Citizens of the World: A Stoic Podcast for Curious Travelers - Mexican Food Lovers’ Paradise: Oaxaca

Episode Date: March 12, 2018

Mole, memelas, and mezcal — oh my! If you enjoy Mexican food, you will fall madly in love with Oaxaca, Mexico. In this episode of the Postcard Academy podcast, my favorite travel expert, Cristal Dyer, and I eat our way through one of the world’s best gastronomic regions. You’ll learn where to find the best food and drink in Oaxaca’s capital city, and how to entertain yourself during a four- or five-day stay in this gloriously sunny and colorful UNESCO World Heritage Site. We also talk about our experience staying in a youth hostel when we’re no longer youths, an awkward yet hilarious encounter with restaurant management, and acquiring a taste for mezcal. Seriously, why aren’t we all living in Oaxaca? I’m already planning my return. Your travel itinerary to Oaxaca is waiting for you at postcardacademy.co If you enjoy this episode, please subscribe and forward this show to a friend. If you’re feeling especially kind, please leave a review on Apple Podcasts. This helps people discover the show. 🤗   Instagram, Twitter, Facebook Do you ever go blank or start rambling when someone puts you on the spot? I created a free Conversation Cheat Sheet with simple formulas you can use so you can respond with clarity, whether you’re in a meeting or just talking with friends.Download it at sarahmikutel.com/blanknomore and start feeling more confident in your conversations today.

Hello friends and welcome to the Postcard Academy. I am so happy to be back with you. I've spent the last few weeks eating my way through Colombia and Mexico and it has been amazing. Perhaps too amazing because as I was boarding one of my recent flights, I think it was to Bogota. The lady checking the tickets asked if I was pregnant. But she said this in Spanish and I didn't know what she was saying, so I asked people behind me and they said, she wants to know if you're pregnant. Well, I'm not. I just ate too many impanadas, which they fry in Colombia, and then they give you the option of all these delicious sauces, so no regrets.

I can't believe I just told you that story, but I'm sure some of you can relate, and you only live once. But today we will be talking about Mexican food. I'm joined by one of my favorite travel buddies, Crystal Dyer. You heard her on episode two of the Postcard Academy, which was all about travel deals. We have spent the last few days in Oaxaca together, and this experience has me seen. seriously considering a move to Mexico, at least for a little while. By the end of this episode, you will have the perfect itinerary for a four or five-day getaway to walk a Mexico, and I will include all the links on my website, which is postcardacademy.co. We're recording this episode on the

rooftop while we drink wine, so it might sound a little bit windy. Also, apologies for my butchering of Spanish words. My Italian has only confused things on the strip. Now into my conversation with Crystal. Well, Crystal, where are we right now? We're in Oaxaca. So if you guys remember on episode two, Crystal gave us all this awesome information on travel deals, but she also mentioned how good the food was in Oaxaca, especially for vegetarians. And so I decided to come here, and I asked if she was game to join me, and she said yes. So we have been having so much fun over the last few days, and I just wanted to sit her down and give you guys the same advice she gave me because this has been such an amazing trip. So, Crystal, if somebody's planning a trip to

Waxaca, I guess like from the very beginning getting here, I guess most people probably would come through Mexico City. So how would they get from there to Waxaca? So if you can find a great flight to Mexico, that's definitely the best way to go because once you're in Mexico, internal flights are very cheap. Sometimes you can get a cheap flight from Mexico City to Waxaca for maybe $30. alternatively you can get a bus it's not too long and the buses are actually very comfortable a lot more comfortable than some of the greyhounds I've had in the States for sure yeah and so I took your advice and I booked interjet

I think it cost me like maybe 30 bucks to get to Oaxaca which was amazing and then once I got to Oaxaca it was kind of late at night I think I got in around 11 p.m but you gave me some great advice on how to get to the hostel we stayed at so tell what was that called again? So it's a collectivo. It's super easy. It's probably the easiest transport from an airport I've seen. Basically, you woke out of the baggage area. There's an office where you pay for your collectivo. It's just 80 pesos and they drop you right in front of your accommodation. Yes, and I think so 80 pesos is about, well, let's say 20 pesos equals about

a dollar. So it's very cheap. I mean, it's so, so cheap. And it just, and it just, actually does not take very long to get to the center of town. And they have ATMs in the airport as well, so don't worry about that. And so, yes, I mentioned we stayed at a hostel. It's called Casa Angel Youth Hostel. We're not used. We're in our 30s. And I haven't stayed in a hostel. And I don't know how many years. And I was expecting it, to be honest, to be a little bit dirty. Everyone's 20 years old and, like, super drunk. And this place has been amazing. Like, I would totally come back here. First of all, it's so much cleaner.

There's people of diverse ages, so I don't feel weird being in my 30s here. The breakfast has been fantastic. We had pancakes on Sunday. Scrambled eggs today. Black beans, salsas. I love it. Casa Anil I found through TripAdvisor,

my very first trip here, and it's really good to see that it's going strong. It's actually gotten better. Right now we're sitting on the terrace, and I can see some of the new additions, which are these super fun. like lawn beds that they've put on the terrace for people to relax on. So it just seems like they're just improving and improving.

And people love it here. Yeah, so they have fun activities. They've got happy hours. They've got, I think, salsa lessons tomorrow. And we are staying in a deluxe room. So they've got singles if you want your own private bed. But we're staying in a deluxe room. So that means we have our own private curtains.

I have like a little cubby area, like within my bed. So you can pull the curtains closed. places to charge, personal places to charge your cell phone and your computers, you have your own lockers. It's been super comfortable. We've got like six beds in our room, so, and everyone's been really respectful. So, yes, 100%, I would like come back here and stay here instead of at an Airbnb. So, and I pronounced it wrong. It's not Casa Angel. It's Casa Angel. Yeah, so your driver. Your driver would know that one. Okay, so day one, we took a bus tour around. Normally I do a walking tour, but we just found this super cheap bus tour around town.

And it was really fun. We stayed on the top of the bus. There were crazy power lines that were almost decapitating us. But it was like a great way to get our bearings and just see the whole town. So colorful. Like I came to Oaxaca to eat food because you told me out. great it was. But I've just been so surprised by the beauty of this town. The buildings are like pinks and yellows. If you're familiar with Venice and Marano and Burano, and that's what this town looks like.

So super clean. I feel really safe here. I just love it. I think I'm going to try to extend my stay. But this is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and it's just one of the best places I've been, and the food has been really good. Crystal, you've been here before. You stayed at Casa Anheel. And then, I guess before we go into your favorite places in neighborhoods, why did you decide to stay longer? How did you find your apartment when you got here? So when I first came to Oaxaca, I knew that I wanted to stay for a little while.

I had heard great things about it. I had contacted a couple of volunteer places, found one that seemed to be a good fit, where I would be working and tutoring some high school kids in English, and they were very casual and flexible, so I love the vibe of the place. I could go in for four hours a day, volunteer, and then I could do my own thing for the rest of the time. When I got here, I stayed at Casa Anhell for a few weeks

while I tried to find an apartment. And one great tip, if you're coming here and you're going to stay for a while, is to check out the Wahaka Lending Library. It's run by some lovely people who have put together some great books. So if you're into books, you can write some books from them, but also they've got things like language exchanges and also just lots of information about what's happening around town and where you can stay as well. So that's where I found my apartment and I stayed for an extra four weeks here in Oaxaca, in a cute little apartment in one of my favorite neighborhoods, Reforma. Another neighborhood that I'd recommend, if you are coming for a while, is called Zoshi Milko, which is also very, very cute and pretty. I think that's my favorite thing to do in this town is just walk around aimlessly.

and eat street food and all of that type of stuff. And speaking of, like, eating. So today we had lunch at an organic market that was so delicious. We had chili a reaeno. I'm probably butchering lots and, like, cactus salad and rice and refried beans. And then what were we drinking? We were having some aguas. We had passion fruit flavor today.

What's aguas? So here in Mexico, it's very common to find. And there's lots of fresh juices if you're into fresh juice, but they also make this delicious thing called Agua, which is more like you get some of the juice, but with a bit more water. So it's not as sweet and as full on as a juice. It's more refreshing. Yes, it was very good. So the name of that market was La Cosecha. So I speak Italian, and every way I want to pronounce these words is wrong.

so I'm just going to point to Crystal and get our opinion. So what other markets should people check out when they're here? So close to the hostel, there's a cute market, and they'll definitely be able to direct you to it. It's only about half a block away, and there's lots of the traditional food, so you don't have to go too far. But if you're up for a bit of a walk,

maybe 10 minutes outside of the hostel, there's the Bente de Nobientre Market, and also Benito Juarez. and they're both very cool to walk around, try some traditional food, and also buy lots and lots of cute souvenirs. Yes, so I've bought lots of bags, blankets, lots of gifts for people, so get ready, everyone, when I come home. Today we also walked up the lookout. So this lookout is maybe just about a 20-minute, 25-minute walk outside of the center of the city, and it's based where they've got the auditorio, I'm going to say this totally wrong,

uela guenza. And I'll tell you a bit more about why they have that up there. But basically, once you get up to the top of the lookout, you can see all of the city. It's also great for sunsets. If you're going to be here for a little while, definitely take a hike up there just before the sunsets and you'll be able to get a great view.

It's a lovely walk, and it is a nice view. So, okay, so they've got that festival in July. What other festivals do they have going on in Oaxaca? Well, the great thing about Oaxaca is it almost seems like there is a festival every week. There's definitely something happening. Today we were walking in the Zocolo and they were just playing music for whatever reason. So there's always something going on. But the Guiluetsa Festival is once a year and it's the biggest festival that they have in Oaxaca.

This year, it's from July 23rd to the 30th. So if you're planning a trip, that would be a great time to base it around. and it basically invites a lot of the villages from around the state to come into the city and they showcase some of their traditional dances and their traditional wares. So it would be a really good time to experience all of Oaxaca just in one place. Yes, and then I think in November they've got the Day of the Dead festival. Yeah, the Dia de los Murtos. I have been coming back to Mexico for the last maybe six years,

and I have never planned my trip around the Day of the Dead, But I do know it is their biggest festival in Oaxaca. They're known for it. So if you can plan it, it's at the start of November. And it's supposed to be really amazing. So I would be very jealous if you could do that. Well, I think we need to plan a reunion for November. So I am definitely coming back for it anyway.

Okay, so we're here to eat lots of food. In fact, last night we got into a little bit of trouble. Do you want to talk about what happened? So we went to a mezcal tasting. which was amazing, and I'll let you talk about that, Sarah. But afterwards, we were a little bit tipsy, a little bit happy. We went to my favorite restaurant, Bisnaga, and we sat down. We felt like we were terribly hungry.

Ordered probably about 12 dishes. The waiter tried to discourage us against us. And then eventually he went back to the kitchen. Someone came out of the kitchen and said to us, that is too much food. And he basically forced us to cut our order in half because we were being so ridiculous. And they were right. Like, we ordered way too much food. Even after we, like, got rid of most of the dishes, the table was full of food.

Yes. So he was right. He was right in the end. First we were like, why is the manager coming out and, like, chastising us? But I had mushroom quesadillas. They were really, really tasty. You had a cheese soup. What was that called?

I am not sure what it was called, but it was filled with many, many different types of cheeses. And it sounds like it would be disgusting. But it was probably our first. favorite dish. We're all dipping our breads in it. I want to go back and have it again tonight, for sure. All right. I think we can make that happen. Let's talk about some of the other amazing places that we had dinner at. So Los Danzantis, am I saying that right? Yes. You got it right. So Los Danzantis is, I think a lot of people think it's one of the best places to eat in Oaxaca. And if you're planning to come here, I would try and make a reservation. We were very lucky. We went in

and asked if we could have a table and bat at our eyelids, and they gave us one for the next day. And we were in heaven once we got there. This was the first time I've been able to eat there, thanks to Sarah. And we had some delicious foods. I think we mostly, like, at first they brought the breads out, and we just filled up on breads because the bread was that good and the salsa. I had a mushroom lasagna, which doesn't sound very Mexican, but it did have a lot of the Mexican cheeses and some of local mushrooms.

And Sarah had, do you remember how to say it? Well, something with mole. What did I have? She had the chili reyeno with molay sauce on top. And one of our friends who was with us, she had the same thing, but with chapolinas, which is grasshoppers. Yes, so no thanks to, no thanks for us. But she was saying that it tasted and smelled like hay. So I think she got into it.

I mean, I wouldn't get into a grasshopper. but and it was under the sky like so we could see the stars I think for me that was one of the most magical things about it but yes if I were staying here longer I would for sure go back there Kazla Oaxaca

that's where we were our first night and that was really special too they came out made fresh salsa right in front of us they asked us if we wanted grasshoppers or no one person with us did want it so we actually made two different salses which I thought was

really cool. And then we had zucchini stuffed, am I saying this right? No, stuffed squash flowers. Okay. It was with goat's cheese. It was so, so good. What else did we have? Do you remember? We had a bean soup with, this soup was delicious, but it had so many crazy things in it that we've never heard of or seen before. Even the translation into English, we did not understand. So when you come to Oaxaca, you definitely need to just embrace all of the new flavors and all of the new herbs and vegetables that you might get to encounter because we were surprised. We actually really loved a lot of the things that we had that we've never heard before. Yes, I have not had anything that I didn't like.

We've been eating really, really well. And yeah, keep an open mind because I thought, you know, I don't really like cold soup. I've tried gazpacha before and I don't like it. but then we went to a set meal place for lunch that was also really cool and had its only garden, a little bookshop, and we had beet soup that was cold. It was amazing. And then falafel and then that, what was it, a mango sort of moose. Oh my God, so good.

So, so, so good. And then right across the street from there. Oh, wait, so what was that place called where we had that lunch? That was calabasitas tiernas. Okay. And then right across the street we got scones. Where was that? So this is kind of like a throwback to when I was living in Oaxaca before.

Every morning I would go to this bakery and buy a sweet scone and a savory scone, which doesn't sound very Mexican, but they always had like these amazing flavors and they infused it with herbs that you would only find here in Waxaca. It's called pan con madre, which is basically bread with mother. And it definitely feels like how you, how you, when you're tasting the food, you feel like it's something that your mom's made. It's really yummy. Yes, it was a great afternoon snack to get us by until we had dinner yesterday. So let's talk about a few more of, like, the food and drink items that people should try when they're in Oaxaca.

So we mentioned Aguas. Another classic Oaxican food that you have to try when you get here is a Klajuda, which is fun to say. But basically, I call it like a Mexican pizza because it's, you've got the tortilla, you've got a tortilla, you've got a, bean base and then some cheese and they'll fill it with whatever filling you like. For vegetarians are actually great because they have these squash flowers that they love to use and also you can often find mushrooms and then they seal it kind of like a cassidia but it's crispy on the outside because it's on the grill. What have you thought of it so far? Oh I loved it. I was going to get another one today but there was just too many other options so and how do you spell

this because it's actually not at all what I thought it was going to be? Yeah it catches a lot of people Garan, it's spelt, so it's Clyuda, but it's spelled T-L-Y-A-Y-A-U-D-A. And Woh-Haka is actually O-A, let me make sure I get this right, O-A-X-A-C-A, and for everyone listening in London, so there's a chain called Wahaka over there, but it's spelled like W-A-H-A-C-A, so that's what I was looking for on the map, but no, that's not what it is. Okay, what else do people need to try? So I would also recommend mamelas. That's my favorite snack food. It's kind of like a thicker tortilla with beans on top, some soft cheese, and sometimes some vegetables. And it's a nice quick snack food when you're walking around. Also very delicious. Tortillas are everywhere, but they're always lovely, fresh, warm. And Sarah's been enjoying them a lot more than I expected. We mentioned the grasshoppers. So often someone will offer you. some food and they will ask you if you want chapolinas in it so you can go crazy and have some grasshoppers if you like. Another one which is a bit more of a breakfast food is atolle, which is kind of like,

I guess I would describe it as a corn based porridge. Nevis, which I have been going crazy for, I've made Sarah try about four times while she's been here, is a mixture between ice cream and snow cones. So it's a bit more of a granulated. ice cream and they have lots of amazing flavors. Today I tried a cheese flavor, Nievei, which was an interesting flavor. What was your favorite flavor so far? Well, the Oaxon Kiss was really tasty, but I think coconut, like I had a lot of nice shreds of coconut and there. It was really fresh, so yes, I like that one. And also, what you might find when you're walking around is lots of pre-chop fruit. So, you know, you can, after having like lots and lots of tortillas and

lots and lots of cheese while you're in Oaxaca, you can have some fruit as a snack. You'll often find mango on a stick and they chop it up for you quite nicely, so it's easy to eat. But then they'll dip it in some chili, sweet chili and salt. So depending on what you like, make sure you tell them, no, I don't want any salt on my mango if that's not what you're into or just go crazy and have everything, which I usually do. Mole, so Oaxaca is known for their molees. They're fowls. They're called the land of the seven moleys. I don't know how many molas I've actually tried, probably like three or four. They all look the same to me, but it's often served with chicken, but if you're

vejo, you can get it served with cheese. The Wahakan cheese is really nice, and it's, the base of the dishes used is made with a lot of chilies and sometimes with chocolate. That's what it's known for. So you might find like a nice, sweet flavor. It's not for everybody, though. What have you thought of normally so far. Well, I've only tried the chocolate-based one and I have to say, I don't like it that much. I'm much more of a savory person and it's just I'm not that into the sweetness of it. And the, probably the last one that I mention is pulke, but we've learned something today that has been a bit game-changing. The whole time I've been in Oaxaca, I go to these Polka bars, I order Pulkeke, I think I'm so cool because I'm having this amazing traditional drink.

Pouquet is made from the same plant as tequila or the mescalo that you might have here in Waxaca. But we've learned from some local people that the polka that we've been having in the bars is not real pokey. So if you come to Oaxaca, try and find some real polka. Yeah, so they were saying that it eventually would become polka what we tried, but it's too fresh and young. So we've got like the part of the process, like it's, we would need to wait another week for

the fruits to ferment. for the alcohol to ferment to get like real okay. But it was still a fun bar that we went to. We met some cool people. And the drink, it was like very fruity and almost a little bit fizzy. So I guess that's the very beginning of the fermentation process. But the alcohol level is like really low. So it is kind of drinking like almost a juice, I would say.

Do you think? Yeah. But the flavored ones definitely taste like you could be drinking a delicious smoothie. it doesn't feel like you're drinking alcohol at all, which could be dangerous. Yeah, and then, so if you do want to drink alcohol, so last night we went to Metzcalteca, and we did a private tasting. I was a little intimidated with it at first, I have to say, because it looked like a hipster library, like all sorts of cool books and artifacts on the walls.

It was dark with cool lighting, but no music, nothing. It was quite a serious situation. And it was a private. tasting as well, which I didn't expect. So it was me, Crystal, and then I, um, who else were with, Iris. And we had a very cool French guy from Lyon, Bastion, who was serving us. And, um, but it ended up, I ended up really liking it because you could tell that he was taking the time to get to know what we like. So we all tried five different things based on where our palates were going. And my favorite one, I think, was probably the last one. How about you?

Yeah, I found it really interesting because I've been to Oaxaca before and I've always said that I don't like mescal because it's too smoky. I'm not a big drinker and I'm not into whiskey which can also be quite smoky, but it's it's kind of like Bikurus in Wahaka. There's mescal everywhere. And I really love this private tasting because Bastion took the time to really explore what are the different flavors that we could be into, the different types of plants. and he explained where each of the different bottles came from, which I loved. Yeah, and they were gorgeous bottles as well. So we've been having a blast here, just wandering around aimlessly, eating good food. There are some other things to do in town, though.

You brought me to the Stamp Museum. We saw letters from Pieda Callo, and then I guess just talk more about why you like this place. So people always laugh when I say that my favorite place in Oaxaca is the Stamp Museum, but it actually has a lot of history, a lot of history about Mexico, a lot of history about Waxaca, and you can, if you're really into Frida Kahlo, and you're into the muralistas, then you can see some of the cool history behind her. And there are letters from her to her doctor, which is very interesting, but it shows you a lot of the issues that she had to deal with while she was, you know, making her way through life,

which I love. But also the Stamp Museum has a beautiful plaza that you, if you want to, it's a free museum, you just go, and I used to just go there at least twice a week and just sit in the plaza, eat my packed lunch and read a book. And so it's a beautiful place to do that. Yes, it was really tranquil and just, yeah, just a quiet place to get away. And then it's across the street from the Botanic Garden, right? And then it was also right next to to the Metzgal Teika. So you could just hang out in the garden and then go to a Metzgal tasting. And then the Santo de Mungo Church is just stunning.

Like you have to go in there. There's many churches in Oaxo, but if you do one, you should go there. Just the gold leaf and everything. All the design that they have going on is so horny and worth a look. And it's free to walk in. And then there's also a museum. Yeah. So the cultural museum of Oaxaca, you can, it's kind of hidden, and a lot of people don't know about it, but once you walk into the church, there's a separate door and you can go through and see lots of history about Waxaca, lots of different artifacts, and there's a great gallery.

It's definitely, I would think it's a must-do when you come to Wahaka. Okay. And then in the evening time, one of our favorite things is going through the Zokolo, which I believe means main square. Right? And we got here, what day? So we spent Sunday together was our first day together. So it was Sunday night and I really thought there was a big festival going on because it was the evening after dinner and people were dancing. There was live music. Kids were out running around. They were selling balloons and so I really thought it was a festival. But it turned out it was just Sunday. Yeah, this okalo is a very cool place to go to just any night of the week. Usually there's something on.

and it's a place where in any Mexican town, you'll find people heading there towards the end of the day just to see what everybody's up to, to have chats. And here in Oaxaca, there's often dances happening. I think every Wednesday there's some music on and people just dance. But the first night we were together, there was also dancing. We sat for about an hour of watching everybody interacting. It was really nice.

It was really fun. And just now that I'm thinking about it, I feel like I've seen less people on cell phones here. actually like chatting and hanging out properly. It's been really, really nice to see. And so, yes, so there's lots of different things going on. And there's a really cool website that you told me about where you can find out what's happening on any given time. What was that? Yeah, so it's called kpasawahaka.com. And we learned today that it's actually run by the wife of the owner of the hostel, which is a crazy connection. But if you're coming to Oaxaca, have a quick look at the website,

see what's going to be on during that time. And if there's any thing, interesting. There's like poetry readings, salsa classes, bands playing. So if you're into a particular type of music or you want to explore something new in Mexico, then definitely check it out. And yeah, so I have just enjoyed wandering aimlessly through the town and I could do that forever. But there's also lots of stuff going on right outside of the main city center. So we did a really fun group tour. I think there's certain things that you can do kind of on your own taking a bus, but I think we both decided that it was well worth doing this tour because you hit several things, and it's just easy to have that public transportation,

and there's many tour companies that are sort of doing the same route. So we did one that started out going to Monta Alban, which is an archaeological site here that goes back to 500 BC, and they did have English-speaking guides when we got there. It was just fun to walk around, so they've got all these monuments that just are look, I guess, like pyramids like you would see in Mexico City. But, yeah, that was probably my favorite part of the day. Yeah, I was, I've been to Monte alban before, but I was, this was the first time that I've done a tour, and I was very impressed with the guide.

He was an archaeologist himself, so he was very passionate about the site and the discoveries that they've had there. He told us about some recent discoveries. So if you're going there, I would definitely recommend working out for work for a lot of tour. I'm glad that I did it this time, Sarah. And then we saw a few other places. So we went to, Crystal, please help me. I'm going to say Culliapan de Guerrero. And that was just a really beautiful old church. It was damaged a bit over the years, but definitely a great place to take some pictures. We took some fun pictures there. And then we went to a place where they made,

wooden spirit, spirit animals. And we thought it was like this ancient practice. But it turns out it only goes back to the 1930s. But basically, everyone in this sort of collective comes together, and they carve animals out of wood. And then the painting is just insane, like really, really detailed, multicolored. Sometimes the animals are just mixed.

It's more than one. Yeah, they're called Alebrijis. And I was very disappointed to hear that. It is not an ancient tradition to have these animals. It's a very, very new thing from the 1930s, as Sarah mentioned. But I still think that they're beautiful and adorable. And if I had a home, I would fill it with some of these alabriquehists, for sure. Yeah, and they tell, like, you hear several different versions of why people have things.

And one of the things they mentioned was, you know, certain people have spirit animals. I can't remember which group of people that believed that. But basically, when you have a baby, you put out food, and then the next day, the paw prints that you see in the earth, if it's like a wolf, that means that your baby's spirit animal is a wolf. And so the wooden figurine that's painted would be a wolf. And if you see many paw prints, say a snake and an eagle, that would be the spirit animal.

And that's why you get those sort of, crazy mixes. But yeah, so a thousand years from now, it will be an ancient tradition. So we'll just have to hold on. And then we saw some really cool black pottery. You really liked that stuff. Yeah. So we learned in this town called San Bartolo, they discovered a way, so the black pottery has actually been around for a long time and the techniques that this family have learned to make the pottery has been around for a long time. But, um, One of the most recent generations, a lady has discovered that if she rubs the pottery with quartz with quartz during the process, it actually comes out really brilliant and shiny, and it's unlike

anything that I've ever seen before. It's, when you visit the town, they demonstrate the process and show you the difference between what would happen if you did and if you didn't. And it's kind of cool to see them making the pottery. And if you get the chance to visit, I would definitely recommend it. It's not too expensive. we were quite surprised at how reasonable it was to buy some of these really beautiful pieces. Yes, I've loved all of these handicrafts.

So I already mentioned that lots of gifts are coming home. Yeah, so that was a really fun day trip, and then we got home around 630. There's another trip that's offered. You actually did this by yourself. We haven't done this one yet, but what was that? Yeah, so this will be for your next visit, Sarah. It's one of my favorite things to do is it's called Yerva de la Gere. It's known as the petrified waterfall.

What it is is these... It's an natural infinity pool that you can go and you can swim in. The water is quite cool and nice and refreshing during the middle of the day. But on the side of it, the water that's been cascading down the fall has slowly calcified. And it looks like a waterfall that's just been stuck in motion over time. It's very beautiful to see. And it's amongst this gorgeous landscape, beautiful, desert, kind of landscape. So it's quite dramatic when you visit and you can do some hikes around the area.

There are some mescal plants. If you've seen the mescal, you go to mescal tasting first and you'll be able to identify them as you do the hikes. But to get there, there's again a collectivo that you can do or a lot of the tour agencies offer a full day tour that you can go to Yer Vanelagua. You can go to another ruin called Midla, which we learned is actually. where the civilization from Monta Alvan migrated to after they they're mysterious um disappearance and they also visit a mescal factory and some other textile areas as well all right definitely one for the next trip and then i think one thing that we didn't talk about was so we like to lays about and just eat but also drink coffee so could you talk about like some of your favorite coffee shops breakfast

and hot chocolate oh okay so So one popular place for a lot of tourists and some locals as well is called Bruhalla. And they have a couple of locations around the city. It's kind of comfortable. It's what you would be accustomed to. But the coffee is really good and they also have really good chocolate. I'm a big baby, so I often have just a hot chocolate or maybe a maca if I'm feeling dangerous. The chocolate place that I recommend is called Mayor Domo.

And that also has a couple of locations around the city. So if you notice it as you go walking around, looking at all the pretty buildings, definitely recommend popping in there. And they're happy to do some demonstrations as well. They show you some of the traditional ways of making the hot chocolate. And you can also buy it with some sweet bread. That's how they serve it here in the mornings. You'll see some of the carts going around serving hot chocolate with some sweet bread.

So you could do as the locals do and have that for breakfast as well. Very good. So I want to stay here forever. But we've met a ton of people who, are backpacking, passing through. So if somebody wants to spend some time here, but then sort of bused out of here, you told me about a very luxury bus situation. Tell me more about that. So there is a couple beaches that you can visit from Oaxaca. Maybe about, depending where you're going, between five and seven hours probably. If you have a couple of extra days, I'd recommend it

because it gives you a bit more of a taste of the state and what else that it has to offer. One of my favorites is called M-A-Z-U-N-T-E. Very quiet little beach where you can spend a couple days doing absolutely nothing if that's what you're into and that's definitely what I'm into sometimes. And it's very easy to get there. You go through cute little windy road through these mountain ranges. And another one you could check out is called Puerto Escondido. If you're into surfing or you're just like watching surfing or you want a bit more of a busy beach, not too busy though. Puerto And Escondido is a really cool place to check out. Okay.

Well, this has been such a whirlwind. And I've had such a blast. And I'm really sad this is our last night. But I definitely plan on coming back. And you're going to stick around for a little while. Do you know what are you going to be doing? I'm guessing I'm going to be doing a lot of eating. I will be just taking in a bit more of scenery.

I've heard from a few people that there are, A lot of things that I missed the first time I was here. A lot of the villages, a lot of the small communities. So I'm going to spend some time exploring more than I did the first time I was here and hopefully gathering some insight for Sarah's second visit. Well, thank you very much, Crystal. This has been amazing. Thank you for coming and joining me.

I'm so happy you love Oaxaca as much as I do. I have fallen in love with Oaxaca Mexico. I went for the food without knowing anything about the city, and I can't believe how beautiful and clean and vibrant it is, and also warm and sunny. Did we mention that? As I head back to London, I wonder if I'm making the right choice or if I should just turn back around. So I guess watch this space. In next week's episode, I talked to travel expert Gemma Patterson from half the clothes and how to house it around the world and other clever ways to find cheap or free accommodation.

Subscribe to the Postcard Academy podcast so you don't miss it. Until then, you can visit postcardacademy.co for insider travel stories and inspiration, including photos and notes on Oaxaca. That's all for now. Have a beautiful week wherever you are. All right, we are walking down the street. We have been drinking. You just drank a gigantic, it looked like beer stein full of margarita. But what was it? It's called a Michelada conceboer. It was basically, so Michelada is beer.

with chili sauce, salt, and lime juice. But I just had this brand new Michelada, which comes with flavors, and I had a pineapple flavor. Do you know where we were? It was, oh, goodness. I've been drinking too much. It'll be on the website. I think it was called La Chloe, but we'll see.

Do you ever go blank or start rambling when someone puts you on the spot? I created a free conversation sheet sheet with simple formulas that you can use so you can respond with clarity, whether you're in a meeting or just talking with friends. Download it at sarahmicatel.com slash blank no more.