No pics for this post, so if you're looking for images, you can go back to Spider Solitaire.
Dan and Tere invited us to join them for dinner at one of Dan's fav restaurants Sunday evening, on the north side of town. When they arrived at our apartment, driving Tere's new Toyota Rav 4, they came inside for a pre-dinner drink. As we settled into a chair in our living room, we heard horns blowing and shouting, and went to the street to see if Tere had parked badly. The bus driver, stopped directly in front of our apartment door, was lying on the horn. A little excessive even for Oaxaca. The cause? Two cars in front of the bus, stopped in the street, and all the passengers from each car were out of their cars and close to a fist fight. One guy had a bat in his hand, but didn't appear ready to use it. As we watched the fight, we realized that the second car had rear-ended the first car. Why don't they just move, and let traffic pass? A small crowd gathered, all of us shaking our heads at the arugment in the street, the bus driver trying to get them to move their cars, and the two drivers and all their passengers shouting and pushing. Eventually, a police truck arrived, and we learned that the cause of the argument was the drunken state of the driver of the second car. The police got the cars moved over, and the bus finally was able to go on it's route. Too much excitement for a Sunday afternoon.
Tere drove us in her new car through the otherwise quiet streets, to El Fortincito resaurant. Dan, who has just returned from two weeks in San Antonio for work, had a craving for carnicitas. It's an old restaurant, with old pictures of the city hanging on the walls. Dan and Stuart ordered the carnicitas. Tere ordered estofado with lingua, a dark, rich, sweet mole with tongue. I ordered a chile relleno, thinking that this cook would have great skill with a stufffed chile. I was right. The chile de aqua (a local green pepper) was filled with a delicious shredded pork mixture, served with a salad of sliced tomato and cucumber, a thick piece of lime to dress the salad. The carnitas, roasted pork pieces, were swimming in salsa de aquacate, avocado salsa. It was the best salsa de aquacate I've ever tasted. Tere's estofado was so good, when she finished and had left some sauce on her plate, I wouldn't let the waitress take her plate! I had to finish the sauce with my spoon. The tortillas were hand made, light as a feather. A beer each, and the tip, the meal came to about $16US per couple.
Afterwards, Tere drove north, through the San Filipe neighborhood, and showed us where she lived for more than 20 years. She now rents the house on a quiet street to a group of doctors. This is the far north side of the city, and from here we can look down the valley to see part of the city. San Filipe is the richest neighborhood in town, with quiet streets and grand old hotels set under giant trees behind the tall brick walls.
There is a national park up here. On past visits to the city, we've often packed a day pack with lunch and water, caught the bus north, and spent the day hiking in the mountain, stepping across little streams and passing waterfalls. Strange that there would be water up here, when just outside the park the desert rules. But, now the park is closed and we don't know why, or for how long. Tere says she'll ask around.
Earlier today, Stuart and I walked through the center of town to the northwest side, and climbed la escalera, the steps, up to the auditorium overlooking the city. From up there, if you walk far enough along the road, you can see the entire city, where the three valley's come together. The haze was thick today, not good for a view. But, it was a sunny, warm day. As we walked down the mountain, and back through the zocalo, our favorite Sunday event was happening...the local symphony was playing! We thought they were finished for the year, and were pleasantly surprised to hear the last of the program including four dances from the Nutcracker. Perfect end of a long hike!
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