See ya later Oaxaca, Mexico!

PUERTO ESCONDIDO 

The day finally arrived to take our 6 hour long ride through the mountains to getaway from the city and enjoy a weekend at the beach! The ride was curvy and felt like it was never ending but, it was definitely worth it! We are headed to Playa Zicatela in Puerto Escondido! I certainly am not a beach person… I usually create a fort to be covered from the sun and the sand but many people in my trip are so stoked about swimming in those waves! I’m mostly excited about the pool in our hotel and the sunsets! When we arrived, you could instantly see the difference in this community compared to Oaxaca City. There were tourist everywhere and the boutiques were no longer traditional clothing but surfing clothes. Playa Zicatela is known as a top beach for surfing. This weekend was a nice bonding trip for the group! We explore new grounds on our own and for some challenge ourselves to do things outside our comfort zone! One of my favorite parts of the trip was that we took a boat out into the sea and jumped off into the Pacific Ocean to go for a swim! It was miles away from the shore line and it felt amazing to just do this with my new friends! 

CAPULALPAM DE MENDEZ,

 EL PUEBLO MAGICO

Our weekend excursion to Capulalpam was so much fun! We headed to the mountains to check out this community and visit the Health Center. The unique thing about the Health Center here is that half of it deals with traditional medicine and the other half focuses on biomedicine. It was nice to visit this facility and see folk medicine in practice that we were learning about.

We all stayed at a hostel together where we tried two of the folk practices: tea mescal and full body massages. The location was absolutely beautiful because it was full with flowers and plants. We were on a mountain enjoying the views and spending some quality time! We all stayed up and did some Spanish karaoke which was a lot of fun! This region is know of the pueblo magico because of it’s ecotourism. Here we were able to zipline through the mountains. 

LA GUELAGUETZA

 La Guelaguetza is an exchange between people in the town of different products like corn, plates, chairs, etc. It’s a mutual agreement that when you are in need I will give you something and when I have a party in the later years you will return with something. This reunites the town’s community and is a way of having people working together. El Festival de la Guelaguetza is this huge celebration that people all around the world come to see and celebrate Mexico! The eight regions in Oaxaca come together and bring their culture, traditions, dances, and produce of their regions. The Guelaguetza is a week long celebration that we welcome people to explore Oaxaca through performances, concerts, food fairs, music and more! We were lucky to have been able to experience this on our last week in Mexico! As the Guelaguetza was nearing I could see that the Zocolo began to flood with more tourist and people. There were so many events to go to throughout the city to embrace and learn about the culture. Attending the Guelaguetza popular was definitely one of my highlights from the trip because I was able to see the dresses and dances that I saw on tv when I was a child. I enjoyed seeing the performances and hearing the crowd roar with excitement and support! I wish I would’ve taken a class on traditional dances while I was there but, there is always next time! 

SEE YA LATER, OAXACA!

This trip was more than just a trip. 

I learned in every aspect! I was an opportunity to live what I’ve always wanted to do and immerse myself in situations that I wouldn’t normally do. I was exposed to new places, new ideas, new people, but, most of all love. The new found love I have for Oaxaca will not be surrendered easily. 

I will back and with that I say “See ya later, Oaxaca!”  

- Yamila