Oaxaca - (Wa-ha-ka)

There an extraordinary amount of churches here but they are all old, massive and gorgeous. I have zero knowledge about construction styles and the only type I know is Gothic but I have no idea what a Gothic church would look like. These are all colonial, I get that but they are all very different. Welcome to Oaxaca, where 60s hippies have come to pasture.

My plan was to spend time here to relax and heal my belly. Mission accomplished. The biggest challenge for me in the last 5 days was to do as little as possible. Read, sleep and short walks around town filled my days. If this is how people retire I want nothing to do with it.

Health Update: I guess to sum up the post food poisoning puke fest in one word it would have to be nervous. Nervous to walk to far, to sneeze, to eat, to drink coffee ( I did it anyways). You get the picture but for those who can not put it together I was constantly nervous I was going to sh** my drawers. I am running about 95% with good energy and I have moved from jello to sandwiches. That's all we will say about that.

I mentioned in my last past my laptop charger crapped out and that has not been a top priority for me this week. I am posting from my old reliable Galaxy 3. I just downloaded an app that lets me transfer pictures from my camera to my phone as the camera does have a wireless function.

The walk was interesting. My first surprise when I left my area was I walk smack into what can only be considered the red light district of Oaxaca. This was no Reeperbahn. Lining both sides of the sketchy street in from of two very nasty looking hotels were 30 or 40 of Oaxacas finest. Mid day, other people going about their business no worries. I caught the eyes and smiles of a few but nothing aggressive. Who knew? I was hoping the standard Japanese businessman would have walked out of one of the hotels but no luck. 

I then came across a large, hectic and smelly market where more than one person looked at me sideways. One lady was selling popcorn which I hoped was safe. It was incredibly delicious. I devoured the bag in four heaping mouthfuls as you do with popcorn. 

Revved up on popcorn and porn I ventured on. Across a busy highway and over a very smelly river I came to the base of the hill. The town climbed the hill and with that there were stairs. Lots and lots of winding steps. Easiest hike and best find ever. Up I went past sleepy dogs, smiling school kids, a friendly and really funny road work crew who I ended up talking to for a while and through what I know realized was a poor shanty town. San Jocinto I think was a sign I saw. I just kept climbing. Stairs ended at roadways so I needed to search a bit to find the next set.

I passed a shop dripping with sweat and a shop owner smiled knowingly as I passed and offered me a cold beer If I stopped on the way down.

At last a much needed victory was mine. I stood at the base of the cross that had been heckling me, turned and enjoyed the splendid view of Oaxaca and the surrounding mountains. The view was splendid and it was a good hike. I remembered the offer from the shop owner and now it was time to go find my free beer.