Today I did close to nothing, except to eat, eat, and eat again. Breakfast was a tamal of pork in salsa verde, elevenses was a quesadilla de hongos y quesillo, lunch was a big bowl of pozole de cabeza de puerco, and dinner was a tlayuda con chorizo. A tlayuda is a very large tostada, the size of an individual pizza, layered with refried beans, a couple of different moles, quesillo de Oaxaca, salad, onions, and fried chorizo and crumbled cheese, heated over the grill. It is messy to eat but very tasty. A puzzle is the way that in Oaxaca they stretch the cheese to give it a fibrous texture (quesillo) and then roll it into a tight ball, only to unroll it and pull it apart before using it. Strange people these Oaxaqueňos.
In the morning, immediately after breakfast, I visited the botanical garden. It is a very nice collection, but what impressed me the most is that it was only established 25 years ago, and yet has all sorts of big trees, bushy agaves, and enormous organ pipe cactus. Apparently when the word got out that they wanted to create a representative collection of the trees of the state numerous communities volunteered some of their best pieces, transported them, and transplanted them as fully grown trees and cacti. Oaxaca has an incredible biodiversity, and some of the specimens seem to have come straight from the imagination of a science fiction writer. Very cool!
I ambled through the streets of the cultural barrios, admiring the amazing wall paintings and going in and out of artisan markets and art galleries. My artist friend Lino from Sardinia would love it here. I also sat in several parks to watch the people go by before coming home for a nap.
In the afternoon I went to two of the five mercados every tourist is supposed to visit and very much enjoyed the brilliant colors of the incredible variety of merchandises. I am glad I am a crusty old guy, because women would be hard pressed into buying the beautiful blouses, the colorful dresses, the dazzling jewelry, and the myriad of sandals on display. I was tempted to buy a snack of toasted grasshoppers and chicatana ants, but I will wait until Saturday for that.
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