Following our bus ride (from Puebla) over the Sierra Madre de Oaxaca mountain range we arrived in Oaxaca in the late afternoon and checked into the Casona Oaxaca, our favorite central city hotel. On the evening of our arrival we had dinner at Casa Oaxaca. You can read more on that and other meals on our Oaxaca Restaurants 2019 page.
On our first full day we hired a driver through the hotel for our much anticipated return to the surrounding Oaxaca countryside to visit some of our favorite palenques. It was another great day in Oaxaca countryside. See our Mezcal Tasting 2019 page for details.
While much of this trip was spent returning to places we’ve enjoyed on previous visits to Oaxaca, there were a couple new excursions that we were doing for the first time. High on that list was a visit to the ruins of the city of Monte Albán; one of the most important political and economic centers of the Zapotec empire.
So on our second full day in Oaxaca we booked a Tour named: “Monte Alban, Black Clay and Alebrijes” from Free Tour Oaxaca. This tour wasn’t exactly “free” but at $20 per person for a full day tour, it was certainly affordable. We’re usually more independent travelers when in Mexico but have used the company “Free Tour” for several tours in both Oaxaca and Puebla and would definitely recommend the company as a reasonable lower cost alternative.
You can read more about this day trip at our Monte Alban, Black Clay and Alebrijes page.
One of the things we like about staying at Carsona Oaxaca is its close proximity to the Zócalo. Like with many Mexican cities, the Oaxaca Zócalo is the heartbeat of the city. We love finding an empty bench or outdoor table and just hanging out on the Square spending time shopping, eating, drinking and doing some major league people watching. There always seems to be something or other “Happening” to witness.
On the Friday night of our stay there we left the hotel a bit early for our dinner reservation so that we could take in the Dancing on the square. There was a big band playing and a good sized group of mostly seniors dancing to the Latin beat.
The crowd of dancers and even larger crowd of gawkers (like us) enticed by the music and dance spectacle also attracted a larger than typical number of the colorful vendors that walk around and through the Zócalo.
There always seems to be the potential for music (and dance) to spontaneously generate in Oaxaca like with this group of ladies dancing down the street but the big band and seniors dancing group gathers every Friday evening. It’s free for the dancers and the crowd and locals and visitors to the city are welcome to join in on the “dance floor”.
We’ve enjoyed a number of museums and galleries on prior trips to Oaxaca but before this trip we were talking to a friend who shares our love of Oaxaca and he suggested we HAD TO visit Oaxaca branch of the Museo Rufino Tamayo. As it turned out, it’s located only a few blocks from our hotel.
We visited several contemporary art museums during this trip and had arrived in Oaxaca planning to visit Museo Rufino but before we knew it we were on our last full day in the city and hadn’t been by. So on our way back to the hotel after a nice lunch at Boulenc Café we walked down Av. Morelos and to pay the entrance fee only to find out we had less than 45 minutes before the museum would be closing for the middle of the day and reopening later in the evening. But we figured, what the hell; we’ll give it a try.
And we’re really glad we did. We definitely rushed through and didn’t get the chance to spend as much time as we would like but the exhibits were amazing. Art from indigenous groups from all over Mexico are represented including Mayans, Aztecs, Olmecs, Zapotecs and Mixtec among others. Seeing their art gives a lot of insight into what the people of those times felt was important and beautiful.
Despite being produced in Pre-Hispanic Mexico, many of the pieces had an almost contemporary look and feel. While this visit was way too short, we will be returning to this museum on our next visit to Oaxaca.