Zaachila and Barro Negro Pottery
The second stop was in Zaachila, a little town that had a nice, peaceful Sunday afternoon kind of feeling.
We went to a huge old church. There was a funky little band of about 6 guys out front, wearing matching burgundy colored outfits and playing what sounded like Dixieland jazz.
Zaachila market bathroom ticket - 10 cents
There were feathered headdresses set out like perhaps someone was going to dance, and a bunch of little kids dressed in cute military-style uniforms with brass buttons. We thought they might be going to dance, but it began to rain and everyone scattered.
Zaachila dancer
We drove out to a typical tourist restaurant - it was huge. The seats were benches or tree trunks outside with wooden tables, under palm-leaf palapas. It was raining there too, but we were dry under our roof, and it never gets cold in Oaxaca when it rains.
We ate pretty good but overpriced food. I ordered chiles rellenos and a side of beans - no one bothered telling me that there were already beans with the chiles, so I had a LOT of beans.
I shared them with our Juan Maria, who told us stories about his worst clients (the French, according to him - he says they are standoffish and refuse to speak either Spanish or English. He said he told them they could speak Zapotec, his first language, if they wanted).
We went to the next tourist trap, San Bartolo Coyotepec, the site of the invention of the black "Barro Negro" pottery. It is low-fired and isn't good for holding liquids, but is quite beautiful and inexpensive for the amount of artistry that goes into it.
We stayed there far too long, about an hour, with the kiln smoke practically killing me. I bought 5 or 6 pieces - 2 balls, one pierced with stars and moons, for Laura's yard (she has a collection of balls out on her lawn - bowling balls, a gazing ball, etc., a vase for Greg's brother Ron who does ceramics, a box for Mom's collection, and a vase for us.
Then the ride back in the exhaust van. I came home tired and cranky.
Dr. Rodriguez gave a little massage, which was kind of nice and kind of freaked me out - my landlord massaging my back, I just didn't know if I was quite comfortable with that. I didn't know what to think. I was going back and forth between "is he acting like a doctor or a pervert?" I think I was just being paranoid because of this morning's encounter with the horny bus driver.
We went to a huge old church. There was a funky little band of about 6 guys out front, wearing matching burgundy colored outfits and playing what sounded like Dixieland jazz.
Zaachila market bathroom ticket - 10 cents
There were feathered headdresses set out like perhaps someone was going to dance, and a bunch of little kids dressed in cute military-style uniforms with brass buttons. We thought they might be going to dance, but it began to rain and everyone scattered.
Zaachila dancer
We drove out to a typical tourist restaurant - it was huge. The seats were benches or tree trunks outside with wooden tables, under palm-leaf palapas. It was raining there too, but we were dry under our roof, and it never gets cold in Oaxaca when it rains.
We ate pretty good but overpriced food. I ordered chiles rellenos and a side of beans - no one bothered telling me that there were already beans with the chiles, so I had a LOT of beans.
I shared them with our Juan Maria, who told us stories about his worst clients (the French, according to him - he says they are standoffish and refuse to speak either Spanish or English. He said he told them they could speak Zapotec, his first language, if they wanted).
We went to the next tourist trap, San Bartolo Coyotepec, the site of the invention of the black "Barro Negro" pottery. It is low-fired and isn't good for holding liquids, but is quite beautiful and inexpensive for the amount of artistry that goes into it.
We stayed there far too long, about an hour, with the kiln smoke practically killing me. I bought 5 or 6 pieces - 2 balls, one pierced with stars and moons, for Laura's yard (she has a collection of balls out on her lawn - bowling balls, a gazing ball, etc., a vase for Greg's brother Ron who does ceramics, a box for Mom's collection, and a vase for us.
Then the ride back in the exhaust van. I came home tired and cranky.
Dr. Rodriguez gave a little massage, which was kind of nice and kind of freaked me out - my landlord massaging my back, I just didn't know if I was quite comfortable with that. I didn't know what to think. I was going back and forth between "is he acting like a doctor or a pervert?" I think I was just being paranoid because of this morning's encounter with the horny bus driver.
posted by Suebob at 4:38 PM
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