Destination: Oaxaca - Day 2 - A Familiar Journey, an Unfamiliar Destination

9/4/16, “A Familiar Journey, an Unfamiliar Destination”

Oaxaca, Oaxaca, Mexico

Some days it’s all about the journey, and other days it’s just the destination that counts.  While we have at long last arrived at our destination (Oaxaca, as the title of this trip has been constantly promising), it was the journey today that was far more interesting, even though it was an all-too-familiar journey, and I have arrived at the capital of a new Mexican state.  Tomorrow, we will be properly exploring the city of Oaxaca, along with the surrounding ruins of Monte Alban, which will enable me to announce “Central Mexico Complete” and only leave the two sites in the Borderlands and the four in Baja California Sur.

After a long and arduous (and very familiar) journey, we are here, and I would be remiss not to properly record that arrival with this entry in front of the famous, historic cathedral of Oaxaca, even if I am not yet Officially claiming this World Heritage Site.  There is not much to record today, and it is the familiarity of the journey that will form the basis of this entry.  It is a journey I have undertaken what must have been a dozen times, long drives along rudimentary highways in Central America, getting stuck in traffic and detours, often racing to get to a site just before it closes so that I can take that one picture I need to claim the World Heritage site, constantly calculating the arrival time, and trying to come up with a Plan B in case I arrive late.

Just as the journey to Tikal two years ago, the entire day would be in naught if we did not arrive in time, and, like with Tikal, after seven hours in the car, it would come down to a matter of minutes.  One picture was all I needed, well, two including the Plaque.  So, how did it play out?

After I closed, I went back inside to finish my Ardor that I had lit while writing my entry and to publish.  I then soon crashed.  Roberto woke up early to go to mass, and he woke me up when he was back.  He was hungrier than I, so he went out to breakfast.  Almost as soon as he left, I found my appetite and messaged him that I would be joining him.  It was at the hotel where we wanted to have dinner last night, and they served us a typical local breakfast, including shrimp and eggs.  It was delicious.  After breakfast, I lit up a Fuente, and we headed back to the hotel.  It was 9:30 AM when we got on the road.  With good driving conditions, we would be able to get to the Yagul site to see the caves, head to Monte Alban to see the ruins, and then head to the city to see the Cathedral and announce, “Central Mexico Complete.”

We did not have good driving conditions.  In fact, the conditions were so bad that it soon became apparent that we would be fighting time to arrive at the Yagul site before it closed.  That was essential.  If we didn’t, tomorrow would be, for lack of a better word, a bitch.  We could see Monte Alban tomorrow and still maintain a relaxed pace, but seeing Yagul tonight was essential.  Everything about this arduous drive was familiar, and I napped with some frequency, as I did on the way to Tikal two years ago.

A little before the halfway point, we learned that an electrical pole had fallen on the highway.  There was a detour, but it would be quite a process.  We had no other choice.  The detour cost us 20 minutes, 20 precious minutes that would potentially make the difference between an on-time arrival and getting to Yagul after they locked the gates.  It was definitely a scenic detour, but I was so stressed out about not getting to the site in time.

Once we got back on the highway, I lit up an E. P.  Carrillo, and I thought we had escaped the worst.  I thought wrong.  Oh, did I mention that it was raining on and off the entire day?  Well, a good portion of the drive would be through winding mountain paths.  That would slow us down considerably.  Monte Alban was clearly out of the picture for today, and it was looking more and more questionable for the caves.  To make matters worse, I was starting to get nauseated from the winding curves, which we were undertaking as quickly as was safe.  I took a nap after my cigar and woke up feeling much better as we reached the bottom of the mountain.

One problem, Google Maps was saying we’d arrive around 4:45 PM, and the site closed at 5 PM.  Did that mean that we had to leave the site by 5 PM, or that entrances stopped at 5 PM?  Once we got off the mountain and onto the main highway, Roberto floored it, arriving at 4:35 PM.  We were good on time, but the rain was coming.  The inscription for Yagul is for the prehistoric caves in the surrounding valley, but the Plaque is at an archaeological site that is not inscribed.  However, Roberto said that we would be able to see the caves from the entrance area of the site.

We parked the car, and I grabbed a Bolivar Brasil Exclusivo.  We got our tickets and headed straight to the Plaque, fighting both the oncoming rainstorm and 5 PM.  I lit up my Bolivar, and we took our ceremonial pictures, both at the plaque, and the wonderful vista of the caves from the area that housed the Plaque.  The rain was now in full force, so I raced back to the car.  Roberto explored the ruins while I posted my photos to social media.

We then headed to the capital city of Oaxaca, and we discovered that the key blocks leading to our hotel were closed.  Apparently, it had been set up for people to sleep in tents on those blocks.  We parked a couple of blocks away and walked to the hotel, where we learned where to park.  I took care of the luggage while Roberto took care of the car.  What to do now?  I didn’t want to say “Central Mexico Complete tonight,” instead preferring to save that for the proper visit tomorrow, when we can see both the city of Oaxaca and Monte Alban.

However, I did want to get a taste of the capital city, and I do mean that quite literally, since we had finally arrived at our destination.  Here was my plan.  I wanted to take picture at the Plaque, get my souvenir, try their local specialty, a giant quesadilla called a tlayuda, write my entry in view of the cathedral before dark, then have a proper dinner at a nice restaurant to celebrate our successful arrival here.  That was exactly what we did.  Braving the rain, we headed to the Plaque and took our ceremonial picture, and then we went into the main indoor shopping center across from the cathedral.

They had a souvenir shop, so I got my keychain, and they had a restaurant called “La Tlayuda”.  This was perfect.  We sat down and each got a tlayuda, which was amazing.  Now, it got better.  It was way too rainy to write my entry outside in view of the cathedral, but the restaurant had a back entrance, which was open and covered and in view of the cathedral.  I moved a chair there and sat down in view of the cathedral, where I proceeded to write this entry, which I will now close so that I can find Roberto, and we can go out for our proper dinner.

Well, as last night, I don’t have much new to report, other than what was, by far, the best meal of the trip and, for that matter, one of the best meals Ive ever had in Latin America.  In keeping with the theme of this Travelogue, the finding the familiar within the unfamiliar and experiencing the unfamiliar within the familiar, I noted something today about Mexican cuisine.

Almost every state or region in Mexico has their own local cuisine, but, for the most part, it’s the same ingredients.  Corn is the staple of all Mexican cuisine, but what is interesting is the variation each region has on the same basic idea.  Is the tortilla soft or hard, thin or think, fried or grilled, rolled or flat?  What kind of meat and cheese and vegetables is put inside the tortilla?  What kind of salsa accompanies the tortilla?  That is what makes each regional cuisine unique, and I was glad to experience the Oaxacan specialty of tlayuda for that reason.  It was different than the dishes I had in Puebla or Veracruz made from the same basic ingredients.  Our dinner tonight, however, was more contemporary rather than traditional Oaxacan cuisine.

After I closed, I found Roberto directly across from me, and we headed to the restaurant we had chosen.  It was the #3 restaurant on Tripadvisor, and he said it was his favorite restaurant in the city.  It was also only a couple of blocks away.  Perfect.  The whole passage to the restaurant was a little odd, since it was covered but not fully, and Roberto was unsure where to leave his cigar.  I saw that the restaurant was covered in a tent or tarp or something of the like, but it was not fully covered.  I wondered if perhaps we were allowed to smoke.  They pointed us to a covered patio where smoking was permitted.  This would be a feast to remember.

I perused the menu, and I found two things that looked very interesting.  For my appetizer, I chose ribeye chicharones that came in a fried, crispy tortilla, along with all the fixing.  For my main course, I chose coconut shrimp with some kind of mango salsa.  To drink, I got the house beer, which, surprisingly, came in bottles.  One the beers came, I lit up a Trinidad, and we enjoyed our beers and cigars.  Roberto had not ordered an appetizer, so they brought out my appetizer and his main course at the same time, which was, to say the least, very atypical.  We asked the waiter to take a ceremonial picture of us, which was a bit of challenge due to the angles, but we got one that worked.  The ribeye chicharones were delicious, and it could have been a meal on its own.  We kept drinking and, in my case, smoking, too, as we ate.

After I finished my appetizer, they brought my coconut shrimp, which wasn’t quite as amazing as the ribeye, but it was still quite good.  We were not done eating yet.  We then ordered dessert, an empanada with apple and cheese sauce for me, along with coffees.  Roberto was reminded of the meal we had with my grandfather in Philadelphia three months ago (to the day in fact), and, while this was quite an epic feast, it could not hold a candle to that meal.  I kept smoking my Trinidad, and the desserts soon came, which, like everything else, were amazing.  I had a few more puffs of my cigar after the dessert, and then we paid the check and headed out.

It was pouring, absolutely pouring, but the brisk walk in the cold was good to work off the meal.  Meanwhile, my trusty sandals, as they have for 15 years all over the world, proved the veracity of the three letters stamped on the side.  Nike ACG, they’re called, short for All Condition Gear.  They have lived up that name, whether I’ve been hiking in the desert or walking in the rain.  It’s weird to think I’ve had these sandals for half of my life and that they are, by far, my favorite article of clothing.  The shirt I’m wearing, my Scarsdale Baseball shirt I use as a night shirt and my watch are of a similar age.

Okay, enough rambling about the clothes I have had for over a decade.  I got back to the room and dried off.  We then figured out how to rearrange the room and windows to allow us to smoke in the room.  I lit up my trusty Ardor and sat by the window, enjoying hearing and seeing the capital come alive at night, just as I have so many times as I have smoked this same pipe in so many famous cities around the world.  I then proceeded to write this entry, which I will now close so that I can publish before Roberto and I celebrate our arrival in the capital with one last epic night before we head out tomorrow.