Hola from Oaxaca — Christmas Eve, 12/24/25

December 26, 2025

Merry merry –

Having had our fill of latkes and Hanukah candles we headed to Mexico where Christmas is big!

Since we had been to Uruguay and Argentina (see travel notes) in October, we decided to make our annual Christmas travels simple, and Mexico seemed like a good idea for a shorter than usual Xmas, New Years, and birthday travel. As you know we usually make a stop in Geneva for Christmas with Mike’s family, but they were not planning anything this year and one of his nieces was supposed to be in Cambodia with family…. so we set out for a south-of-the-border journey. We picked Oaxaca because we had been to Mexico many, many times and criss-crossed the country driving several times… but somehow we never stopped in Oaxaca. We were initially just coming for New Years weekend; then realized that Christmas is such a big deal in Mexico. So it became Christmas into New Years in Mexico. Then we thought that maybe that was too long for Oaxaca (which we feared that while charming, had become very touristy) so we figured we’d come to Oaxaca for Christmas and then move on to Managua (Nicaragua) for New Years. But after making those plans, realized that Nicaragua is pretty hot, even in December and I melt at about 80 degrees. So after a lot of discussion, we headed to Oaxaca and the plans are as follows: three nights in Oaxaca, then on to Puebla and drive back from Puebla via Tehuacan (one night) and back in Oaxaca for another three nights (including New Years Eve). So that’s the plan.

And here we are. Arrived at about 2 pm after a midnight flight from SFO to Houston (which was late in leaving because of winds in SF) and then a three-hour layover in Houston (where lots of travelers were in cowboy hats and Christmas garb (interesting mix) and finally on to Oaxaca. So it was about a 14-hour journey. But we are here.

We took a taxi from the airport to the hotel and had some interesting conversation with the driver (using my limited Spanish. He’s lived in Oaxaca for 20 years, having moved here from Mexico City which he finds too large, too noisy, and moving too fast (muy rapido). He loves Oaxaca. When we explained we’d be going to Puebla he told us that Puebla thinks their mole is the best and Oaxaca thinks theirs is the best—some local town rivalry. He, of course, says Oaxacan mole is far superior to Puebla. Oaxacan mole has 32 ingredients and Puebla has just 23 (according to the taxi driver). We also asked about how he likes the president and he siad his whole family likes Scheinbaum. We said we didn’t like our president and he laughed. In another conversation he asked if this was our first time in Mexico. When we mentioned where we’ve traveled in Mexico on prior trips, he said we’ve seen much more of Mexico than he’s seen. But he loves Oaxaca–great climate, culture, people and nice pace.

We chose the Pug Seal Hotel which is very conveniently located about a block and a half from the main cathedral and the town square. It’s a sort of hip hotel with what I’d describe as “sophisticated funky” with great colorful graphics and paintings on the walls. The building itself is from the 1800s but the interior is very 2025. The rooms–about 20? (on two levels) are situated around a courtyard with a large decorative pool (not for swimming) and fountain. At one end are two swings. Breakfast is served around the pool.

After a quick shower and a little nap, we were off to see the town–focusing on the Zocalo, grabbing a quick bite for lunch, and people watching. The town was buzzing with lots of Christmas decorations, people walking everywhere. We headed back to the hotel to get ready for Christmas Eve dinner (at Nois) and a stop at the main cathedral to see the Christmas doings on La Noche Buena. We managed to catch the “calenda” and also the posada… the parade with floats reenacting the journey to find a place for the birth of baby Jesus (or so I think). Anyway the floats were great and there were bands following behind and lots of people creating a parade throughout the zocalo and throughout parts of town. I think the kids on the float were between 6 and 15 years old.

We went inside the cathedral at around 8 pm where a mass was going on and we also saw the “grandmothers” who apparently take care of a baby Jesus (dolls) during the year and then hold these dolls and parade around the zocalo and bring the baby dolls back to their own church and put it in the manger in time for the mass. We saw something similar in Quito when we were there years ago during Christmas. Needless to say, the main cathedral was packed and with many of these baby dolls.

We then lingered at the Zocalo watching all the action—including a hilarious performer who managed to cajole four guys into learning a dance that involved a lot of hip movement. As it turned out when he was asking them questions in front of about 75 people who had gathered around—two of them were Americans and one was German, and the fourth was Spanish-speaking but not from Oaxaca.. I think the Oaxacans who comprised most of the crowd of onlookers knew better than to volunteer. Anyway, the performer had the guys doing dances that involved squats and jumping. The crowd went wild. The performer’s Spanish was very paced and exaggerated, so I did pretty well understanding him.

And then it was time to head to our 9:00pm dinner at Nois–a two-story restaurant where the bar occupies the first floor. We climbed the elegant spiral staircase, where there are about 6 tables and then three small tables on a series of outdoor balconies. Initially we had a balcony table, but it got windy and a bit cold so we moved inside, which was a good idea, since the meal takes about 2.5 hours and it would have been really cold by dessert! While the building itself is probably about 200 years old, the interiors have been beautifully modernized by pretty good interior architects. Sheek, simple, concrete and wood, with some copper detailing. There’s an open kitchen with about 7 people moving about… and about an equal number doing the serving for the rather small number of tables. But serving there is a bit of an art… that matches the food. They gave us an English-speaking waitress who learned English by watching “Friends” on TV!

OK — THIS IS FOR THE FOODIES! After cocktails (I had a vodka drink called Arroz con Pollo which uses horchata and some bitters and some herbs), we began the 7-part meal—with all parts being rather tiny (thank goodness). First there was a bean and miso and corn soup accompanied by a decomposed taco with pumpkin and squash. Then we had “Ikejime Tataki with Gooseneck barnacle”. Apparently “Ikejime tataki” refers to a the fact that the fish that has been prepared using a Japanese method and cooked using a tataki technique which results in both a very high quality end product and is a precise and humane method of killing fish (!) that minimizes stress and suffering for the fish. It was very good. Then there was a strange but good turkey thing that was compressed into a cylinder about 1.5″ wide and 1″ tall. There was a mole sauce and cranberries and a perfctly prepared tiny “scoop” of sweet potato (in the shape of a taco)… then there was a tuna tartare taco (again, decomposed… followed by a wonderful Mayan octopus… Then a series of dessert like items: spiked fruit dish, a dish called “chinantla” which was a little like panna cotta but used finely ground white corn. It apparently needs to have constant mixing. There was a very long description and explanation by “Max” our waitress.. All I can tell you is that it was quite wonderful… and then for the finale, we had this thing they called “grandma’s table” which was a tiny (3/4″) cheese cake with some tiny morsels of fruit.. and a little teeny chocolate form. I’m glad they weren’t any larger. But each little bite was excellent.