Thank you for visiting this site. Welcome. This is the first of what I hope to be many entries sharing information and asking questions about the wonderful state of Oaxaca, Mexico and the intriguing land of Belize, Central America. It is hoped the reader will find useful and sometimes humourous thoughts.
My wife Kate and I (along with our two golden retrievers) just returned after being in the States for an extended period. It is great to be back. The majority of time was spent in California from the Oregon border to San Diego while we acted as consultants for a company that operated multiple RV parks. It took just 18 days driving from the San Francisco area as we decided not to sight see due to home sickness. There is still so much to see in this wonderful country and now we have more travels to which we look forward. Because we camp (either in a tent or in a tiny trailer) we are becoming quite familiar with campgrounds and travel routes which might be useful for others to know about.
For those who are unfamiliar with Oaxaca, it is located about 250 miles southeast of Mexico City. It is the name of one of the Mexican states and also the capitol city. Oaxaca, Oaxaca is our nearest big city. With just over 500,000 people in the immediate metropolitan area it is a major trade center for southern Mexico.
Our caseta (cottage) is located in a small village at about 7,000 feet elevation and overlooks the city. It is quite lovely at night as the lights fan out over the huge valley below. The weather is perfect. June through September it typically rains for about 45 minutes in the afternoon. October through May is dry. It seems never to exceed 85 degrees farenheit or drop below 50. March and April are the warmest months with lows usually in the 70 degree range.
While traditionally a major tourist area you will not find many caucasians living here. It is not along main travel routes and lies among several mountain ranges which makes automobile travel challenging at times. For example, one of the best surfing areas in the world "The Mexican Pipeline" is just 120 miles south on the Pacific Ocean. It takes 6 1/2 hours to drive there!
The state of Oaxaca (along with Chiapas to the southeast) is one of the poorest states in Mexico. As of this writing the average wage is about $5 per day U.S. This might seem depressing to most "gringos." The simple, family oriented and agricultural lifestyle which accompanies these low wages, however, has some advantages. The rent for our home is $175 US per month including all utilities. (See photo) Eggs are 9 cents each and laid fresh daily. Filet mignon is $2.50 US per pound. Fruits and vegetables are so inexpensive you might just call them free! Lemons and limes are free from the trees outside year around. Taxi fare is $3.50 to just about anywhere. Bus fare is 30 cents. Of course certain staples should not be excluded. Cigarettes are $19 US per carton and rum is less than $6 US per bottle. Liquor (other than Scotch) is hard to come by sometimes. First run movies cost about $3.25 US to attend and are available in English with Spanish sub titles. DVDs and CDs are $1 each.
Having been raised in Michigan the closest comparison I can come up with about daily life in Oaxaca is that it is like life was on the farm in the 1950s. There is no crime to speak of and everyone is friendly and helpful. Spanish is a good thing to know (Kate and I are learning slowly) but certainly not required. For those who need to be bilingual, there are many many inexpensive schools available in town. So the bottom line is this: If you yearn for the 'good old days' when life wasn't very complicated, people were nice, children were fun and the phone didn't beep, Oaxaca may be a real nice place for you.
These are my initial comments. Hope you find this article and future editions useful.
Sunday, September 30, 2007
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