Thursday, February 7, 2013

We are getting pretty good at this downtown thing

We now have the route (ruta) to the zona central well under control.  Today’s excursion was again to Zócalo and adjacent blocks to discover all the things we missed the first time.  We now have our favorite parking garage as we can easily find it and the parking attendant treats us like old friends.  We were off to the Mercado de las Artesanias, another large building with lots of handicraft vendors.  My goal here is to make sure that wonder woman will have all the shopping spots down pat when guests arrive, and I can sit in the Zócalo, people watch, and read a book!

Wednesday, we missed lots of stuff, I guess due to our excitement of just finding downtown.  One of the important areas is the Macedonio Alcala, the pedestrian only street north of the Zócalo.  It is a pleasant stroll of stores and one of the first things we saw was something I have never seen anywhere in the world.  About 20 municipal policemen were lined up in rows, with bandanas over their eyes, and holding blind walking canes.  They were then ordered to start walking and off they went, naturally very slowly.  I guess they were receiving disability sensitivity training!

Going up Alcala is not just going north, but also uphill a bit.  The large mountain (Cerro del Fortin) that juts into the zona central is just off to the west a few blocks.  We were climbing it when we were lost on Tuesday.  Four or five blocks up the Alcala is the Templo de Santo Domingo de Guzmán.  This church is reputed to be the most elaborate and interesting in Oaxaca.  This was a significant church day for us, as we try to limit our intake to one a day.  We did go into the Templo and it is very overwhelming.  We also today check out the Cathedral next to the square and a very nice Episcopal Church (elegantly plain) on Alcala. þþþ 

We proceeded on to Garcia Vigil Street to check out the Los Arquitos, which are the arches of the aqueduct that used to bring water to the city.  Walking back down Garcia Vigil is very nice as it has interesting stores, hotels and restaurants on it.  Back at the square I sprung for a shoe shine.  There are so many shoe shine guys that you feel guilty not getting a shine.  My worked so hard and my shoes now shine so bright I have to blink when looking at them, and it cost 20 pesos.  When I asked the price he said $20 dollars, but we straightened that out. 

We finished our day with a very nice dinner on the square.  We had the comida special of cream of broccoli soup, shrimp tacos, rolls and chips, cokes, and coffee, all for 70 pesos each.  That is $5.54 at the current exchange rate.  In the square you are bombarded with vendors, even while dining.  My sales resistance is excellent.  We did learn that Friday afternoon in the Zócalo is a big deal.  It seemed like there were thousands of people there, and very festive with music, free medical checks, sidewalk food vendors, and the opportunity to buy lots of stuff.  Finally we swung by the Juarez Market and bought more strawberries and bananas. 

As we started up our hill to our casa we stopped and Mary Ann explored the mini-mercado and bought ice.  Can’t have too much pure ice when guests are arriving tonight.  My first night drive back to the aeropuerto.  Oh, my goodness!
 
Fun in the Zocalo
 
Quirky Living Note
 
The pet of choice – This does not appear to be a big cat appreciation area.  We have a couple of nearly wild cats in our compound, but what you see everywhere, usually in the middle of the street are sleeping dogs.  They seem to be everywhere and you never know if they are dead or alive, as they are laid out on the pavement.  A few will actually look up at you.  We have seen a couple that have been hit by cars, so it may be that they do not live to be real old.  If they cross the road it is an amble and they expect you to slow or stop as they must think that they own the road.


 
At least they are keeping their eyes on us!




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