We took a camioneta instead of a bus because it had air conditioning and would be faster. Big mistake. The fat lady who ran the operation tricked Kathy and I into taking the back three seats, which she promplty loaded with four people. The first three hours were miserable. My butt cramped, I sweated an ugly odour, and I only kept my insanity by burying my head in my book.

Luckily, some people got off halfway and the last 2 hours were pretty comfortable. It was raining when we got to Oaxaca, and we had some difficulty finding Posada de Chapulin (grasshoper). Oaxaca is a little more expensive, but our place is worth it. Comfortable beds, towels, hot water, and friendly staff. We got dinner on the Zocalo at 9:30. I had chiles stuffed with pork and beef. The meat was sweat, and the guacomole on the side was delicious.

The next morning, we wandered through the 20 de Noviembre market. Wow! They had everything, from meat to vegetables, to plastic masks and mole sauces. Before I leave, I am going to buy some pantalones for $5. I don´t know what you call them, but they look kind of like they´re made from potato sacks. We had breakfast on the Zocalo, and after Kathy checked internet, we wandered up Benito Juarez avenue to the Santo Domingo church. It was the most gilted church we´ve seen, and it totally creeped me out. The sun shown as we exited, and we began to search out the modern art galleries that Oaxaca is famous for. We saw some great stuff. One artist was a mix between Salvador Dali, John Singer Sargent, and Diego Rivera.

We met up with Kathy´s former principle for a drink at a cafe. We visited another gallery, and split up for awhile planning to meet up for dinner. Kathy and I had a little snack, rested at El Chapulin, and I ate some grasshopers. They weren´t great but they weren´t horrible. Salty and crunchy, kind of like pumpkin seeds. We had dinner at a vegetarian place. The owner was from San Francisco, and it showed in his cuisine. We said goodbye to Kathy´s principal, and had a few drinks at a local bar. Mezcal and Corona. There were some gringas at the bar who made us cringe, but did provide some entertainment as they flirted shamelessly through poor espagnol with the Mexicanos. The highlight was them taking some sort of drink out of a dildo-like pouring device (you can use your imagination, but I made sure to take a picture).

Oaxaca has lately been the scene of some serious protesting. The teachers started out about 2 weeks ago demonstrating for better wages and proper materials for students. They camped out at the Zocalo and things were peaceful for awhile. Then, approximately 5 days ago, Ulises (the governor of Oaxaca I believe) sent in police. According to the protesters, six were killed, and 15 are missing. Now the Zocalo is filled with teachers from around the country showing solidarity and other political groups, including anarchists and communists. There are stencils all over the place depicting Ulises as a rat. In other political news, Obrador has called for another mass demonstration in Mexico City on the day Kathy and I leave. We´ll see what happens.

Kathy is sleeping in. I had breakfast by myself. We´re going to see some museums today, and some traditional dancing tomorrow. I think we will take a tour of Monte Alban tomorrow and head for Mexico City on Thursday.

John