Getting an early start, we showever and ate breakfast at a cheap place near the hostel, which is southwest of the Zocalo. Then we headed west to the periferico (a highway that partially encircles the downtown area - many cities in Mexico seem to have one) to find the street with colectivo taxis to the surrounding towns. We were looking for a ride to Teotitlan, the rug-making village. The taxi stand was empty, so we waited. A few minutes had gone by when a driver at the neighboring taxi stand offered to take us for 100 pesos, basically acting like a non-colectivo taxi. Not wanting to wait an indeterminate amount of time, we accepted.
About fifteen minutes later, we were standing in front of Teotitlan's church in the center of town. Serious about making a good purchace, we traveled from vendor to vendor around the church, taking pictures (after asking permission of course) of the rugs we liked in order to make accurate comparisons later. The detailed and ornate rug we eventually chose went for 1100 pesos (watch the video from this workshop!). In a different place we were talked into buying another nice rug for 500. Smaller purchases included some hot pads and a set of 10 coasters for 90 pesos. These prices were MUCH lower than what we had seen the first time we came here with the tour group, as we suspected.
We were fortunate to just catch a 2nd class bus heading back to Oaxaca, since the rickshaw taxis looked a little sketchy. The fare was a measly 10 pesos! We stored our purchases at the hostel and decided to head straight to San Bartolo Coyotepec, skipping lunch. There we intended to buy some "barro negro," the famous Oaxacan black pottery, at a studio called Dona Rosa's. Unable to find a suitable bus among the dozens driving through the market on periferico, we regressed a couple blocks south to the colectivo taxi street. There was no stand for San Bartolo Coyotepec in sight. Our last idea was to stand on periferico in an attempt to hail any passing colectivo cab with our destination written on it. Amazingly, we found one in a matter of minutes, but our success was quickly dampened when more people were shoved in. We now had six adults and two small children in a standard 4 door. Needless to say, I now know what it's like to sit on a gear shift.
Ten unpleasant minutes later we heaved ourselves out of our ride (which cost 10 pesos) in front of the municipal building, across the street from the church. Following the signs to Dona Rosa's, we backtracked a little, past the church, to a road with a bunch of crafts shops. 300 meters down the road sat Dona Rosa's. This place was huge, but the rain gods looked angry and we were starving, so we went around the shop quickly. Spending about 350 pesos on several pieces, we walked back to the highway and caught a 2nd class bus to some bus station in Oaxaca just a few blocks from the hostel. It began to pour just as we left the bus, so we ducked into an Italian place near the Zocalo for some pizza.
Once the rain had died down, we walked along Alcala and bought some "quadras" - cheap little paintings on brown paper that seems a bit like leather to me - from a street vendor (of which there were much less now that Guelaguetza had concluded). On the way back to El Quijote, we picked up a duffel bag for 150 pesos and made a last minute decision to buy a small bottle local mezcal - complete with the worm. Next we bought some chocolate and mole paste at Mayordomo. At the hostel, we packed our fragile things in bubble wrap and called it a night.
Getting an early start, we showever and ate breakfast at a cheap place near the hostel, which is southwest of the Zocalo. Then we headed west to the periferico (a highway that partially encircles the downtown area - many cities in Mexico seem to have one) to find the street with colectivo taxis to the surrounding towns. We were looking for a ride to Teotitlan, the rug-making village. The taxi stand was empty, so we waited. A few minutes had gone by when a driver at the neighboring taxi stand offered to take us for 100 pesos, basically acting like a non-colectivo taxi. Not wanting to wait an indeterminate amount of time, we accepted.
