Our paradise is not a sandy beach on a far distant ocean. It is Teotitlan del Valle, a small Zapotec village about 15 miles outside the city of Oaxaca. Today was like most days that we spend here that are unplanned with nothing special to do. The repeat visits each year means that we don’t need to pack eight days of tourist sightseeing into four days of being here. It also means that because this is our repeat destination, we can “go deep” and experience life as it unfolds before us, focusing on the relationships rather on the “to do” list.
At 8:30 a.m., when Fede and Lola went to the daily market to buy breakfast ingredients, Stephen and I took a hike into the campo (countryside). After chicken, black beans, steamed choyote squash, fresh deep yellow tortillas, salsa, Oaxacan hot chocolate mixed with coffee (we call it choco-cafe), and fresh papaya, Fede went to an 11 a.m. meeting, I did the dishes, Stephen and Eric took a walk, and Lola went to her loom.
We spent the afternoon on the rooftop overlooking the valley, gazing at Picacho, the warm sun on our backs, breathing deep, talking together about our dreams and wishes, our hopes for the coming new year.
After comida, our bigger afternoon meal, we hopped in the car and went down the road ten minutes to catch the tailwind of the Tlacolula Sunday market. As vendors were packing up, I got to the hammock maker in time, and then picked up some tangerines, avocados, fresh roasted peanuts, and limes for the house. While I waited for Stephen in the church plaza, families gathered on the garden walls, a convenient meeting point. Brightly dressed women in indigenous clothing from the mountain villages, head scarves printed in bright red, blouses over-stitched in lace trim, crossed the square with baskets balanced on their heads. It was a great day of doing not much of anything, just watching the world go by.
Tlacolula Shopping List: Oaxaca’s Sunday Market
The Sunday Tlacolula regional tianguis (indigenous market) is where locals go to buy everything imaginable: furniture, cookware, light bulbs, plants, vegetables, fruits, meats, rebozos, live animals, jewelry, aprons, CDs and DVDs, clothing and plumbing supplies, just to list a few!
Portable stalls, covered with blue plastic tarp, line the streets for blocks on end. Interspersed are some interesting tourist collectibles: finely woven baskets, lacquered gourds, Mitla tablecloths, embroidered blouses, carved wood figures, fancy shawls, and more.
Petate weaver
This Sunday I had a shopping list. No tourist dawdling for me.
I started out late, hopped on a 3 p.m. bus from Teotitlan del Valle (TDV) to Tlacolula. The 10-minute ride is 7 pesos (that’s about 50 cents). On Sundays, that’s the only destination for the TDV bus that makes numerous round trips all day ending with the last one returning at 3:30 p.m..
Tlacolula Shopping List:
La Dueña de Comedor Mary
5. Late lunch at Comedor Mary. The most delicious food in the cleanest restaurant you’ve ever seen – anywhere. I could write a whole post about Comedor Mary. Located on the street between the church and the permanent market. Chicken soup, chile relleno, accompanying plate of avocado, radishes, guaje, with a Coke Light for 90 pesos.
By the time I left the market, the TDV buses were kaput (last return trip at 3:30 p.m.). So I walked to the Tlacolula crucero (crossroads) and picked up a collectivo (10 pesos) that dropped me off at the TDV crucero. I sat next to the cutest 2-year old with her mom in the back seat and we made goo-goo eyes. From there, I took a local collectivo (5 pesos each and sharing the cab with 6 people, 3 adult men in the front seat) into town. My bundles went into the trunk, fortunately. From there I walked home.
Overall, a great day I’d say. Shopping list accomplished.
→ 9 Comments
Posted in Cultural Commentary, Travel & Tourism
Tagged blogsherpa, markets, Mexico, New York Times 36 Hours:Oaxaca, Oaxaca, shopping, tianguis, Tlacolula, travel