I hadn’t traveled completely solo in years. I bought this flight to Oaxaca City during Buen Fin, Mexico’s version of Black Friday and used credit card points to book a cheap hotel.
In reality, I nearly forgot about this trip until an email reminder appeared and my gut sank, considering that I was going alone to a place I’d only been once before with a group. I knew that my plan was to go to a village outside of Oaxaca that was known for making textiles, but other than that, I had made no plans. And I didn’t plan to make plans.
I wrote on Reddit for some advice on getting to the village for textiles, and received many helpful responses, including one telling me to try to not miss a Sunday market in another nearby village.
On Sunday morning, I finished packing my bag and called an Uber to the airport. Easy, breezy through security, found my gate, and then headed to the airport lounge for a small breakfast (Thank you Chase Reserve Sapphire card!).
I love the Oaxaca airport. It’s so small that you walk out onto the tarmac and into the tiny airport. It’s so simple and cheap to hop on a collectivo there. There is a stand near the exit, you walk up, tell them where you are going, they check which “section” of the town it is in to determine your price, and ask if it’s okay to go in a shared collectivo (for me, of course). You also have the option to order a private car there.
On the bus ride, I reviewed this Sunday market I was told about and decided that I would try to make it for the end. It was around 1:30 and I could make it there by 3:00 and have time to wander and be back on a bus before dark back to Oaxaca.
I settled into my humble but perfectly cozy hotel room, sorted a few things and grabbed a bag to head out to find my way to the bus. I asked the hotel portero for help on where to go to get the bus.
I was staying in the south end of Centro, so I was told to go to the Terminal de Autobuses Oaxaca Rosa and find a bus/collectivo there.
I hurried over to catch one to Tlacolula de Matamoros for the big market. I did ask someone for help to make sure I ended up on the correct bus/collectivo. I caught a bus, that took about 45 min bus ride with many stops. This was around 20-25 pesos. I made it there around 2:30-3:00, enough time to walk through and enjoy the market. It was a lot of food and clothes. I didn’t buy anything, but did stop for barbacoa tacos de Tlacolula. Very delicious! On the way back, there is a bus terminal from Tlacolula to Oaxaca. They came every 15 minutes or so, and cost around 20 pesos.
On Tuesday, I went to Terminal de Autobuses Oaxaca Rosa to go to Teotitlán del Valle. Unfortunately I had a bit of a late start to the day. I asked a man for help to know which bus/collectivo was the right one, and he was going to Teotitlán del Valle too, so we waited and got on the collective together. This was 20 pesos. The collectivo can drop you off in the centro area of Teotitlán del Valle (versus the bus, stopping only on the highway with a 2 mile road to centro – taxis and tuktuks available to help). The man told me where to exit, one block from centro, and suggested a restaurant for me.
The town was very empty (it was a Tuesday after all). I went to the restaurant El Descanso and had a lovely black mole chicken dish. It was very nice, sweet and a bit spicy mole. They also let me charge my phone. The restaurant also has a store on the first and second floor, so I wandered a bit. I talked to the man who owns the store, also one of the weavers from a generational line. They had many large rugs on the second floor.
From there, I headed down the street toward Centro. Stopping at each tienda along the way on the right side of the street. In each tienda, I was greeted with a huge smile and an incredible amount of help, as they sorted through colors of purses/blankets/rugs for me to look at. The store owners were very kind and wanted to ask me many questions (luckily my Spanish is strong), so I chatted with each of them for an extended time.
One of the stores I visited, the man had a loom along with all of the natural elements that they use to dye the fabrics. He told me all about how they only use natural elements and had me hold out my hand to give me an example. He added some red powder (from a mineral, I believe), then a bit of water to dilute it down. Added some lemon, and the acid changed the color. Then he added some blue pigment (maybe from a flower?), and it turned into a gorgeous purple. The science of the color wheel on my hand 🙂
In the final store, I talked with a lovely couple for over an hour. We shared stories, and talked politics of the USA and how it will affect Mexico (in a tactful manner). We exchanged information to get together next time I visit. 🙂
In total, in approximately 3 hours, I made it a half a block and into just 5 tiendas (jaja!!). I enjoyed talking with the tienda owners as much as I enjoyed looking at the textiles. I ended up buying a bag, a purse, a pillow cover, 2 headbands and a blanket.
I will be returning soon to visit the remaining areas outside of the half block I now know. Hehe 🙂
To return to Oaxaca, I took a taxi back to the highway. The taxis in Teotitlán are shared, so we stopped and picked up two more people along the way. Be aware of this – I wasn’t expecting it, but also had no issue. The taxi was 10 pesos to return from Centro to the highway. Once at the highway, a man pointed me to the correct collectivo to catch back to Oaxaca.
I got off at a street a few blocks from my hotel while we stopped at a red light. I hopped out quickly as not to disturb the ride- checked my bags and realized I’d left my new bag + blanket I’d just bought in the bus. So I ran back and grabbed it. Thankfully I noticed immediately, so that would have been a sad ending to such a nice trip.
Thank you all for the advice (I hadn’t traveled solo in many years so I was a bit nervous). Of course, everything always works out – exactly as its supposed to, even when it’s only a half a block and really lovely conversations.
