24 - 10 REST OF OCTOBER IN OAXACA AND DAY OF THE DEAD

 Up most the night unpacking and still in the middle of the move from my old place.  Had breakfast at Ayuk then Lunch at Chilamado's. 

 

Nice to be back. I did a photowalk to get back into walking! Got some keys made for my French Maid and had another breakfast at Ayuk.

Nice dessert that Ian had after we finished lunch at Aquacate. The next day I worked at organizing the apartment somewhat then had a great Chicken Huerta at Ayuk.

Sunday I went to Olivos Gastro Pub for Salmon with their special sauce and Organic baby carrots...very good. Monday was Dominos and Maddie showed up for our morning session, then we had lunch at Aquacate.

       A bit cloudly this morning....

Another walk in bustling Oaxaca...

          

 

Ok this has been a LOOONNGGG Post due to the trip and 

Day of Dead Celebrations...so I will keep the chatter down and concentrate on last of photos will little explanation....

Street parties, celebrations everywhere, parades, music, decorations, joy and fun. Met a nice German couple at "AYUK" visiting for a week with their 2 young children.

              On her way to church... more to follow

Love Ayuk's Chicken Italiano...if you wonder about the amounts of flowers...Marigolds in particular, is the Day of the Dead Flower...I will not go to the cemetaries this year...too much for three days from Sundown to Sun Rise the relations visit with food, music, gifts, and above all respectful memories.

 

                                       Got a haircut today...

Glass works were exceptional...not usually attracted to...these were outstanding. 

My dear friends from Belgium stayed at this B & B last October.

Drone filming parade with controller on the ground guiding it.

                               Interracial couple

                                  A Pause in the Parade???

Carrying those heavy things reguires a good leather "jock strap".

          Gaby's back from San Diego Visit with bells on!

This is a Day of the Dead ...Photos Only Album from 2017 that has the Cemetaries Day and Night photos.

                                   Dias de Muerta  just click it.

Today was a day of Sunshine and Shadows.  I took a bus and then walked to Humar for some Seafood. I had Fish Ceviche then 6 Beautiful Oysters and returned.

Loved the hairstyle of the woman in Black

                                           Please do not eat me!

This is Sunday and instead of Sunday Morning on CBS, Ian is picking me up for a visit to the Talacalula Market about 10 miles away. Booming Rockets again woke me. This time at 5 am and without my hearing aides in. I will wear ear plugs when I retire tonight.  It was a beautiful Sunrise.

Ian picked me up and we arrived to a very congested Pueblo on a very busy Market day. It has the second largest Market in the State of Oaxaca and is easy to get lost. We were so anxious to find a parking space that when we did, we did NOT note the area street, number or "sign post" for out return. 

                   Ate more Fat then in the last year!  Tasty.

A Little taller then that sack of Flour. Lots of these villagers had NO shoes or sandles and just bare tough feet.

She did her best to assist us in finding Ian's vechicle but no luck.

The Sunday open air market (or tianguis) of Tlacolula is one of the oldest continuous in Mesoamerica and the largest and busiest in the Central Valley region of Oaxaca. The only market of any type which is larger is the Centro de Abastos (main grocery market selling to retailers) in the city of Oaxaca. This market is part of a tradition of weekly markets which is still found in Oaxaca, where people from rural areas come the local town to buy, sell and socialize, and are a functional feature of pre-modern peasant economies. The market provides a retail outlet for those living in communities too small to support permanent retail establishments.

The stalls here are set up early in the morning and taken down that night. The number of vendors on any given Sunday varies but the number usually exceeds 1,000. Counts have been as high as 1,400 and 1,600. Stalls divide into three types. The first is a simple cloth on the ground, with the vendor sitting or kneeling behind it and his/her wares all day. This cloth may contain only a few items or it may be full to the edge. The second type is a simple table or stacked boxes. The third is a stall with walls, often constructed of interconnecting metal rods. They type of stall used depends on the economics of the vendors and the types of products they sell. In addition to the stalls, street vendors walk around the market carrying their goods with them, approaching potential customers to ask for a sale.

Generally, the Sunday merchants sell everyday household items, agricultural products, prepared foods, farm animals, mezcal, clothing, jewelry, kitchen utensils, audio CDs, tools, pottery for everyday use rather than purely decorative or tourist items such as barro negro pottery.

Market day is considered a festive day in Oaxacan towns. Ranchers, farmers and other people from rural areas come to the city to sell shop and socialize. Products, especially certain prepared foods, are available here that are generally not anywhere else. One example is tejate, a fermented corn and mamey seed drink. Most of the rural people who come to town on Sunday are indigenous, and seeing women dressed in colorful traditional garb, such as rebozos, embroidered blouses and wool skirts, is more common on this day than even in the municipal market during the week.

 Many of the indigenous women's home village can be identified by their clothing. It is common to see native women carrying bundles on their backs or on their heads. This is because most sellers are women.(psabor) These women tend to be quite traditional, speaking Zapotec, trading items instead of accepting money and not permitting the taking of their photographs. I do ask and have had my photo taken with them but most of these were "on the sly".

Dinner at Casa Celia this evening and Lunch with Maddie after our Domino's game the next day.

              Our resident neighborhood Greeter I like so much!

 Different Photographers all there at the same time...new event.

                              Day of Dead Alter at Ayuk

               Dogs treats fortified with Calcium and Omega 6 !?

Shop day so bus to Cherdui with trusty Walmart huge bag.  Filled it and checked out to the Taxi stand.  After 15 minutes I started to walk uphill while lugging the 25-30 lbs of Olive Oil, Wine, cleaning supplys, etc.  Finally flagged a Taxi and arrived.  I got out and slung the bag over my shoulder but the straps broke and the entire contents ended up in the gutter.  School kids couldn't help but break out in hysterical laughter at my misfortune while all I could do was thank God nothing broke and continue to stuff it back into the now strapless bag while laughing along with them.  

     I made it home tired, frustrated and sweaty so decided to try out my extra shower that I was told, now had hot water after 2 months of complaining. It didn't. Now naked I quickly tried my master shower...ice cold also.  The pilot to the water heater on the roof was out.  I dressed, wrote a nasty threatening letter to the "Property Manager" that I was no longer going to dress and attempt to light the pilot then wait for the water to heat up and then undress to hopefully take a hot shower. Done! I pay you for hot water! Of course he will ignore me for a few days then inform me it would be taken care of "Manana"?  

     So I treated myself to an uplifting expensive Sushi dinner with two glasses of wine.  Returned, shared a joint with Gaby and went to bed content.  Now morning...do I take a cold shower or go another day?  No response from my request and no one around the complex to fix it...it's Day of the Dead cultimating with 3-4 days of non-stop celebrating at the Cemetary and everywhere in Oaxaca is packed with tourists...that is why I couldn't get a taxi at the SuperMarket.

     Rain forcast for this evening and rest of the week.

Sushi was great but forgot to take photos while still upset over cold water.  Time to end this post and thank y'all again for sharing with me.  Cold and Dirty David