La Vida de Don Felipe: Mexican Independence....El Grito!

Last weekend was the celebration of the beginning of Mexican Independence. It is commonly known as "el grito" which directly translates to "the shout/cry". This refers to back when the mexicans began their independence and in every town there were shouts of "Viva Mexico!" on this day. So as part of the celebration my friends and I joined in.

My 3-day weekend was spent in Oaxaca, Mexico. It is a city in the south of mexico, but oaxaca also refers to the region. The trip was planned by a mixture of friends I've met so far and also people i didn't know. A lot of it was thrown together last minute but everything worked out great, and we got to do a lot of cool stuff.

We departed Friday night from the main bus station of Mexico City called "Tapo". Our plan was to do an overnight bus ride because the trip is about 7 hours. When we arrived at the bus station we ran into some difficulties about finding a bus for all of us, so we decided to be split up. Not knowing the plan, I was a bit surprised when they said, "ok phill you'll take the first bus at 11 PM and we'll take the buses after you. Just wait for us at the bus station." ahhhh ok. There ended up being no problems and I was able to get some decent sleep on the bus. I arrived in Oaxaca a little before 7 AM, and only had to wait about 10 minutes for the other members of our group to show up.

Once we all arrived it was off to the hostel to check in and drop off our stuff. We were lucky enough to check in right away and have a 10 person room for the 7 of us. We settled in quickly then signed up for a tour of the touristic sites to see in the Oaxaca region. Before heading out on the tour we grabbed breakfast at the cafe across the street, it had a pretty cool name.

Cafe Alex!

2 eggs, french fries, bean, guac, and hot chocoloate ($3.10)

The first stop of our tour was El Arbol del Tule. One of the oldest trees in the world, it ranks #1 in the world for largest trunk circumference (around 138 feet). It was a really cool site to see.

Arbol del Tule

Our next stop was Hierve El Agua, this translates to "boil water". The water does look like it is boiling, but it is actually pretty cold. Due to the rain of the day before and the morning of the mountain paths getting to this place were all slick mud. We ran into a couple of difficulties, but our resourceful tour guide was able to get us to there. And because of all the travel complications there was barely anybody there, allowing us some great pictures.

Bus stuck on the mountain road. the ground was slippery mud

That's me up there

Selfie

The main pools

Goin swimming

The next stop was lunch, which was a Mexican buffet. I tried as many things as I could, and was able to experience my first taste of "mezcal". But more to come on the in a bit.

Following lunch we traveled to some ancient Azteca ruins in the town of Mitlan. The construction of these ruins were incredible because the designs weren't carved into the rock, instead they were made by thousands of small geometric pieces precisely carved for the design.

Mitlan

Small geometric patterns

Also visited a rug fabricator

They make their colors from natural things

Following the ruins we traveled to a local distillery and fabricator of "mezcal" which is a type of tequila. Mezcal is very popular for mexicans but it is primarily sold in the southern regions of Mexico, Oaxaca being one of the most famous regions. Distribution to the rest of Mexico is small, but it is increasing and there are many distributors to the US. We were able to see the production process and try some of the raw ingredients. After we had to the opportunity to try the different types of mezcal. There were the three age groups: Joven (white, clear mezcal - the most sharp), Reposado (goldish - less sharp), and Anejo (brownish - very smooth). There were also a number of flavors of "crema de mezcal, which were things like coffee, cappuccino, mango, and other sweet flavors. But probably the best thing I did at this distillery was eat "gusano"....worms! Actually was pretty nasty but had to do it. Also the most common way to drink mezcal apart from sipping it is taking a shot, like tequila. But instead of regular salt, they use "sal de gusano"...yes, worm salt. Also an interesting taste but when in Oaxaca do as the locals do.

how they grind the agave

Mezcal prep pit

Agave

Mezcal reposado with a gusano on the bottom of the bottle

Sal de gusano and a taster of mezcal

Eating gusano...yum

That was our final stop of the tour, and we were able to get back into the city of Oaxaca not too late. Our hostel was located 2 block from the "zocalo" which is a city's center plaza area, so we headed out to find a restaurant in the main plaza and grab some dinner. We weren't looking to have a huge meal so we ordered two huge sampler platters. Apart from the usual carne asada and chorizo there was also "chapulines"...grasshoppers. yes grasshoppers, a full bowl of dead grasshoppers. They have a very interesting flavor and I'm guessing huge amounts of spices are added to them. I added a spoonful or two to my tacos, and they were actually pretty good.

Sample platter with grasshoppers in the center

The following day we visited Monte Alban, which is a huge city of ruins located on top of one of the hills surrounding the city of Oaxaca. It was so extensive.

Monte Alban

That night was "el grito" so we headed back to the city center to grab a table in one of the restaurants on the main plaza to get a good spot for the festivities. After a great dinner of tamal and carne asada we waited for the festivies to start. There was a small procession, then chanting of Viva Mexico, and then fireworks. It was a spectacular sight. After there was a mariachi band planning nearby so we enjoyed some of the traditional mexican music.

Tamal oaxaquena

Carne asada oaxaquena

Fireworks

Mariachi!

Gettin into the Mexican spirit

The following day was fairly uneventful except for the huge procession of the army, police, and firefighters right outside our hostal. The trip home took a bit longer because of all the people trying to get back into Mexico City.

The procession begins

Bazooka...why?

While we were enjoying our time in Oaxaca, Acapulco was getting hit hard by a tropical storm. They had to shut down the airport, and the main highway in and out of Acapulco fell apart in 3 places. We were lucky to escape this storm in Oaxaca.

Other great food: