Saturday, July 28, 2007

Food and Drink, Part 2

I am lucky to have had a very full and rich 24 hours! I, with the great group of friends I have made here, have been very busy seeing sights here in Oaxaca and enjoying the "fruits" of such an amazing place. Hmmm.. where do I begin????

Yesterday we visited a town called Ocotlon. They are famous for their Friday market day and people from villages all over the Oaxaca come here to buy and sell their wares, and catch up on the recent gossip in each other's village. We visited the beautiful church and museum that was preserved by a man named Rodolfo Morales. He was sort of the town philanthropist and tried hard to improve Ocotlan by preserving their church and creating an art museum of his work, where he painted to honor mainly the women of the town. His museum was beautiful and it it clear that he did a lot for his city by offering art classes and culture to the people. Afterwards we walked through the market, which was so alive and busy with people! It was here that I tried my first "street food". Up until now I have been very cautious and perhaps overly concerned about eating food that is not prepared in the house I am staying or in a restaurant. But they had these amazing things in the market called "tlayudas", which really seems like it was just a name for a HUGE quesadilla in a massive tortilla, stuffed with goodness (in this case it was amarillo mole and chicken and parsley... see photo). I was with Jamie, Christina and Jeremy, and we all three got one. Certainly NOT Weight Watchers, but... it was worth it. In this market we saw everything from plastic shoes, to saddles, to dried fish, free samples of Mezcal (more on that later), pottery, jewelery, and soooo much more. We didn't have much time there, but it was all worth it. Jamie and I even got a little lost, and were late back to the bus, thus adding a bit more adventure to the day.

Upon our arrival back at the school, we met up with Mike and his girlfriend Vanessa (whom he had just picked up from the airport). We all jammed into a cab at about 6pm and went to The Mezcal Festival, being held at the Convention Center, a bit aways from the center of town where we stay. I have to start by saying that this event, surprisingly to me, was the MOST fun I have had in a long time, and for sure while in Oaxaca! This festival was a celebration of mezcal, the drink of the Oaxacenos. For a measly 15 pesos ($1.50) we got to "sample" a bazillion kinds of mezcal... everything from straight, clear, strong mezcal, to fruity, creamy, flavored ones. I had NO IDEA what could be done with the agave plant! There were about 30 booths, and each one offered pretty much limitless samples in little teeny cups of all their different kinds of mezcal. In an effort of "full disclosure", I must admit that by the 3rd booth, we were all sufficiently buzzed, and by the 5th one... just plain drunk!! And believe it or not, we made it around to almost ALL of the booths over the course of about 3 hours. When all was said and done, I had bought 2 bottles of flavored mezcal, and a shot glass made from some red clay, received a sporty straw hat, which I wore all night, took pictures with some real caballeros, and ate some more, yet to be identified "street food"!!!! It was a blast!!!! We laughed through the entire thing, danced a bit and when we thought we were done drinking... started up again. It was completely opposite of the "usual" me. We ended up leaving around 10:30 and then going out to eat at the same pizza place as the night before. Oh boy, I am really not weight watching and need to get ahold of this eating thing... well, maybe when I get back. We didn't get back to our place till after midnight, when I proceeded to drink a lot of water and take 2 aspirin. A good time was has by all!!! Si!

2 comments:

  1. It's a party!!! I can't even begin to tell you how happy I am that you're having such a great time.

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  2. Miss Ellman!! Look at you, party girl! It's so great to see you totally livin it up! : )

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