Today was a very special day indeed.
The host from our AirBnB has been so incredibly helpful. She told us all about the workings of the house, and gave us lots of suggestions.
So, when she invited us to her village up north for the day, we jumped at the opportunity.
Mariana arranged for a taxi to meet us by our house and take us the 30-minute drive to Villa de Etla. We were dropped off directly in front of Mariana's home, where she lives with her husband, her 2 year old daughter, and her parents, both of whom are doctors, and he still practices from an office in their home.
Their home is beautiful. A rectangular open air courtyard is surrounded by covered walkways that open to the many rooms of the house. They warmly invited us into their home, and they could not have been nicer. Mariana speaks very good English. Her parents only spoke Spanish, but Lisa was able to understand quite a bit. I was completely and utterly lost.
Grabbing her shopping bags, Mariana told us we were visiting the Mercado in Etla. Today (Wednesday) is the big market day in town, when villagers from the surrounding area, including the mountains, come to Etla to sell their wares. You can find it all. Clothing. Furniture. Household supplies. Kitchen gadgets. And the food! Fresh vegetables, ripe fruit, prepared food, and regional specialties were everywhere.
Mariana brought us to her favorite vendors, showing us which ones had the best selections. In between visits to the vendors, she took us to her church on the hillside. We saw so much in the market. We had brought some bags of our own, and we quickly filled them with fresh fruit, some vegetables, and more.
Returning to Mariana's house, we dropped off our bags and were invited into the kitchen for a cool drink - aqua Jamaica. This is a deep red juice made from the hibiscus flower. It is not sweet (you can add sugar), but is very refreshing.
After our brief drink interlude, Mariana took us in her car to visit some neighboring sites. The first stop was Sanctuario Las Penitas. This is a very old church, open for all to visit, but not operating as a regular church. There are services here, but only once per year during the festival of Las Penitas. It is a shame that this beautiful church is not used regularly.
Behind the church are a series of small hills. Mariana took us back there and explained that this is an undiscovered ancient ruin. You can see that the hills are in the shape of pyramids, facing the four directions of east/west/north/south. They are covered in vegetation, and had we not been told what they were, we would have never guessed. Mariana explained that there were many, many sights like this all over Oaxaca, simply awaiting further discovery. Who knows what history lies in these mounds, and what treasures could be buried.
We then drove west through Etla towards San Augustin. Here, we visited the Centro de las Artes San Augustin. This was an old textile factory that was purchased by the famous artist Francisco Toledo. Here he converted the factory into an arts center where artists could live and work together. The factory is beautiful, with old wood floors, soaring wood ceilings, and the perfect place to make and display art. The grounds are stunning, and views into the valley are unmatched.
A very short drive away, we found another arts center, also built by Toledo, in an old paper factory.
On the return drive to Mariana's house, she dropped me off at her favorite cheese shop. Etla is famous as the home to quesilla - the cheese Oaxaca is famous. And the cheese we purchased here is the best we have had so far!
Upon returning to Mariana's home, we found her parents in the dining room, waiting for our arrival. They had made us dinner! We sat at the large wood table in the spacious dining room. We were served squash blossom soup, with squash and a small piece of corn on the cob. Next was one of Oaxaca's most famous dishes: tlayuda. This is a hard tortilla (not fried, but rather dried), covered in lard and black beans, and topped with quesillo cheese and avocado. In the middle of the table was a container of fresh tortillas, some fresh quacamole, and a casserole dish filled with grilled meat to put on the tlayuda. We had more aqua Jamaica to drink, and her father brought out a bottle of local mezcal.
Lisa did very well understanding the Spanish being spoken, while I did a lot of communicating with my hands. We told them that we wanted to visit some nearby sights, and they even let us borrow some books about historical sights.
What a wonderful experience! We loved spending time with Mariana and her family, and were honored that they showed us around their beautiful village. This will be one of the absolute highlights of our entire Mexico adventure.
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