December 26, 2025: Dia Tres en Oaxaca

Hola!

Got off to a bit of a late start, and decided to try a new place for desayuno (breakfast), but it was closed. By then we were too late for the hotel’s breakfast so we strolled along and went to “a.m. siempre” (name seems to be in all lower case)–a small place along the way to our destination for the day. After some spicy huevos rancheros for me (and pancakes for Mike), we headed to the Jalatlaco neighborhood, which was about a 30-minute walk, which we knew would take longer because there’s always so much to see along the way to any destination. And sure enough, after just a block or two we stumbled on an intereting building which is now a large hotel (very fancy) called the Quinta Real — a sprawling 16th-century compound that was a former convent. Pergolas draped in bougainvillea, a large grass patio with a swimming pool, and traditional fountains; stone archways, what seemed like dozens of patios, it takes up an entire city block.

The guards were very nice and let us roam around and take photos. Then as we were about to leave, it started to get cooler and looked like it might rain. I went into the shop at the hotel and bought a tangerine-colored scarf which I felt could do double service—keep me warm and maybe dry. We strolled a bit further and then it really did rain, so we found ourselves huddled under an archway that led into the Quinta Real on another side of the hotel. We waited for about 30 minutes when the rain turned to a simple mist.. and headed on our way.

As is always the case in Mexico, the rain was brief and then the sun returned. So off we went to Jalatlaca; the route was pretty direct and we strolled through much less “manicured” areas of the city (but wouldn’t be surprised if they get gentrified in the coming years). Jalatlaco is one of the oldest neighborhoods in Oaxaca (from the 15th century); complete with cobblestone streets and very colorful murals. Apparently it had been a center for leather tanning. The neighborhood did not disappoint.

As we walked, I stopped into several shops (hadn’t bought anything yet, except the scarf). Many shops have the same items and the market also has those craft items. Anyway, in this little shop (about 100 sq ft) the woman was actually painting the details on one of the “alebrijes.” We’ve bought a few of these when traveling in other parts of Mexico, but I believe the story is that this folk art was begun in Mexico City in the 1930s and adopted by Oaxacan artists who carve them out of copal wood and then handpaint all the amazing detail. I spoke to the woman and found out that her brother-in-law does the carving–a craft he lerned from his father and grandfather. She does the painting of these animals that are only sold in this little shop (I’m sure this story repeats itself in many other little shops). She was painting a giraffe or maybe a dragon which she said would take her about 15 hours; other alebrije take even longer. We decided to buy three small birds that can hang in our house.

And just a few more images… can’t control myself.

We then tried to find the street that supposedly has mostly political murals; we found the street but there weren’t any political murals. Might need to do some more research and try again when we return to Oaxaca next week.

We then made a pitstop at the hotel; had the snacks they were offering (very nice goat cheese spread on a thin piece of homemade bread topped with very thinly sliced apple and topped with a walnut– quite yummy). Then I made an effort to start packing, which I’ll have to finish tonight, so that we will be ready for the drive to Puebla tomorrow morning. We’ve hired a driver (no tour, just driving) to make the 5-hour drive to Puebla. Then as we leave Puebla we will rent a car and self-drive to Tehuacan and back to Oaxaca.

As we walked across the Zocalo once again, it was packed with all sorts of bands, families, pop-up eateries and shops and ambitious sellers offering watches and clothing and hats and food. And the guy from yesterday who was teaching the men to dance was also there again with a new batch of folks volunteering or being cajoled to join in. Tonight they were all Mexicans!

We strolled to Brio, where we ate on the upper level terrace. It was in the mid 50s at best, so we ate with coats and had two heaters going —that worked intermittently. Brio was a last minute decision as we tried to get into a few other restaurants that were booked. We had only re-booked Xmas Eve, Xmas Night, and New Years. But Brio was actually quite good and now we are booked for all the nights next week when we return to Oaxaca.

We started with Brio’s version of a Oaxacan Margarita (with mezcal of course). It was sweeter than a typical margarita and also served more like a martini. It had a foam and some local herbs. We ordered the roasted tomato cream soup which was fantastic and then shared the short ribs which were in a black mole and cooked with some vegetables. It, too was very good. And we ended with cheesecake served with a caramel mousse on the side. Brio was a good choice.

We strolled back through the Zocalo at about 11:00pm and families were still out there–kids running around, bands playing. It was full of life. Imagine a city in the US

Ending now to finish the packing and get ready for an early start tomorrow. More from Puebla. Buenss Noches!

Fern