HAPPY MOTHERS DAY Piemum and Sausagemum!

So over night bus from San Cristobal to Oaxaca. Fairly painless and only stopped and searched the bus about 5 times. (we´d been reading horror stories where buses ere stopped 12 times thorough the night, or stopped and everyone off loaded and made to empty out all there lggage!!) But none of that and it was really easy to fall asleep again once the guards had got off and the llights were put back off. Dunc is completly sold on the advantages of going GL (posh ADO bus) I´m not convinced there´s THAT much difference but I guess there´s only about one or two pounds difference in the price and there´s definitely more room so good for sleeping on long trips.

So anyway, arrived in Oaxaca about 8am and took a taxi to our hotel. Villada Inn. By far the best place we´ve stayed. See review, but let´s just say the family are the warmest friendliest most welcoming people and completely made our stay in Oaxaca. neither of us can see why anyone would stay anywhere else, we felt like part of the family! Surprisingly awake considering the bus journey etc so after a couple of coffees with Xavier and family we set off and walked into the "oldtown". One thing we´d read and heard a lot about was the food market and the grasshoppers they sell as snacks! and the guys at the hotel said we had to try them, apparently if you eat the grasshoppers you come back to Oaxaca - a bit like the Trevi fountain and throwing a coin. So armed with the info that we should get the small ones not the big ones to start with off we headed. Wandered all round the food market and couldn´t find them anywhere, think we were both quietly relieved.....

until me and my shopping fetish took us to the normal market next door and right there on the entrance where the grasshopper ladys! We hung around looking interested but not too interested for a while and then one of the women handed us a taster. I didn´t think they were too bad, but don´t think Dunc was over keen. Xavier had told him they tasted like Beef Jerky but i don´t think Dunc agrees. Anyway once they´ve given you a taster it´s rude not to buy at least 10 pesos worth so we bought a bag! We didn´t get through it all but took it back for the guys at the3 hotel. Had a wande rround town and found lots of chocolate shops (Oaxaca is famous for it´s food etc) and of course Dunc was straight into all the chocolate shops!)

In the evening Xavier took us to a local Taco Stand that´s been going for 20 odd years. He ordered for us and we had quesadilla sin tortilla. YUM!! It´s kind of like an ommlette but made with cheese instead of eggs, meat and onions and stuff in the middle. Obviously they cant forgo the tortillas completley - you get them on the side and rip strips off to wrap bits of the "omlette" in. Def our favourite thing we´ve eaten in Mexico! 

There had been some trouble in Oaxaca last year and we asked Xavier about it. A new governor came in in Oaxaca and apparently every time this happens the teachers ask for a raise. But the new governor said enough is enough and no he wasn´t giving them a raise this time. The teachers and their union started to strike and demonstrate and things escalated, with revolutionaries getting involve. Streests were closed down and blockaded etc but the governemnt wouldn´t get involved and left the state to sort it out for themselves as the riots etc were targetting only private business and no damage was eing done to anything state related. The rioting went on for 8 months, hundreds of local businesses went bankrupt and while it was violent no-one was killed until an American journalist who was reporting from the middle of the events got killed. And then... the trouble was stopped by the state in less than 48 hours! It all ended in November last year and just in case you´re thinking of going but have heard bad things, there is nothing to worry about, no sign of any of the trouble. There were quite a lot of police around and the customary guards etc with guns or big sticks but that´s not anything that we haven´t come across in any of the other places we´ve been to. Loads more to write but, people waiting for computers so will edit and update later.

We´re in Mexico City now (Sunday) for 3 nights and then off to Acapulco, BOOOOOOOOOOO to our time running out. We havenn´t done half of the things we thought we would, and could probably spend at least a week in Mexico City. Oh well...... guess we´l know for our next trip!!