Adventures in Oaxaca
Recently I went to Oaxaca, Mexico over spring break with a travel study class from my school. We explored ethnobotany in the region, looking at both the plants native to the area and the culture and history of the places we visited. We spent 10 days (2 solely for travel) in the country. The skies were clear blue, the temperatures a wonderfully warm 70-90˚F (cooler at night, dropping to a comfortable 45-50˚F). We ventured around Oaxaca city and the surrounding areas, all the way to the mountain range Cerro Pelon and some small towns on the wet, humid side of the mountains. We looked at plants, got a historical/pollical tour of the city from a local guide, saw calcified boiling waterfalls, visited a women’s weaving co-op and learned how to make a traditional meal, and even got to tour a mezcal farm and distillery.
Our group was composed of fourteen, plus our Professor and lovely local guide and translator who joined us for the entire trip. Names will be omitted or modified for privacy reasons, but I just want to say that everyone on the trip was amazing and we surprising all got along swimmingly. Together we tried new foods, learned Mexican traditions, attempted to learn the language, and found strength in each other during the trials of bug-bitten nights and traveler’s illnesses at the end of the trip.
I kept a journal during the trip, writing down daily highlights (and lowlights) as well as taking notes on all of the plants we saw. That journal will be the basis of this post, and I’ll try to include some photos from the trip throughout this blog. Without futher ado, let’s jump on a plane and fly to Mexico…
Day 1 (Burlington, VT to Oaxaca, Mexico)
Had an early morning: 4 am wakeup to get to the airport on time to make our first flight at 6 am. Flew from Burlington to Atlanta, had an expensive bagel breakfast and took a nap. Next flight was to Mexico City, watched Parasite on the plane, an award-winning Korean film that has you on the edge of your seat at the very end. Landed and made it through customs without too much difficulty. There were five of us travelling together and one person had a bit of trouble since they wrote down the wrong flight number, but all was sorted and we managed to grab a late lunch/early dinner before our flight to Oaxaca. Met another student in the airport, and then one more at our final destination. We carpooled to take a taxi the hostel and met up with the rest of the group. We went to a little restaurant for a late dinner and enjoyed tlayudas-partially fried tortillas topped with refired beans, cheese, cabbage, and salsa (kind of like a personal pizza). Some daring students tried the roasted crickets as well. We made it back to the hostel and crashed, exhausted from the long day of travelling.
Day 2 (Hievre el Agua)
Day two of the trip we got our first taste of the countryside and got to go “botanizing” as our professor fondly called our plant expeditions. We drove several hours to the mountains, through several small towns, and finally to our main destination for the day: Hievre el Agua, or the boiling waterfalls. The natural site was famous for the beautiful hot springs and huge calcified rocks pouring over the edge of the cliff like a waterfall.
The area was lush with plants, lots of Euphorbiaceae, agaves, air plants, and more. We wandered around, discussed the plants, and a few people took a dip in the natural mineral pools. On the way out we grabbed some coconuts and mango from one of the nearby stalls, then drove back towards the city, stopping for lunch on the way.
Before we returned however, we stopped at Santa Maria del Tule to see the world’s widest tree: an impressive cypress hundreds of years old. After exploring the area for a bit, we drove the rest of the way back to the city and had some chill time before gathering for dinner. A few of us wandered the city until we found a street-cart with some enticing tlayudas and some fried plantains for dessert.
Day 3 (Markets and Mezcal)
We started off the day by visiting one of the famous markets near Oaxaca, the Mercado de Tlacolula. There was so much to see, so many people selling their goods, a vast variety of items to purchase, children running around, and bantering in Spanish between customer and seller. It was overwhelming and exhilarating. We tried tejate (a traditional chocolate and flour drink), sapote (a fruit with a pudding-like texture that tasted like an apricot-papaya hybrid), and more. There were chilis for moles and salsas, fruit, teas, spices, raw meat (whole chickens and all), artisans, pottery, clothes, rugs, solidified tree resin used as incense, and so much more.
Next, we drove to a Mezcal farm where the owner showed us where the agaves were grown, how they were harvested and the process for making Mezcal. In Oaxaca there are 14 different types of agave plants used to make mezcal, and a local can identify which one was used to make the mezcal just by taste! Some are wild, others are farmed. To make mezcal, the agaves are cut and the leaves are chopped away until only the heart remains. It depends on the species, but on average it takes 10-20 years for a plant to grow before it’s ready to be harvested.
The hearts are then roasted in a pit with hot stones. We got to taste a piece of the agave at this point in the process, the section of plant was soft and smoky, almost like honey barbeque. After the agaves are roasted, they are mashed using horse-power by a turning stone attached to a stick and a mule. The mashed pieces are then placed in barrels and left to ferment, letting natural yeast from the plant bubble. Then the mixture is distilled to alcohol. We got to sample several varieties, most were smoky with a slight heat. After dinner with our kind hosts we returned to Oaxaca late in the night.
Day 4 (Women Weavers)
Our next adventure was visiting a women’s weaver co-op in Teotittan del Valle, where local women (mostly single and/or mothers) had formed a group where their livelihood is making beautiful rugs woven from sheep’s wool and dyed with natural ingredients. Three ladies came out to greet us and showed us how to make homemade vegetable sopa (soup), tortillas, quesadillas, and two types of salsa using a traditional grinding stone. We collaborated on making the food and feasted together in the shade, away from the hot sun.
Then we were treated with hot chocolate (cacao, sugar, and cinnamon) and shown how the dyes for the rugs were made. Blue came from indigo, red from muicle (a leafy-green plant), pink from iron wood bark, yellow from pomegranates, and brown from pecan shells. Cochineals, beetles that eat cactus, are used to make dyes anywhere from violet to orange. The color can change both on the beetle and the pH of the solution, which can be adjusted using acid (lime juice) or a base (mineral rocks). After the demo, we were invited to browse the rugs available for purchase and everyone went home with at least one item.
Day 5 (Botanical Gardens and Political Tour)
We had a later start to the day with some free time in the morning to explore in small groups before convening at the Oaxacan Botanical Gardens in the city. We were split into two groups and went on a guided tour throughout the garden, seeing philodendrons, monstera, the original maize (corn), cacti of all varieties, plumerias, and cycads.
After the tour we had a quick café run to grab drinks and croissants before jumping into a van with a local Oaxacan guide and going on a political/historical tour of the city. We saw how the architecture changed based on what area you were in and the condition of the neighborhood, learnt the basics of the healthcare system, how labor rights played in the economic system, and more.
In the evening we had some free time to explore the city and local markets and other highlights Oaxacan night life had to offer.
Day 6 (To the mountains!) A long day of driving as we went from Oaxaca city to the top of Cerro Pelon (Bald Mountain), with an elevation of around 3000 meters, around 10,000 ft or about 2 miles high. We wandered up to the alpine zones and admired the shrubs, creeping perennials, ferns, and more. On the very top of the mountain we stared in awe at the beautiful cloud forest that lay below. One side of the mountain (where we had come from) was the dry area, where little precipitation had fallen and oaks trees, bromeliads, and cacti were abundant. On the other side was the humid, tropical region where clouds drifted in and rained on the lush plants below. We had a late lunch at the commedor where we would be staying that night before going on another botanizing expedition. This time we saw tree ferns, asters, more ferns, pipers, and more. A late dinner and some stargazing before card games in the cabin and a chilly night.
Day 7 (La Esperandza)
Drawn by the beautiful views of yesterday’s hike, a group of us decided to get up before the dawn and climb a little way up the mountain to view the sunrise. We waited in anticipation and slowly saw the sun being to creep up from behind the horizon of mountain ridges and clouds, painting the sky with beautiful pinks and orange glows.
After packing up and having breakfast we drove to a hiking trail further down the mountain, this time around 2700 m. We saw many beautiful tropical plants including a wild relative of Christmas cactus, pepperomias, cock’s comb vine, and more. We stopped at La Esperandza for lunch and dropped off our bags at the cabins we’d be staying at that night before driving towards the river (almost to the bottom of the mountain). We stopped at a small banana farm to check out the plants and saw a mango tree, sugar cane, bananas, and canna. At the river, we went for a swim in the cool waters (which helped sooth the many bug-bites we acquired on the hike). One of the girls on the trip and I caught many frogs and tadpoles that were hanging out by the river. It was magical to say the least.
Day 8 (Yetla)
The next day sadly saw our first causality, as one of the girls got sick during the night and stayed in bed (at the next location) for the rest of the day. We drove down to Yetla, a town known for all of the cacao trees in the area. It was the lowest elevation we visited, around 300m. We botanized the area around the cabins before jumping into (a different) river and having lunch. Then a local guide took us on a walk under the scorching sun (almost 100˚F) outside of town, via a cow pasture, into the jungle. We started with 14 (2 stayed at the cabins) but by the end only 7 remained. Not everyone was able to handle the heat (and more were slowly succumbing to illness). Those of us who made it to the end saw various legumes, Kapok trees, cows, acacia trees, leaf-cutter ants, and so on.
Day 9 (Return to the city…)
Day nine was mostly driving, it was a long way to get back to Oaxaca. Windy roads, sick students, and everyone’s nerves were on edge…We had been mostly/completely without cell service for the last four days except for a few who had been able to connect to some weak wi-fi at one of the restaurants. The few that did informed the rest of the group that COVID-19 was increasingly becoming an issue and schools (including our home university) were starting to take preventative measures and send students home, transitioning to an online-learning method for the rest of the semester. We made it back to the city in the afternoon and had the evening to relax, explore one last time, and then a wonderful group dinner with everyone including our lovely guide who accompanied us for the majority of the trip, our van driver, and the man who gave us the political tour of the city. We feasted, laughed, and went to bed content.
Day 10 (Coming home)
The day of travel back was long and tedious, so I’ll spare you the details. Basically, a group of 5-7 of us travelled on the same flights back to Vermont. The day began at 4 am as we needed to get to the airport for another 6 am flight, which was cancelled, and got on a 9 am flight to Mexico City. From there we flew to Detroit, made it back to the states! From there we flew into Burlington and made it back around 11:30. After people claimed their baggage, we Ubered back to the dorms, and called it an end to the trip.
I hope you enjoyed reading about the adventures and mishaps of the trip, I hope to write a future post focused on the food and culture we experienced during the trip and possibly about all the plants for all the botany geeks out there.