After about 12 days in Oaxaca following dozens of processions, street music and dancing and cemetery visits, I was ready for a break! And, feeling better after the bout with dengue, my taste buds returned and my energy grew, I was ready for travel!
Before leaving Oaxaca
Once more, what an amazing experience being in Oaxaca for Dia de Los Muertos! Stunning, heart felt, lovely, inspiring and engaging. Music, spontaneous processions, dancing in the street, street events and markets…the city certainly came to LIFE to celebrate the cycle of life!
Crowds so packed, it was difficult to move!
Regret or fulfillment? Everyone lives with a little of both and hopefully, much more of the fulfillment! I’ve mentioned this article to many people so here’s a link for you.
Bonnie Ware was a palliative care nurse who had many conversations with people on the verge of dying. She wrote about the “top five regrets of dying”. (click to visit the article). My thought is to use those regrets that emerge in the final moments of living to live more fully starting NOW!
Why not!!!
Below are photo’s of the activity before I left Oaxaca.
And then, peace and quiet!
Last year, I read about the Pueblos Mancomunados. Here’s a good blog post describing the communities: Pueblos Mancomunados.
I walked to where the buses were to be and was met with blank stares! A tourist office in the city explained more clearly how the process worked. The next morning, I headed off with my light pack having stored anything not essential. Any bus heading to Tule or Mitla would drop me at the moment.
My bus had an accident as the assistant got his foot stuck at one stop under the front tire!
Everyone left the bus. I walked a few stops where a collective taxi with one seat carried me onward. At the monument, he directed me across the highway to a road leading into the mountains!
Even with my map, they didn’t know what I wanted. A third driver joined us and explained to my driver! Six people packed into a small Toyota and off we went!
At a gravel road on the side of the highway, the taxi stopped and pointed saying “mixta”. That is a pickup with benches in the back. I sat with my pack waiting. There was literally NO traffic. As I was watching for traffic from uphill, a van turned onto the road from the other direction.
It was an empty tourist van. I asked the driver if he was going to Lachatao? Yes! He was picking up runners! No charge for the ride! Off we went!
And I loved that little village with it’s community restaurant and extremely friendly people!
Some of my views and experiences from there are in these photo’s.
Cuajimaloya, my next stop!
It was clear to me I wanted to visit two places. The only way to get to Cuajimaloya was private transport. My room was $650 pesos. Transport was $600 pesos. There were no ATM’s so I hoped I had brought enough money.
The drive through the mountains was amazing! Gorgeous! Lots of plant varieties. Bromeliads growing on pine trees with mushrooms sprouting below!
Once at the tourist office, I had an option of hotel room ($200) or cabaña ($600). In the time it took to look at the hotel room, they rented the last cabaña. Full, for the next three nights! Hotel room it is!
Lovely village. Very high at over 3,200 meters (10,500 feet). Cold and windy. I had plenty of warm clothing but would have loved my windbreaker! I bought several candles which helped keep my tiny room warm in the evening to read. Plenty of blankets but very cold for any necessary bathroom visit! Brrrrr!
Some views follow.
Interesting experiences in Cuajimoloyas.
Notice the note in the bottom right corner of the sign above. I saw “Limpia Medicinal” and was very interested. It is, for lack of better way of explaining, a traditional method for cleansing the energy field around and in the body. I have experienced those several times and always felt lighter after! This one cost $200 pesos and was a traditional Zapotec method. I jumped on the opportunity!
She used plants and herbs to cleanse my body and energy field. Then, she placed them on the floor under my feet and proceeded to cleans energy using an egg. When she finished, the plants under my feet had turned black! She broke the egg into a small glass of water and looked at the bubbles and images that formed explaining what was removed. And, she told me how it affected my body!
Awesome! I felt lighter, my head clear and my shoulders more flexible.
Room confusion!?!?
I was quite comfortable at night in a warm bed but it was freezing outside and windy. The hotel room was “ok” but I wanted to move to a cabaña!
After breakfast, she told me there was on available for one night. At 9:00 am, I paid for my new cabaña and waited for it to be ready. Around 1:00, she told me it was ready and a truck drove me up.
Happy to have a fire keeping me warm, I went back to have another Limpia. It was walking distance! This time was much simpler. My headache went away and everything was clearer.
After that, I had dinner and waited for them to come light the fire to my chiminea. A knock at the door and I was greeted by two people with walky-talkies explaining something in Spanish? It was 6:00 in the evening.
They returned with someone who spoke English. They had double booked the room. People who had reserved it a month ago arrived with no place to go. Would I be willing to go to the hotel, they would refund my money and give me a free night!? Please!
I told them that if I didn’t have a chiminea and Cabaña, I would have gone back to Oaxaca. They offered to drive me to the next village for a cabaña with chiminea!
The 20 minute drive wasn’t! The cabaña was a long walk in the dark up a steep hill. And it was very quiet and lovely and….cold!
That night, I remember how perfectly clear the sky and all the stars were!!!! Amazing!
I sat by my fire reading. During the night, it was so cold I kept my head ducked under blankets so didn’t sleep particularly well!
Things are always working out for me!
The next morning, I woke early! So, I braved the cold bathroom and cold water hoping the shower would be hot! It was indeed! Steamy!
Checking out at the office at 8:00, I asked them about transport to Oaxaca? A short walk brought me to the restaurant and breakfast which was inexpensive and excellent.
The lady there told me to wait by the road for a mixta or shared taxi. The bus came at 11:30 if I wanted to wait?
A taxi approached and waved me off, they were full. Twenty minutes later another taxi waved me off. Now, nearing 9:00, I simply relaxed because things ARE always working out for me.
A van came around the corner and flashed lights at me. They had one seat left, in front, the most comfortable place for a big guy to sit. Not only were they direct to Oaxaca, they dropped me a block from the street with my hostel.
Even though I was hours early, my room was ready! Awesome!
What a contrast from the morning to the evening. Morning, I could see my breath in the cold. In the evening, I was walking around in shorts, flip flops and t-shirt!
And that’s the most recent adventure. Tomorrow, I’m off on about 9 hours of travel. Ciao!