- I started off the day with a hike up las Escaleras del Fortín with Ruben, Sarah, and Steve. This is a huge staircase leading up to the cerro, where the stadium of the Guelaguetza stands. Up there the view is remarkable - it's a panoramic view of the whole city. The weather is also noticeable cooler, which is great after the long hike up the stairs! After taking in the views for about half an hour, we ventured over to the statue of Benito Juarez. Apparently he was an instrumental figure back in the 1850's, helping to form Mexico into the republic that it is today. We also checked out the Guelaguetza stadium. Some group appeared to be practicing, so we watched for a couple minutes before heading back down the stairs. In one of the tunnels underneath the highway by the stadium, local artists had been hired to replace the graffiti with their own works. I will say that it was a great move by whoever was in charge! I was picture happy up there, so I took quite a few snapshots of the scenery. Here are a few:
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| My main man Benito Juarez. Here we can see some of the early manifestations of the disco. |
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| One wall of the mural paintings in the tunnel leading to the Guelaguetza Stadium. How neat is that?! |
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| The view from the top. Santo Domingo is in the bottom left. Sort of a hazy day, but the view is still a sight to behold. |
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| The look from the bottom of las Escaleras del Fortín...started from the bottom! The Guelaguetza stadium is below. It holds over 15,000 when filled to capacity. |
- After making our way down (much easier than up!), we headed to a small park to relax and chat for a while near a fountain. Lots of people had their dogs out and about, and one set of canines were very excited to see a fountain, and sprinted towards it to lap up some water for a quick refreshment. Then we headed over to El Llano, a large park a couple blocks east. It has been overrun by a huge market for the duration of the Guelaguetza, which is fine by me. We weaved in and out of the puestos, and I bought a frappe cajeta (caramel frappe) for a little noontime snack. We really wanted to buy some churros, but the churro stand we came across was not ready to open quite yet. Oh well, the churros would come later. :)
- We all returned to our homes to rest before meeting back up at 3:45 to head to a café for some coffee and a little snack. Ruben was now replaced by Elena, another student staying at Sarah's. We ended up at a place aptly named Café Café. The caramel macchiato I had was very nice, as was the Italian sandwich I devoured. We stayed at the shop for about 2 hours before heading out to walk around the Alcalá in search of churros. If there is one thing I have learned down here, it is that my sweet tooth has become even sweeter. There are so many dessert places to choose from, and they are all unlike anything I've seen back home. We finally found a churro place near the 20 de Noviembre market. They weren't fresh, but they were still good! Satisfied (for now), we headed back around the city to walk off some of the calories we had consumed.
- A short while later, we decided to check out the street food scene and see what goodies we could find. We settled on a stand selling all sorts of local cuisine. I ordered up an empanada de verde con pollo, and it was nothing short of phenomenal. This was my first experience with street food, and I'm glad it was a good one. You have to be leery when choosing which vendor to eat from, paying careful attention to how they handle money and how the food is prepared. This stand met our standards, both in cleanliness and in taste. And what better way to top off a delicious meal than with some authentic oaxaqueñan desserts?! A postre stand immediately caught our eye as we left the empanada stand. Cookies, crème filled pastries, and a variety of other treats stood before us. I gravitated towards a custard filled horn shaped pastry...and this was a great choice. It was certainly not short on sugar, but my taste buds didn't seem to mind. After cruising around the marketplace for a little while longer, it was time to call it a day. Today was easily the day that I walked around the most. Which is probably a good thing, considering how much I ate today.
The atmosphere down here is getting to be very exciting. Everyone is enthused and ready to kick off a rockin' Guelaguetza celebration, and I am too. It is likely going to be a busy, yet exciting week, but I am looking forward to whatever opportunities come my way. ¡Adios mis amigos!
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