our prior trips, the neighborhood of Jalatlaco was a new one for me. I’ll admit that having family in Oaxaca makes it easier for me to just go along for the ride and not really pay attention to the layout of the city or its rich history, but apparently this little gem has been hidden in the city the whole time. It’s one of Oaxaca’s oldest neighborhoods and is becoming increasingly recognized for its cultural significance and beauty. The cobblestone streets are lightly trafficked and the buildings are painted in bright bold colors. It’s the perfect backdrop for a sunny afternoon and I highly recommend a stroll down this neighborhood, a pastry at its local coffee shops, and maybe even staying in one of the affordable hotels that are quickly popping up in the area.
3. Archeological Sites - Oaxaca, as I’ve stated before, is rich in history. It’s evident in its architecture, its art, its people, but you’re never more aware of the age and cultural importance of the state as when you visit its ruins. The state of Oaxaca was and is still is home to many indigenous groups, the biggest being the Zapotecs. Monte Albán is an archeological site which has been preserved and its ruins give us a glimpse of what life was like during the Zapotec’s rule. Monte Albán served as the political and socioeconomic capital for the indigenous group. About an hour drive from the city of Oaxaca is Mitla. Mitla is a small city that has a lot of historical significance. It is home to the Mitla Archeological site. This site was for the Zapotecs, the main religious center. Here you can explore the temples and learn about Zapotec symbology and religion. While visiting Mitla, you can stop by its market that’s filled with artesanal vendors, walk its small and beautiful streets, and stay at night to see a beautiful display of lights in the town center.
4. Hierve El Agua - if you’re anything like me and follow a million travel blogs and instagram accounts, you’ve probably seen the breathtaking photos that people take of Hierve el Agua. My favorite places to visit when traveling are sites of natural beauty. I like gazing in awe at the Earth’s beauty, hiking, taking pretty pictures, and Hierve el Agua combines the best of all these. I was very excited to visit this attraction and it did not disappoint. About an hour and a half drive from Oaxaca city, Hierve el Agua is a natural rock formation of carved out cliffs that have been petrified into waterfall-like shape over hundreds of years. You arrive at the top of the cliff where almost immediately, you’re standing on the edge in pools of water formed by natural springs. The pools are shallow enough to walk through and wade in. We got there around 9:30 am and there were already a good amount of people there, and many more followed after. The site opens at 8 and I would recommend getting there as early as possible. From the top of the cliffs, you can follow a trail to a lower edge that also has a smaller pool. If you stay on the trail, you’ll descend lower and lower until you’re at the base of the waterfalls, making for some spectacular views. One thing to note is that you’ll have to pay several fees to get to Hierve el Agua - the first is a highway toll, then the small town you drive through to get to the site charges a fee, and lastly the official entrance fee charged by the Oaxacan state for maintenance of the site. In my opinion, they’ve done a great job with keeping the site preserved and accessible, and the fees and ride to Hierve el Agua were well worth it.
5. Museums - Oaxaca de Juarez is the capital of the state of Oaxaca and its government has invested a lot into the fine arts and cultural development of the city. There are several museums in the city that we like to visit when we go that are equally amazing in their exhibits as their architecture. This is a list of the museums that stood out to me on this most recent trip, but is by no means an exhaustive list of all the amazing museums in Oaxaca.
Centro Cultural San Pablo
Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de Oaxaca
Museo de Filatelia de Oaxaca
Museo Textil de Oaxaca
Biblioteca Infantil
6. Food - if Oaxaca had nothing else to offer but its food, it would still be worthwhile place to visit. It is such a treat to me to visit my grandma’s house and have homemade Oaxacan meals, but I know not everyone has this privilege, so here’s a few restaurants that we ate at during this trip that I would recommend to anyone in a heartbeat.
Mercado 20 de Noviembre - this market is a must if you want to enjoy the best food that Oaxaca has to offer. It’s a bustling shopping center and you can stop at almost any of the stands and order something delicious from their menu.
I Love Tlayudas - Tlayudas are one of the most iconic dishes of Oaxaca, and this down to earth restaurant specializes in these delicacies. A tlayuda is essentially a big, tough, corn tortilla with beans, Oaxacan cheese, and then whatever topping you can think of. This restaurant is casual, affordable, and besides the Tlayudas you can find many other traditional Oaxacan dishes.
Los Pacos - this restaurant has slightly more upscale versions of the traditional Oaxacan dishes. It’s a bit more pricey but offers amazing quality and taste. We went here specifically to try the Siete Moles, which is a sampler of 7 typical moles of Oaxaca. You can then choose your favorite and order a full meal with that mole.
Restaurante Catedral - I celebrated my birthday this year in Oaxaca and my family took me out to lunch at this restaurant and it was the best first meal of my 25th year that I could’ve asked for. We went around 2 pm for their lunch buffet that included both traditional dishes and a wider array of options.
7. Honorable Mentions - one of my favorite parts of the trip, that I had never been to before, were tours of local artesanal manufacturers. On our way back from Hierve el Agua, we stopped by a small town of Teotitlan Del Valle and visited the a textile manufacturing shop named Taller Artesanal de Nelson Perez Mendoza where we were able to tour the shop and learn about the intricate textile making process. We got a detailed explanation of everything from the wool, to the dyes, and the eventual weaving of the patterns. Then, across the street from the textile shop was a mezcal distillery called Fabrica de Mezcal Don Agave. Here, we were given a tour of the mezcal making process, we learned about all the different types of agave, and got to do a mezcal tasting afterwards. They also have a restaurant with lots of food options if you want to stay and have a meal after the mezcal tour. Both of these tours were given on the spot, to our group of 5. It was a wonderful experience that I highly recommend and I now have such a deeper appreciation for the crafts of Oaxaca.
Even though this wasn’t my first trip to Oaxaca, nor will it be my last, this visit is one that I will hold dear to my heart. The more time I spend here, the more I fall in love with it. It’s finally starting to feel like an extension of who I am, and not just a place I have to travel to to see people I love. I hope to come back very soon and keep exploring and learning and soaking in its rich beauty. If you haven’t visited Oaxaca, I think you should add it to your list. Maybe I’m biased, but I think this one holds up. Until we meet again, estado de mi corazón.
