Tag Archives: Abastos Market

There are three ways to get to Teotitlan: by bus, by collectivo and by private taxi. Each village has it’s own bus system which it contracts with the village leaders. The Teotitlan bus is colored bright yellow with orange contrasts. The best place to catch the bus is from CHEDRAUI. This is a shopping center not too far from the Zocalo. You can catch a taxi to get to Chedraui for a few pesos. It would be a long-ish walk. The bus runs every hour at the 1/4 hour … best to get there 20-30 minutes early because these times are approximate. The fare to Teotitlan is 10 pesos (about $1.00). The collectivos will also swing by this stop and the fares are a little bit more. They will circle the bus stops to pick up passengers until they are packed full — 4 in the backseat, sometimes 2 in the front seat. A private taxi will cost about $20-25 USD. The Teotitlan bus will take you right into the center of the village, but you can ask them to drop you off anywhere along Benito Juarez, the road into town. If you wanted to stop at Federico Chavez’s casita before entering the center of town, you would ask to be dropped off at Francisco I. Madero which crosses Benito Juarez. (There’s a yellow sign at the corner advertising Federico Chavez Santiago Family Weavers.  Continue down F.I. Madero to #55 in the last block and turn right down the alley into the courtyard. Phone: 52 44078) You can also hop a bus from Oaxaca to Tlacalula or Mitla. It will drop you off at the Crucero (the crossroads where Avenida Benito Juarez joins Pan American Highway 190). There are usually taxis or tuk-tuks waiting for these buses, and they will take you into town for 10 pesos. If there isn’t one there, it won’t be too long before one comes along!

The other option is to catch the same bus or collectivo at the Abastos Market where they originate, but it’s so confusing down there, a huge hubbub of people and cars and taxis and buses, that I prefer Chedraui. It’s just easier. Chedraui also has ATM machines, some fast food services, boutiques, and a supermarket. The other bus stop is near the ball stadium at the corner of Calle de Los Derechos Humanos and Boulevard Eduardo Vasconcelos on the main road leading into and out of town. It picks people up between 15-25 minutes after every hour from Monday through Saturday. This is the last main stop and by the time the bus gets there, there is usually standing room only.We love riding the bus. It will take about 45 minutes in either direction. The bus directly into Teotitlan does not operate on Sunday, but you can get the bus to Mitla and ask them to stop at the Crucero. Same routine: pick up a taxi or tuk-tuk into town.

The Teotitlan bus will go through Tule and stop to pick people up along the 190 Highway. Villagers go back and forth for doctors appointments, to their stalls in the markets, to school, and to visit with friends. They haul bags of food and flowers, rugs and baskets, books in backpacks. This is where I love people watching: the elderly women with their fancy braided pigtails and huge dangling 10K gold filagree earrings embellished with pearls or colored zircons or amethysts, and the school children in uniforms.