March 19, Oaxaca – Or Go Travel!

March 19, 2020

We had come to Oaxaca because it has a reputation for good food and it was time to check it out. The El Rancho RV park is not actually in Oaxaca but in the town of Santa Maria del Tule which is a suburb or Oaxaca. We had to take a bus for 20 minutes to the Macroplaza mall before catching a 80 peso taxi for the 18 minute ride to get to central Oaxaca. Unfortunately Uber did not operate in Oaxaca.

Our destination was the Mercado 20 de Novembre. The Mercado was not a normal market but a market consisting solely of food stands. As we entered the market we found ourselves in a long, smokey room lined on both sides with stands featuring large thin strips of meat, each with a small BBQ. Past that was an even larger room with other, more normal food stands, bakeries, juice stands, and stores selling mole, the traditional Mexican sauce. We walked around a bit before deciding to go back to the first room and try some of that meat.

All the market had was various food stalls.

Ordering was an interesting process. First you got a basket and a card. Then you went to one of the stalls displaying the meat and you chose how much meat you wanted. I chose a medium one KG option of mixed meats including steak, chicken and Mexican sausage for 175 pesos. Another lady asked if I wanted tortillas which I said yes since no Mexican meal is complete without tortillas. I gave the basket to the meat guy and took the card back to our table. Someone came up and asked what we wanted to drink so I ordered a Cola. Another person gave us a menu of sides such as guacamole, different salsas, salads, and other stuff for 15 pesos each so I ordered guacamole and a mild salsa.

The menu was on the sign above each stall.

The raw meat was very thinly sliced and on display for us to choose.

After we chose our meat the vendor literally flung the meat onto the charcoal grill where another lady quickly cooked the meat.

A few minutes later our food came and we exchanged the card for the basket which was now loaded with grilled meats and tortillas. The meat and tortillas turned out to cost 200 pesos. I was expecting something better but in the end it was grilled meat which I made into burritos using the tortillas, guacamole and salsa. All in all our meal ended up costing about 250 pesos.

The meal was a little strange with each item coming from a different vendor. The soda from one, the sides from another, the meat from yet another and the tortillas from a fourth person

The market even had some quite nice bakeries inside.

Lunch done we walked around the market some more while Holly bought some mole and vegetables. By then it was getting hot and Olivia was getting cranky having to wander around markets in the heat. We took the taxi back to the Macroplaza mall which turned out to be a pretty decent outdoor mall with a food court, children’s play area and a Walmart. There, Olivia got to play at the play area while Holly did a little shopping at Walmart.

Our final stop was Walmart to stock up for the lock down we knew was coming.

We then took a 70 peso taxi ride back to the El Rancho where Olivia went and played with the other kids in the park while Holly put stuff away. One of the other residents of the park was Matthew and Joy and their kids Rafael, Gabriel, Django. Rafael and Gabriel were just around Olivia’s age and they immediately became fast friends. Matthew and Joy had been travelling around Mexico and Central America for 7 years in their vintage airstream motorhome. The boys loved playing with Olivia and they played all afternoon until it was time for dinner.