Oaxaca - Part one

After the hot November trip to Florida, its nice to be back in Ixtac in the cool mountains......
I know you've most likely seen the Pico de Orizaba peak on this bolg before - But I can't resist adding another pic. This one is a rooftop view......allot more snow on her now....(Click the pics to enlarge)

So for our winter solstice vacation we decided to head to the state of Oaxaca. The drive from Orizaba was spectacular....

We spent a little time in Oaxaca city but weren't very impressed. There were some really nice larger-than-life sculptures of indigenous peoples, this one on top of a fountain.

 To be fair, the city does have a great Zocalo and some beautiful old buildings, but the real beauty of Oaxaca lies outside the city.


For the solstice and through xmas day we camped out at Overlander Oasis in the great little town of Santa Maria del Tule. Its owned by a chic yet practical Canadian couple who are excellent hosts. From the '57 greyhound bus parked in their living room, right down to their recycle bins, they are a refreshing blast of inspiration.
(If you happen to need any work done on your rig - Calvin's your man!) Leanne's a great cook as well! I'm still drooling over the coconut date pie....Oh yeah- christmas dinner won't soon be forgotten.

If you have a small RV, Overlander Oasis is a really nice spot to chill out and check out the town of Tule. From here you can take advantage of local transportation to experience the many surrounding attractions. Thanks Calvin and Leanne....

Of course the town is known for the Tule tree. From what I found it is has the stoutest trunk in the world and is the 3rd largest tree by volume (behind the #2 Lost Monarch Coast Redwood and #1 the General Sherman Giant Sequoia. Its an awesome sight.....

Oaxaca is home for Mezcal.....and it's great to be here.
We had to take the obligatory mezcal tour and all, so here are some pics of the amazing process...

Things to remember when buying Mezcal; The best is clear as water and typically no worm in the bottle. They serve it with this strange but tasty mix of chili, salt and ground up grasshoppers...Its the perfect match! Saludos....


 Another specialty of Oaxaca is the very tasty, big crunchy baked tortilla, topped with beans, avocado, lettuce, tomato, salsa and Oaxaca cheese---it's the TLAYUDA! They're yummy and almost vegetarian. Here's Jane about to try one of the best....

It's practically a Mexican pizza!

So we'll leave you now as we're catchin' the bus to  Teotitlan del Valle....

we hope you stay tuned for our upcoming Part Two of Oaxaca.
Greetings to all....
Kevin and Jane











 

Back to check on the place in Florida

A Little change of pace on this post as we bring you updated photos of our old place in Florida......

 

...And a bonus pic of the corrugated paradise at my buddy James'...

Ixtaczoquitlan

It's October already and after nearly 4 months in Orizaba we've managed to find a huge needy vacant home here in Ixtaczoquitlan. Its a small town just outside the city of Orizaba. The house has been vacant for over a year and is in disrepair. We'll continue to follow our same routine on this trip and stay for free, and in return fix the place up. It's a large house with 4 bedrooms and 4.5 baths! After two weeks we have the electric repaired and turned on, the water pump re-plumbed to supply the rooftop tank for pressurized water in the house, and of course a garden started. This house is pretty much all concrete and copper plumbing. Kev's getting his welding skills refreshed! Here are some pics of the house....(Click to enlarge)...

The rooftop views are fabulous (we can see Pico de Orizaba....)

 

...the town's clock-tower......

Towards the back, at the base of this mountain, is the spring Los Siphones....

We'll call it Casa Guano because of the bats living in the house when we arrived.....this one is in the kitchen!....

In the 3rd week, we now have the house fixed up pretty good with running hot water, electric, internet and a fridge! Ixtac is a mellow little town but we like what it has to offer. We have street markets on Wed and Fridays that sell pretty much all we need. It's fairly flat so we can ride our bikes around town. There are these great street vendors that pass by selling an assortment of things like tamales, homemade ice cream, fresh coconuts, bean and cactus salads, and here's a good one......fire roasted platanos (big bananas) on wheels , Delish!

Another nice feature is the fabulous walk down the lush canyon to the river where there is also a spring called Los Siphones, for swimming. Here are some pics....

Here's the spring....

 

It's very fertile here. Along the walk you can see coffee growing under Dominica bananas, growing under fruit trees....

Recently we were invited to a fiesta. Among other things, they had prepared 300 bean tamales and a huge clay cauldron of mole sauce.....you can see the ornately corn husk wrapped tamales here....they were scrumptious.....

We will be thinking of you all as we enjoy these bad-ass beet-burgers with homemade tofu mayo and oven baked french fries.....till next time.....hasta luego!!!

Summer and Flowers in Orizaba

If you remember from our last post, we are spending the summer in Orizaba, Veracruz. So lets start this post out with a 2nd floor view from our townhouse. The cable-cars run from the city center up to Cerro del Borrego about a 1,000' climb in just a few minutes. At the top there's an eco-park, museum & you can catch a glimpse of the snow-covered Pico de Orizaba. (Click on images for larger view).

One of the many things we like about this city is the flower market. Most of the flowers here come from Puebla, about a two hour drive up on the central Mexican Plateau and also from some smaller communities nearby. There's a great variety of affordable flowers and they are very popular. The market is always busy and you can find many different artsy arrangements or just big bundles....

 

or five gallon bucket-fulls. Flowers seem to permeate Orizaba....

 

They are found in one of our favorite snacks here, the Memela. It's a hand-made corn tortilla topped with salsa, fresh cheese, and squash flowers.....yeah baby! I'll take two please!

Here's KT cooking some at home....

Oh the house needs some life....Oh what should I get?? Sunflowers, roses, mums, dahlias, hmmmmmm...

 

OK nice choice Jane, these are going to look great in the townhouse....

Now the coffee flowers out in the front yard have already turned to beans, so here's KT filling up the coffee bean bucket.....so many beans so little  time!

The weather here has been perfect for us. Warm days, cool nights, plenty of rain in the evenings & at night to make everything grow. There are millions of sights here in Orizaba, here's one to leave you with. Stay tuned for more images of this great little city we have been so lucky to wander into. Peace and Love, KnJ.....