• Home
  • Escapes and Pleasures
  • Family and Friends
  • Go Sox
  • The Outer Loop
  • Articles of Interest

MillersTime

MillersTime

Tag Archives: Mexico

Oaxaca, Mexico: Thru Ellen’s Lens

09 Thursday Feb 2023

Posted by Richard in Escapes and Pleasures

≈ 8 Comments

Tags

20th November Market, alebrijes, Angelico Jimenez, Benito Juarez Market, Betty Morales, Centro, Centro de las Artes de San Agust, El RBOL DEL TULE, Gueta Oaxaca, Hierve el Aqua, Hierve el Aquaq, Mexico, Mount Alban, Mural District, Oaxaca, Organic Market, Smoky Alley, Tule Tree, Vago Mezcal, Zocalo

Blue Sky, Pink Building – Oaxaca Centro

Ellen and I have been making a habit of traveling in January, as an alternative to the ‘winters’ and ‘politics’ of DC. Generally, we find a city we want to explore and settle in for ten days to two weeks, giving us a chance to enjoy a new place in a leisurely manner. This year it was also an opportunity for me to relax following a particularly intense five weeks of DC Superior Court Grand Jury service (more about that in an upcoming post).

We chose Oaxaca, a city and a state, in southwest Mexico, a UNESCO World Heritage site with a population of 300,000, largely people of indigenous origin — Zapotec, Mixtec and Mazateco. There are eight major groups of indigenous people each still speaking their own languages as well as a large Spanish influence. The Spanish arrived in the area in the mid-1500’s. Several friends had spent time in Oaxaca and urged us to explore what it had to offer.

We ‘found’ a two bedroom house at the end of the Calle de Manual Bravo, inside the City Centro, and in walking distance of the Zocalo – the city’s main square – and close to the markets, local restaurants, and some of the other sites we wanted to explore. We also convinced a long time friend to join us for six days.

The pictures you see on this post and the accompanying slideshow are not meant to be a travelogue but instead are some of Ellen’s favorite photos from among the more than 1,000 she took.

We generally planned one major excursion a day, leaving time for just wandering in the City Centro and exploring the markets and daily life of Oaxaca. Not much English is spoken, so for the most part we successfully fumbled our way through with hand gestures and nodding our heads, though sometimes when it came to food, we were surprised! In many ways Oaxaca seemed the most authentic of the various places we’ve been in Mexico.

Some of the highlights:

Gueta Oaxaca – a six hour class of traditional Oaxacan cooking led by a wonderful women who introduced us (hands on) to a variety of traditional dishes as well as stories about what she had learned from her grandmother about making “moles” and other country recipes. This was a delicious experience all the way around.

Monte Alban – a sunset tour of this site, an ancient center of Zapotec and Mixtec culture whose initial construction began about the 8th century BCE. We were fortunate to wander through these great plazas, terraces, partial pyramids, temples, and tombs with the guidance of an archeologist and at a time when there were no other tourists at this outstanding Mesoamerican site. We later visited the Museo de las Culturas de Oaxacain that displays many of the artifacts found at Monte Alban.

Hierve de Aqua – two white rock formations that appear to be waterfalls (think cave stalactites). Located in an isolated region about an hour and a half from Oaxaca City, these unusual ‘falls’ are set in the Sierra Madre de Oaxaca mountains, 5,000-feet above sea level.

El Árbol del Tule – located not far from Oaxaca in the lovely town of Santa María del Tule and next to a small church, this cypress tree is more than 1,500 years old and is reported to be the widest tree in existence. Though not the oldest tree in the world, it’s continuing to grow with it many knots, gnarls. There’s is also a second cypress on the other side of the church that is a mere 1,000 years old, though not many visitors seem to notice it. We strolled through this small, delightful town of 8,000, a lovely diversion from the ‘big’ city.

Centro de las Artes de San Agustín – This art center founded by Francisco Toledo (about a 30 minute drive from the city) had an exhibition featuring the collaboration of Seamus Heaney, a Nobel prize winning author, with the Dutch-born artist Jan Hendrix that largely featured Hendrix’s very large hanging textiles and smaller works in other media. The art was stunning and was based on a collaboration between the artist and the poet after visiting an area know as Yagul, a scenic archaeological site with unusual topography. (We wanted to stop there on our return trip to Oaxaca, but it was closed to the public at that time.)

Angelico Jimenez – We had the good fortune to spend time watching and talking with this wonderful artist in his wood carving studio. He is a Mexican Postwar & Contemporary artist, born in 1954, and is the son of Manuel Jimenez, “a Mexican carver, sculptor and painter credited as the originator of the Oaxacan version of alebrijes, animal creatures carved in wood and painted in strong contrasting colors with intricate designs.” We had lunch — and purchased at few items — and continued our conversations with Angelico and his family in the courtyard of their lovely house in San Anotnio Arrazola.

Oaxacan Steet Food Tour – Betsy Morales, an Oaxacan born resident, led us on a four-hour walking and eating tour through three very different markets (the Organic Market, the 20th November Market with its ‘smoky alley,’ and the Mercado de Benito Juarez. The food she selected for us to try was remarkable — Ellen eschewed the grasshoppers, but I did not). So many different and wonderful tastes! We returned to these on our own as market-wandering is one of our most favorite activities wherever we are.

Mezcal Vago – A family connection led us to an hour-long introduction to the world of mezcal, the distilled alcohol ‘beverage’ made from agave plants. We tasted four variations of this artisanal mezcal made in the traditional way from corn and agave in the southern mountains of Oaxaca. And for our remaining days in Oaxaca, we began (and continued) our evening meals with Vago margaritas. We decided that mezcal was an acquired taste…and by the end of our trip, we had all acquired it.

And then there’s the cuisine, which is unlike any other Mexican food we have tasted over the years. If you go to Oaxaca, pick any of these restaurants, and you’ll not be disappointed: Ancestral Cocina Tradicional, Casa Tarviche, Tierra del Sol, Casa Oaxaca El Restua,rante, Origen, El Destilado, Pitiona, Los Danzantes and the bar Puro Burro. These restaurants range from snack food to six course outstanding meals. We ate dinner under the stars, on roof tops for most every meal. One last non-Mexican food note: Seek out Boulenc Cafe and Bakery. Their almond croissant maybe the best we’ve ever eaten anywhere in the world, and their sourdough sandwiches were outstanding. We bought fresh bread (and sometimes cookies) from them almost every day for our at-home breakfasts and afternoon snacks.

Also, the coffee and chocolate are wonderful everywhere you try them, and all are locally sourced.

Barrio de Jalatlaco – Oaxaca
Pots, Pans & Cook – Oaxaca Centro
Zocola – Oaxaca Centro
Blue Wall, Potter’s Studio – Oaxaca State
Political Poster, Desperado – Oaxaca Centro
Angelico Jimenez. Artisan – San Anotnio Arrazola
Turquoise Wall, Potter’s Studio – state of Oaxaca
El Árbol del Tule, Santa María del Tule in the state of Oaxaca
Hierve el Aqua 2 (”Water’ Falls) – San Lorenzo Albarradas
Mount Alban – Mesoamerican Site
Street Scene with Grey Wall, Oaxaca

To see all 41 of Ellen’s photos, go to: Oaxaca, Mexico, January, 2023.

As always, we recommend you view all the photos in the largest size possible (use a laptop or desktop computer). They are much sharper and offer much more detail and color than the ones above.

For the best viewing, click on the very tiny arrow in a rectangle at top right of the first page of the link to start the slide show.

Share

By the Sea, By the Beautiful Sea…

02 Tuesday Aug 2022

Posted by Richard in Escapes and Pleasures

≈ 5 Comments

Tags

Baja California, Los Cabos, Mexico, Ocean Landscapes, Pacific Ocean, Sea of Cortez

By Ellen Miller

This summer Richard and I had a chance to spend close to a week in Los Cabos, Mexico, a place we had never been.

I was lucky to have a new camera with me, and I spent part of every morning walking along the rock covered beach. I fastened my eye on the waves as they burst on the rocks, trying to capture their force and power. I was almost equally fascinated by the rocks themselves, many of which looked as though they were just mounds of sand, some of which create almost lunar type landscapes.

It wasn’t hardship photography.

I took at least 1,000 pictures over six days.  Below are four of my favorites, and I winnowed the rest down to 20.  You can find those in my Flickr Album.  Look at them on a big screen if you can to understand the majesty of the sea.

PS from Richard: You gotta see these in the biggest format possible. When you get to the album of 20, click on each one to enlarge it and go through them one by one.

Trust me on this one:

Flickr Album.

Share

Thru Ellen’s Lens: San Miguel de Allende

18 Saturday Feb 2017

Posted by Richard in Escapes and Pleasures

≈ 11 Comments

Tags

Canada de la Virgen, Casa Diego Rivera, El Papita Statue, Guanajuato, Mexico, San Miguel de Allende, Tuesday Market, UNESCO World Heritage Sites

We travel a lot, as readers of this site no doubt know.

Even more now that both Ellen and I are retired.

Some of our trips are explorations of places we’ve never been (Myanmar, Cambodia, Antarctica, Iceland, Costa Rica), some are returns to favorite places (India, China, Spain, Europe in general), some are within the US, some are for family reasons, and some involve special interests (film festivals, baseball, friends). And sometimes the travel begins right in our house in our favorite reading spots where we can go anywhere in the world without going out our front door. (I’m currently deep ‘in’ the Himalayas with Robert Twigger’s wonderful White Mountain: Real and Imagined Journeys in the Hamalayas, a book identified as a ‘favorite read’ by a MillersTime reader in 2016.)

Over the past few years, we’ve made one addition to our travel: spending a week in one city, unpacking, and then leisurely exploring and getting to know a city (if we’ve never been there before) or revisiting some favorite sites and restaurants and exploring new places in that city that we ‘missed’ on a previous visit (if we are returning to a city we love — London, for example).

Recently, at the invitation of cousins from the Boston area (with whom we visited Central Europe a year or so ago), we spent a week in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico. We were three couples, and we rented a house in the Centro, where we could walk most places. Known in part as a place where Americans (and other expats) have retired or choose to visit, it is a 500 year old city, and now a UNESCO World Heritage Site (2006). It also has the feel of a place that is what I call a ‘working city’ where the local population mixes easily with visitors, both foreigners and even more so families from throughout Mexico. Someone mentioned it is the most visited city by Mexicans of all places within the country (hopefully that was not “fake news”). It reminded us of Santa Fe, as it was when we first visited it some 45 years ago.

Each day during the the week we focused on just one or two activities. The afternoon of our arrival we wandered through the Jardin area and the cobblestone streets, poking our eyes and heads into one of a kind shops and doorways throughout the colorful town, just trying to soak in the city.

The next day we took a taxi to the Tuesday market (20 minutes away for 50 pesos – $2.50), where we again wandered, this time through three crowded ‘football fields’ worth of stalls selling fruits, vegetables, meats/seafood but mostly everyday household items. There were many small food stalls where shoppers, sellers, and Ellen and I sat on small stools to enjoy locally prepared foods.

One day we went to the town of Guanajuato, about an hour and a half away through countryside, reminiscent of another favorite place of ours — New Mexico. We took the cable car up to the El Papita Statue (independence hero) where we simply couldn’t get enough of looking at the hillside city of Guanajuato, also a UNESCO World Heritage Site, (1987/88). Sometimes referred to as the most beautiful city in Mexico, it was initially a silver mining town before it became important in the independence of Mexico. It was built on a hillside, between mountains, and has a series of underground tunnels. We found it filled with students (it has an important University) and tourists from all over Mexico who come to see its splendor. We visited Casa Diego Rivera — Rivera’s home which has been turned into a museum. (It was largely disappointing if you want to see his art but interesting as the place where he lived and worked). Mostly, we wandered through the town and found the market area, where once again we joined other locals at one of the tiny eating stalls.

Another day we spent at a recently discovered (1998), excavated (2002) and reconstructed pyramid site, Canada de la Virgen, 25 kilometers outside of San Miguel. It has only recently been opened to the public (2011), as the access is only through privately owned land, though the actual archeological site is now under government control. We were treated to a particularly informative ‘tour’ by a guide who had worked as an archeologist on the site, followed by a luncheon at a nearby home and museum run by a woman who has done most of the astrological work on Canada de la Virgen.

Most of the remainder of our time we just walked and enjoyed melding into the largely local population of San Miguel and with those who had come into the city from around the country. The weekend was the most crowded time, where there seemed to be many families who were visiting San Miguel. The weekdays were less crowded.

We had a number of evening meals we would put in the category of memorable, either for the food or the scenery, or both, and a number of lunches in small places that were also delightful. Ellen Instagrammed many of those meals and so the places we ate can forever be found on her social media thread.

It was a leisurely time, enjoyable to be with our cousins and also to get to know another couple, for simply wandering about, and for having time to read and relax. And, once again, Ellen spent much of our strolling time looking through her camera lens and recording what she saw.

Very important to our trip was an introduction to a “new friend” — she has lived in San Miguel now for four years — who guided us in all things to do and places to eat. As always, knowing someone in a new city was invaluable. After corresponding with her prior to our arrival, we actually met her for the first time at dinner one evening and felt like we had met a fellow traveler. As one good turn deserves another, we are happy to pass along the details of what she passed onto us.

We are likely to return to San Miguel de Allende. The weather was perfect. It was easy to get to, inexpensive once there, and a great diversion from the cold February in Washington.

Here are 11 of Ellen’s favorite photos, followed by a link to a slide show with 73 photos for those of you who would like to see more of San Miguel de Allende and the surrounding areas. The first 50 photos in the slide show are of San Miguel, followed by ones from Guanajuato and Canada de la Virgen.

Enjoy.

Click on this slide show for more photos. For the best viewing, click on the little arrow at the top right of the first page of the link to start the slide show and see all the photos in the largest size possible (use a laptop or desktop computer if you have access to either).

Share

♣ Search



♣ Featured Posts

  • The List: “MillersTime” Readers’ 2024 Favorite Books
  • Returning to Sedona, AZ
  • Looking for Good Films to See?
  • And the Winners Are…
  • The Book List: 2023
  • The Lake Country: Thru Ellen’s Lens
  • I Did It Again
  • Readers’ 2023 Mid-Year Favorite Books
  • By the Sea, By the Beautiful Sea…
  • Yes, It’s True…I Biked from Bruges to Amsterdam!
  • Carrie Trauth Made the World a Better Place
  • “I Used to Be a Human Being” – Andrew Sullivan
  • Sam Miller: “There Is Never Enough.”
  • When I Was 22…
  • The Best $50 I’ve Spent All Year…Even Though It’s Free

♣ Recent Comments

  • David Price on 2025 MillersTime Baseball Contests
  • Andrew Cate on 2025 MillersTime Baseball Contests
  • chris eacho on 2025 MillersTime Baseball Contests
  • Ed Scholl on 2025 MillersTime Baseball Contests
  • Anthony leon on “The Secret History of Tiger Woods”

♣ Archives

  • July 2025
  • April 2025
  • March 2025
  • December 2024
  • November 2024
  • July 2024
  • June 2024
  • March 2024
  • December 2023
  • November 2023
  • October 2023
  • August 2023
  • July 2023
  • June 2023
  • April 2023
  • February 2023
  • December 2022
  • November 2022
  • October 2022
  • September 2022
  • August 2022
  • July 2022
  • June 2022
  • May 2022
  • April 2022
  • March 2022
  • February 2022
  • January 2022
  • December 2021
  • November 2021
  • October 2021
  • September 2021
  • August 2021
  • July 2021
  • May 2021
  • April 2021
  • February 2021
  • January 2021
  • December 2020
  • November 2020
  • October 2020
  • September 2020
  • August 2020
  • July 2020
  • June 2020
  • May 2020
  • April 2020
  • March 2020
  • February 2020
  • January 2020
  • December 2019
  • November 2019
  • October 2019
  • September 2019
  • July 2019
  • June 2019
  • May 2019
  • April 2019
  • March 2019
  • February 2019
  • December 2018
  • November 2018
  • October 2018
  • September 2018
  • August 2018
  • July 2018
  • June 2018
  • May 2018
  • April 2018
  • March 2018
  • February 2018
  • December 2017
  • November 2017
  • October 2017
  • September 2017
  • August 2017
  • July 2017
  • June 2017
  • May 2017
  • April 2017
  • March 2017
  • February 2017
  • January 2017
  • December 2016
  • November 2016
  • October 2016
  • September 2016
  • August 2016
  • July 2016
  • June 2016
  • May 2016
  • April 2016
  • March 2016
  • February 2016
  • January 2016
  • December 2015
  • November 2015
  • October 2015
  • September 2015
  • August 2015
  • July 2015
  • June 2015
  • May 2015
  • April 2015
  • March 2015
  • February 2015
  • January 2015
  • December 2014
  • November 2014
  • October 2014
  • September 2014
  • August 2014
  • July 2014
  • June 2014
  • May 2014
  • April 2014
  • March 2014
  • February 2014
  • January 2014
  • December 2013
  • November 2013
  • October 2013
  • September 2013
  • August 2013
  • July 2013
  • June 2013
  • May 2013
  • April 2013
  • March 2013
  • February 2013
  • January 2013
  • December 2012
  • November 2012
  • October 2012
  • September 2012
  • August 2012
  • July 2012
  • June 2012
  • May 2012
  • April 2012
  • March 2012
  • February 2012
  • January 2012
  • December 2011
  • November 2011
  • October 2011
  • September 2011
  • August 2011
  • July 2011

♣ Sections

  • Articles & Books of Interest
  • Escapes and Pleasures
  • Family and Friends
  • Go Sox
  • The Outer Loop

Proudly powered by WordPress Theme: Chateau by Ignacio Ricci.