Travel to Oaxaca, Mexico.

Country/Town visited: Oaxaca, Mexico
Date of stay: Sep 2011
Where you stayed:Hotel Los Mirasoles
Travelled with: Wife 
Tour or pre planned: Pre-planned

Oaxaca feels like the real Mexico. It’s big enough to give you a ton of things to do but feels like it’s a lot smaller than it actually is. This is a good thing; as it gives you that ‘small-town’ feel and you can just about walk everywhere you want to go.

We stayed in the Centro Historico area of Oaxaca which is easily walkable and full of colourful houses and art galleries lining every street.

I can highly recommend the place we stayed at, Los Mirasoles. It had cool natural surroundings, very spacious rooms, a huge comfortable bed and a great location right in between the bus station and Zocalo (main square). At 400 pesos per night, you can’t complain either.

Before I get into what there is to see and do in and around Oaxaca, let me just tell you about the food (you knew this was coming). Oaxacans LOVE their food. And it clearly shows. Their signature dishes contain one of the seven ‘Mole’ sauces available, and they are all lovingly prepared in various ways, offering you seven different ways to experience it.

There are many places that offer these locally prepared dishes, but I can heartily recommend a place called Terranova, located on the south-eastern side of the Zocalo. Downstairs they do basic quick dishes and snacks with drinks, but upstairs is where they pull out the big guns and give you a huge range of dishes to choose from. I can’t remember the name of it, but there is one which allows you to try four of the seven Mole Sauces. Do it. Just do it.

If you want a great place to drink, you can’t go wrong with El Olivio. A very funky place where all the locals go for a chilled out Mezcal or beer.

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