Oaxacaphiles will cringe or love that Seth Kugel has written a Frugal Traveler story in the New York Times travel section about this lovely, small village outside Oaxaca city. Enjoy! Article comes complete with map and a video.
Personally, not many but the most adventurous would undertake this type of travel. There has been a discussion on the comments section of this article about the personal safety of going in to an unknown village and presenting oneself. Most advice is to be cautious and to know the territory. The Tlacalula Valley people, where Seth explored San Juan Teitipac, are usually friendly, warm and welcoming to visitors. We did not find this to be the case in San Mateo del Mar on the Isthmus of Tehuantepec. It was very easy to read the glaring eyes.
There is also an issue of safety in the Mixtec regions of the Oaxaca highlands where remote villages have been in an indigenous human rights struggle with a repressive central government. It is too easy to get caught in the middle.
Posted onMonday, July 20, 2009|Comments Off on Oaxaca: Tlacolula Market & Hammock Shopping
Iglesia de Tlacolula
Stephen, Dolores, Janet
Shopping for Pepinos
Dahlia Vendor
Oaxaca handmade baskets
Hammock weaver
Handmade wax candles
Shopping for hammock rope
Basket as hat
Our quest for this Sunday’s Tlacolula market was to buy two handwoven cotton hammocks for the casita, a table for our bedroom, and a lot of fresh fruit for munching on. The entire family piled into two cars, and with shopping bags and baskets in hand, we set off for this famous tianguis that has everything under the sun and more. The secret to buying a handmade hammock is to choose the vendor who weaves the hammocks with a high quality cotton that is finished well. The weave should be tight. We did not choose the brightly colored ones because they are woven with polyester and we wanted the authentic version. After bargaining, the cost was 230 pesos each. After buying the hammocks, we went to the vendor who sells strong rope (along with handmade slingshots, leather belts, and harnesses) and bought enough to secure both ends at home. Here you see us after the hammocks are installed! plus market scenes.
Posted onSaturday, May 16, 2009|Comments Off on CDC Lifts Travel Ban to Mexico, Effective May 15, 2009
“Despite the spread in the United States, the CDC lifted its warning against unnecessary travel to Mexico. So far that country has experienced the most severe outbreak, but officials in Mexico predicted Friday that they would bring it under control by the end of the month. The CDC said individuals with other health conditions should consult with their doctors before traveling to Mexico,” according to an article published in the Tacoma, Washington newspaper excerpted from a story that was syndicated by the Washington Post, May 16, 2009. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/05/15/AR2009051503533.html?hpid%3Dmoreheadlines&sub=AR
Time to buy your ticket? We did two weeks ago 🙂 Good deals still to be found, I’m certain!
Wind arrives and blows through the valley each day in February around 3 p.m. It whips and blusters. Whoosh. It’s kite building time. From the rooftop I can see two triangles with tails zigzagging, rising toward the top of the mountain. In the courtyard, Taurino, the new brother-in-law, is helping the young brothers make a kite — one for each of them. They cut sheets of green plastic and use tape and glue to affix the plastic to bamboo forms. Later they will run in open fields to test their work.
Today there was chicken, rice and mole negro for lunch along with fresh tortillas, and a choice of guayaba juice fresh squeezed or jugo de jamaica (hibiscus flower juice). We were deep into the editing process using Final Cut Pro, trying to figure out how to trim 15 minutes of interview and 25 minutes of broll into a 5 minute rough cut.
The wind rattles the steel framed glass windows and rustles the leaves of the pomegranate tree. Magda’s striped “coat of many colors” scarf is a horizontal blur trailing behind her as she walks across the courtyard. The laundry on the second story line is a string of multi-national flags. Crows, wingspans wide open, surf the undulating air waves I cannot see. A bee alights atop a tangerine-colored cactus flower.
Why We Left, Expat Anthology: Norma’s Personal Essay
Norma contributes personal essay, How Oaxaca Became Home
Norma Contributes Two Chapters!
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Norma Schafer and Oaxaca Cultural Navigator LLC has offered programs in Mexico since 2006. We have over 30 years of university program development experience. See my resume.
Study Tours + Study Abroad are personally curated and introduce you to Mexico's greatest artisans. They are off-the-beaten path, internationally recognized. We give you access to where people live and work. Yes, it is safe and secure to travel. Groups are limited in size for the most personal experience.
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1-Day OaxacaCity Collectors Textile Tour.Exclusive Access! We take you into the homes and workshops of Oaxaca State's prize-winning weavers. They come from the Isthmus of Tehuantepec, the Mixteca, Mixe, Amuzgos and Triqui areas and represent their weaving families and cooperatives here. For collectors, retailers, buyers, wholesalers, fashionistas.
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2022 Going Deep, Not Wide--Extended Tours
October 28-November 4, 2022: Women’s Creative Writing Retreat in Teotitlan del Valle — Memory and Tradition. Click this link to read about it. ONE SPACE OPEN FOR SHARED ROOM.
October 29-November 4, 2022:Day of the Dead Culture Tour. We meet locals and visit 4 villages to experience this mystical pre-Hispanic observance, awesome and reverent. Still space for a few more!
February 5-13, 2023: Bucket List Tour: Monarch Butterflies + Michoacan. Spiritual, mystical connection to nature. Go deep into weaving, pottery, mask-making and more! We haven't offered this tour since 2019 and we anticipate it will sell out quickly. TWO SPACES OPEN
February 21-March 1, 2023: Chiapas Textile Study Tour--Deep Into the Maya World Based in San Cristobal de las Casas, we travel to distant pueblos to meet extraordinary back strap loom weavers --Best of the Best! TWO SPACES OPEN
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Maps: Teotitlan + Tlacolula Market
We require 48-hour advance notice for map orders to be processed. We send a printable map via email PDF after order received. Please be sure to send your email address. Where to see natural dyed rugs in Teotitlan del Valle and layout of the Sunday Tlacolula Market, with favorite eating, shopping, ATMs. Click Here to Buy Map After you click, be sure to check PayPal to ensure your email address isn't hidden from us. We fulfill each map order personally. It is not automatic.
Dye Master Dolores Santiago Arrellanas with son Omar Chavez Santiago, weaver and dyer, Fey y Lola Rugs, Teotitlan del Valle
Where is Oaxaca and How Safe Is It? Update November 2010
How can I convince thee? Let me count the ways?
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Posted in Cultural Commentary, Oaxaca travel, Travel & Tourism
Tagged Oaxaca safety November 2010, Oaxaca travel