Nacho Libre Land - Oaxaca de Juarez, Oaxaca - Part 1

Last week we drove for 6.5 hours on highway 190 to Oaxaca. There are two routes; a wider, better highway east along the coast which veers north just before Salina Cruz, and, the other (the 175) which is a twisty, steep smaller highway that is a north/south route. The latter is more direct and more beautiful but a very technical drive. Highway 175 is much shorter but because of its crazy turns and steep grades only saves about 45 minutes. Either way you slice it, it's about about a 5.5 to 6.5 hour drive from Huatulco.

We rented a car from Hertz in Bahia Tongolunda about 2.5 km from Marina Chahue. The economy c car that I booked was not available so they gave us a jeep for the same cost. We were warned that Mexican car rental companies (regardless of the brand) will gouge you when you return the vehicle for dents, chips and scratches. We took photos of the entire vehicle before we left. In the end, we had no problem and the entire cost for five days was about $3,300 pesos.

The drive through Salina Cruz and then North was a long hot drive..... the "opposite of fun" as a friend would say.

The City of Oaxaca, also know as Oaxaca Juarez, reminds me of small cities in Spain like San Sabastian. Oaxaca is one of the oldest cities in Mexico. Other than the corn on the cob on a stick, the mescal and the tamale vendors, you would think you were in Europe.

Traffic is usually congested because of the old narrow streets. Thank goodness, that each street is one way. Fortunately, most buildings were built with ample courtyards which now serve as parking garages. Most hotels, even 3 stars, have free parking. It's best to park your car and walk around the city.

We stayed at the Francia Hotel, and old colonial building, on 20 Noviembre Street which is about 2 blocks from the Zocolo (the plaza, piazza, town square). The rate was $500 pesos per night which worked out to be about $34 US Dollars.

Oddly enough, there aren't many bars in Oaxaca. There are plenty of restaurants and the odd club but not many places where you can walk in and have a drink. Of course, Randy found a great bar, La Farola, about a block down the street from Francia Hotel.

Our first excursion was to Monte Alban, an ancient Zapotec ruin that was constructed anywhere from 700 BC to 500 BC. I can go on and on about this civilization; their astronomy, anatomy, medicine, dentistry ..... check it out on the Internet.

Byte the way, the last scene of Nacho Libre was filmed at these ruins.

........ to be continued.