Tag Archives: airport

Hasta Luego, Oaxaca — Nos Vemos Pronto: Goodbye Oaxaca. See you soon!

Posted on Tuesday, November 8, 2011 | 2 comments

One of the only pleasures about leaving Oaxaca is arriving early at the airport, checking in with few people in line, and climbing the wide stairway to the second floor for breakfast. The cafe there is “muy rico” — very delicious and as I look out the window, connected by free Wi-Fi (for about 10 minutes), I see planes coming and going and families saying goodbye.

I can savor the perfectly prepared over-easy eggs served with a piquante salsa, guacamole and a bit of frijoles negros topped with a bit of quesillo string cheese. I slop all of this up with steaming tortillas that I tear into pieces (in the style of my Oaxaca host family) and taste each morsel.

The fresh fruit display is second to what comes served on mixed fruit plate. The coffee is dark and rich. I add unprocessed (carmel colored) sugar to the coffee and it is incredible. A perfect start to a long travel day on three airplanes to get back to RDU (Raleigh-Durham, North Carolina).

In December or January I will return for several months. Knowing this makes me happy and I don’t have the usual sadness when I leave Oaxaca this time after a short 10-day visit. The next time will give me the luxury of time to continue to explore my village and the city and mountain pueblos where I have not yet been.

Hasta pronto!

2 Comments

Posted in Cultural Commentary, Food & Recipes, Oaxaca Mexico art and culture, Travel & Tourism

Tagged airport, blogsherpa, food, Mexico, Oaxaca

Look Upstairs! Money Machines at the Oaxaca Airport

Posted on Sunday, July 10, 2011 | 3 comments

Travelers to Oaxaca–Take Note!

Santander, Bansi and Banamex ATM Machines

Traveling to Oaxaca and arriving at the Oaxaca, Mexico airport? Do you need pesos? As you exit Aduana (customs) look to your left in the waiting area and you will see a wide stairway that goes up to the second floor. In the area just before you enter the restaurant (bathrooms are to the left and very clean), you will see the ATM machines. A handy place to get money if you are coming directly from Houston to Oaxaca.

Exchange rates from ATMs in Mexico are the best and you get a better rate than when you change dollars at the casa de cambio (money exchange). Don’t bother with Travelers Cheques–nobody takes them.

Bank of America owns 50% of Santander so there is a reciprocal agreement to waive the usage fee and 3% surcharge if you are a B of A customer.

And if you are hungry, the restaurant is very good!

Looking down from the ATM machines

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Posted in Travel & Tourism

Tagged airport, ATM machines, blogsherpa, currency exchange, Mexico, money, Oaxaca, pesos, postaweek2011, tourism, travel

1/3 Of The Way There: Hasta Oaxaca

Posted on Sunday, December 14, 2008 | Comments Off

“We’re in Texas now,” the mom across the restaurant aisle says to her daughter. It’s really Any Airport, USA. I’m sitting at a TGI Fridays-DFW eating tomato basil soup between legs. Next stop, Mexico City. The RDU airport at 7 a.m. was barely bustling and the flight was not full. It took me 2 minutes to check in at the American Airlines ticket counter. It has been easy so far, even though the flights will have started at 8 a.m. and get me into Oaxaca at 7 p.m. tonight with 2-3 hr. layovers each in DFW and Mexico City. The tram rider between Terminal A and Terminal D noted she felt like she was in Disneyland. The woman next to her nodded, her bald head with bit of gray stubble growing out — a recent chemo survivor. I thought, how wonderful that she doesn’t want to hide herself by donning a wig. She shows a pride in her face that smiles out at the world, strong and satisfied. I wonder where she and her friend are off to. TGI Fridays is a familiar, safe world…we know it, depend on it, it gives us comfort food before we continue on. Not exotic, but nice.