Anatomy of a Trip: Postscript

Lessons Learned in Oaxaca (and a few more pictures)

Three weeks seemed an awkward time frame, too short to really feel like I knew the city and longer than necessary for simply sightseeing. But I now know what parts of Oaxaca I prefer to stay in. If I return it will be for longer and I’ll look for an apartment as the necessity to eat out all the time becomes tiresome.

If I return to Oaxaca I’ll pay more for airfare, if I must, to get there with 2 flights in one day. It’s too late in my travel game to miss a night’s sleep and traverse 4 airports to get anywhere.

A walk through my favorite neighborhood, along the old aqueduct…

…on a Saturday morning to El Pochote Organic Market in Xochimilco.

While I’ve learned the lesson of traveling light in general, I must continue to improve my skills. In particular, my carry-on day pack will be lighter next time I travel, by a significant amount, the last frontier.

I’m aware now that knowing more Spanish is important in a city that welcomes visitors but doesn’t change it’s basic nature for them. It’s what makes Oaxaca, among other reasons, as interesting as it is.

After dithering over the phone issue during planning, after I arrived I decided I didn’t need a one. On this first trip, it wasn’t a problem. My family had numbers where they could reach me, I had wifi for email and it was enough. I’ll likely re-evaluate in the case of a longer stay, when I may know someone local to call.

I’m in better shape than when I left. I walked every day, often up inclines and hills at 5000 feet elevation, something I don’t do nearly as much at home at 2500 feet.

Entertainment & Cultural Events Everywhere

Shopping for Every Interest & Budget

More Local Color

On the subject of water:

I learned how a city with a severe water shortage handles distribution and use of the resource, particularly of interest to a California resident living with drought and the honor system now being used to cope with it. Water in Oaxaca is delivered by trucks to homes and businesses with tanks beneath and on the roofs of the buildings. Showers and taps deliver water in thin sprays which would seem unimaginably inadequate to most Americans, but which I found did the job perfectly well.

This trip confirmed what I already suspected, that this may be a turning point in my travel life and gentler journeys, likely to places I know and love already, will be my future.

Click here for links to all episodes of ‘Anatomy of a Trip: Oaxaca’

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