From Oaxaca City, Culture Days on A Surf Trip...
Understanding mestizaje, mezcal and mole...:)
Hey guys,
I write from Oaxaca City, perched in the Sierra Madre of Southern Mexico.
Oaxaca City is the capital of the state of the same name, Mexico’s fifth largest (of 32 states), and just separated from Guatemala by Chiapas.
It’s where the narrowing bottom of North America bends over horizontally into the Central American countries of Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicagaragua and Costa Rica, before the thin isthmus of Panama and then Columbia and South America.
And a wonderfully culturally rich city, where you can’t help but come away with an education on Mexican cuisine, the agave-based spirit Mezcal and the Zapotec and Mixtec indigenous cultures that pre-date the Spanish - and their Dominican Catholic evangelizers - who arrived in 1521.
You know, the best surf trips throw in some culture time, when you have to dig shoes and socks, jeans and a shirt out of your sandy surf bag to go ‘civil it up’ a little.
It was back in the 2004-5, my early surf days, just back in the UK from doing my Masters in Australia, that I fondly remember the pair of days - with great friend and surfing big brother Dan Husserl - that we surfed the famed Mundaka river mouth break nestled in a tranquil small fishing village on the Basque coastline, before skedaddling up to Bilbao when the waves faded, and hitting the Guggenheim…
Per last week’s notes, this trip has been based on the southerly coastline in the Huatulco region, at Bocana Beach near La Cruececita, hitting the isolated, idyllic ‘El Faro’ break every morning for 3 days, and Barra de la Cruz. I marked Puerto Escondido on the map above too, given its infamy as a world class barreling wave. Surfers will recognize video footage of Puerto Escondido in an instant!
Life is juiciest with contrast. And, one of the richest things about travel is how our minds adjust with the shifting context.
When we slip into the simplicities of developing country beach village living - where toilet seats and soap may be less common even, and you’d never see a gleaming white towel - our heads will adjust to it over days.
The idea of cheap and expensive completely shifts into a whole different currency. There will be groups of Australian and American twenty-something surfers living on a few fistfuls of dollars a day, camped there for weeks on end. Even wearing a decent short-sleeved shirt can look totally out of place, in the land of tuk-tuks over uber, beat-up flip flops, ocean-sullied boardshorts and rarely washed old t-shirts for dinner.
The change in context to city life fires up another side of our appreciative brain, and gives our shoulder rotator cuffs a welcome break while you reload your surf hunger. Arriving at a wilderness beach is a great feeling, and arriving into an elegant city is a great feeling in equal measure too (maybe even more for me, a lifelong mental tussle…!)…with its air of aspiration, the abundance of variety, and the signalling of sophistication.
Oaxaca City Days
Oaxaca City is a must on any culturally-curious traveler’s ‘someday’ list.
I had the instinct to take a (very) early seven hour bus ride to get there, with the locals, and forty-five minute Cessna ride back, with the tourists!
Nestled at altitude (~1500m / 5000 ft), it’s a windy climbing bus ride up to the high valley plain in which Oaxaca City sits, between two of the Sierra Madre ranges. Oaxaca’s richness is founded on the Mestizaje melange of indigenous cultures, the Zapotec and Mixtecs in particular in this state.
Oaxaca is known as the state with the finest quality Mezcal - the agave-based spirit family that includes Tequila (being one specific type in the Mezcal family, made specifically from the Blue Agave varietal). And, its known for being the origin state of the rich, plate-covering and delicious family of Mexican sauces called Mole.
While we’re on that topic, have to share the alleged origin stories of Mole, per Wikipedia:
A common legend of mole’s creation takes place at the Convent of Santa Clara in Puebla early in the colonial period. Upon hearing that the archbishop was going to visit, the convent nuns panicked because they were poor and had almost nothing to prepare. The nuns prayed and brought together the little bits of what they did have, including nuts, chili peppers, spices, day-old bread and a little chocolate. They killed an old turkey, cooked it and put the sauce on top; the archbishop loved it. When one of the nuns was asked the name of the dish, she replied, "I made a mole." Mole is an archaic word for mix; now this word mostly refers to the dish, and is rarely used to signify other kinds of mixes in Spanish.[5]
A similar version of the story says that monk Fray Pascual invented the dish, again to serve the archbishop of Puebla. In this version, spice were knocked over or blown over into pots in which chicken were cooking.[6] Other versions of the story substitute the viceroy of New Spain, such as Juan de Palafox y Mendoza in place of the archbishop.[7]
And here is my favorite Mole dinner of the four days in Oaxaca City!
It was a refreshing change in travel context - from mid-range hotels on business - to be recommended a charming and nicely kept ten-bedroom B&B run by the smiling and at times stern (!) grandmother Yolanda Lujan at Casa Lujan.
I got to know three language students there over breakfast, spending different spans of the summer in the language school at the University. Richard, 82 and from New York, is learning Spanish for fun while his wife studies Jane Austen in Oxford (they go on separate learning projects for a month every summer). Richard seems to be already dreaming in Spanish, so immersed that he introduced himself as Ricardo and spoke to me only in Spanish at first (albeit with a slightly stiff hint of New Yorker accent). And then there was Ken, the violinist from Indiana and in his twenties (practises around 6pm, sings arias in the shower - quite well). And Laetitia from Sacramento, who is mid a career pivot from attorney to court translator representing immigrant cases.
And then me, the solo traveler early mid-lifer guy :)…who strolled out into the corridor at 2.47am on, after waking a little thirsty (filtered watered tank in the living room area)…and heard my bedroom door gently close and lock itself behind me…so the guy who slept on the communal area sofa for the rest of that night.
The words craft, boutique and artisanal abound in descriptions of Oaxaca - now even with ‘cold brew’ appearing regularly on pavement sign-boards at SF / New York prices. Before arriving, I had the feeling of a cute, historic city with chi-chi tourism rise from mentions of friends. It’s only in the last ten years that the town has shifted up-market in tourism, in part from government promotion and the yuppie and hipster boom in Mezcal interest through the 2010s
The vibrant palette of colors at every corner and shop window are an invitation to a Conde Nast summer cover photographer. Festival bunting, from last week’s Feria de Guelaguetza, creates a cozy ceiling to many of the narrower quaint streets. I couldn’t help stopping to grab pictures of the vibrant colors of different street corners…and doorways. In the early evening, random fireworks pop in the air and the tones of spritely Mexican music lilts from around corners.
You’ll end up getting lost in old quarters, and surrounded by the oldest, most majestic and storied architecture, typically bordered by lanes of boutiques and great small restaurants.
Indigenous Archaeological Days, and Mezcal
The mishap of missing my connecting flight in Mexico City on my way to Huatulco threw up the good fortune of meeting John and Denise Verduzco of Naples, Florida. On mention of wanting to head up to Oaxaca City also, Denise shared the connection with Yolanda and Nathaniel Caplan, a Mexican-born amateur archaeologist and former US Marine and San Diego Police Sergeant.
I ended up spending two days with Nat, on the first day visiting the world’s largest tree in El Tule, on the way out of Oaxaca City. This was a beautiful, quite moving sight, believed to be 2,000 years old, a Montezuma cypress with the thickest trunk of any tree in the world (more on Wikipedia, worth reading) that shrouds a church next door, which too has a second huge ‘sister tree’ from the same root system, to the other side of the church.
From there, heading east about forty-five minutes, Nat pulled in off the main road and down a dirt track to show the open land (unprotected) Dainzu archaelogical site.
With a 4x4 needed for clearance through the grassy track, Nat pointed out the ruins emerging from small hillocks. Looking down as he walked, he would be stopping repeatedly to pick up small shards and segments of centuries-old ceramic littering the top soil.
Many had feint etchings, and Nat made a special find on that day, spotting a piece about the size of a toddler’s hand that had a well-defined foot shape carved. From research that evening Nat confirmed he believed it to be long pre-hispanic.
The second day with Nat Caplan was spent heading out to the Monte Alban archaelogical site, the partially excavated remains of the ancient city of the Mixtec and Zapotec indigenous peoples civilization dated to have been built from 200-300 BC. This civilization site was most active as a central socio-political and economic centre most until around 500 AD but with Spanish conquistador Cortes (1485 - 1547) sent a captain to secure the region, and the cities of Monte Alban and Mitla emptied.
Before a visit, it’s well worth reading the Wikipedia page on Monte Alban in full.
Amidst our archaelogical stops, Nat also took me to Santiago Matatlan, the anointed global capital of Mezcal, to tour the typically small Nochixteco third generation family distillery.
Concluding with a tasting at the nicely designed bar within the basic distillery shed, we had some time with the Maestro Mezcalero talking about the recent growth (400% in production capacity in the last year), his new automated bottling equipment (upgrade from manual bottling, a few months ago) and how the knowledge was passed down from his father. The growth is not all good news, with some of the artisanal family traditions being broken down by the pressures of competition.
The photo series is showing the core of the Maguey* bush, the piña, being first roasted in a giant covered pit (9 - 12 foot deep) then rolled out (by pony circulating the wheel, if not a human with a giant mashing implement), and fermented in vats (warm and gently bubbling!) before the grand finale in distilling within the copper coils submerged in water. (*Maguey is common Spanish name) / Agave (scientific generic name).
And finally, finally, the evidence of the end product in their elaborate and artisanal bottles that define the Mezcal retail aesthetic that is driving sales all around the world.
For the sake of education, I saved for the scrapbook this chart of different maguey / agave plant varietals used in Mezcal production.
And here is a nice chart on the process…
Trip notes and more…
On Oaxaca - Wikipedia
Oliver Sacks’ Oaxaca Journal that I enjoyed on Audible. (Sacks is a British-American neurologist, polymath and author - see for more here)
Oaxaja By Locals Food and Markets Tour - TripAdvisor. I was guided by Elizabeth, visiting the mixed [Mercado Benita Suarez and the all-food Mercado 20 Noviembre], it was fantastic, tasting fried crickets and learning all about the vast span and tradition of Mole types, corn varietals and chile. And I was introduced to Tejate - the stunning corn and cacao cold drink (quite a tonic, and healthy if you ask for it ‘sin azucar’ (without sugar).
I loved Casa Mexcalli for well-priced authentic cuisine, in Jalatlaco.
On Oaxaca City’s Neighbourhoods - Lonely Planet
A nice blog post on Jalatlaco, its extraordinary street art and cuisine.
Nathalio ‘Nate’ Caplan, Oaxaca Logistics and Tour Experiences, +52 1 951 458 0589
On the way back from visiting Santiago Matatlan for Tequila, drop into the textile village of Teotitlan del Valle. And grab a wonderful lunch or end of day meal at Tierra Antigua.
Go to the Museo Frida Kahlo
For gifts, there is a co-operative that I was recommended called Huizache Artesanias, for its fixed price and more consistent quality assurance than other markets.
Yolanda’s B&B Casa Lujan in Jalatlaco district ($34/night), 807 Calle de Los Libos. Casa Lujan was recommended by Denise and John Verduzco, of Naples FL, who I met during a missed connection in Mexico City - an inspiring couple that are 10-year real estate investors with plenty of travel passion and experience. Today John and Denise are working on a stunning, hillside-perched modern home as a first investment in the Huatulco region (…note to self to stay in touch!)
Fine dining recommendations from Nat Caplan: “Maria Bonita a block south of La Cosecha has excellent cochinita pibil tacos and live music on the terrace. La Azotea one block south of Santo Domingo on a rooftop overlooking the pedestrian corridor and next door to a church (Sangre de Cristo) built in 1650s.”
Expresso Colombo Bus that got me to Oaxaca City…
…and the ~$220 Aerotucan 12(-16?) seater flight that took me back.
Gatto Cafe for morning espresso on the way from Jatlacaca
and finally, I had to give a mention to Black’s Gym, if you too love to find a ‘proper gym’! (more muscle, chalk and sweat gym, than lipstick, lycra and eyelashes gym). Check out the images of Arnold Schwarzenneger in his prime on the walls. Places like Black’s are typically in interesting emerging neighbourhoods too, with health eateries clustered in the hipster vicinity.
