First Day in Oaxaca

I have been to Oaxaca before, back in 2001. However, I was really sick when I arrived in the city of Oaxaca, so I have very little memory of it (besides stomach illness and delirious fever!)

I spent most of the day walking around. I walked to the church of Santo Domingo de Guzman, which has a pretty impressive museum attached. It has rooms that detail the history of Oaxaca, beginning with pre-history and working thru the present time. The highlight for me was an amazing display of artefacts from Monte Albán, the Zapotec indian site that I plan to visit soon.

There were also beautiful vistas of the city from various windows and balconies on the 2nd floor of the museum. A botanical garden directly outside of the building, then colonial buildings and bustling streets, with lush green hills serving as the backdrop on all sides. I wish that photos could accompany this description, but I had forgotten to bring my camera : (

Then I walked to the zocalo (central plaza), alive with a mix of tourists and locals. You could feel in the air that it was Friday afternoon... As I turned a corner to follow the perimeter of the square, I felt a sudden wave of remembrance in every pore of my body - I stopped and let it wash over me, reliving moments in that exact spot over 6 years ago...

Then I sat down at an outside cafe, drinking strong Oaxacan coffee and listening to musical performers alternating on my side of the zocalo (marimba, guitar, Andean flute), saying "no, gracias" every 15 seconds to women and children selling every handicraft imaginable, and wrote down these musings on a blank page torn from my Oaxaca guidebook...

So I learned 2 important lessons:

• Bring a journal at all times!
• Bring my camera!!