To all the chocolate lovers

My blogging frequency has declined. For that, I say "lo siento", that means "I'm sorry" in Spanish. Bet you didn't know that by reading this blog you are also increasing your Spanish vocabulary.
I've just been so busy! So much to do, see and eat. However, I'm filled to the brim with tacos and could care less if I ever eat one again. But something tells me I will.
The experiences have been whizzing by and I keep thinking, "ooh, that would make a good blog post", then I get back to the hotel with good intentions to blog, but instead I end up falling fast asleep.
So I'm going to compress the highlights from the last couple weeks.
After Acapulco, we drove to Puerto Escondido, which is a surfers paradise. Surfers from all over the world flock here to ride the waves. And waves they were! Oye!
These dudes were consistently catching tubes. Amazing to watch...

After a night and day there, we were off to Oaxca. It was a long, windey road. And by windey, I mean REALLY windey! The journey took us 7 hours and no one got car sick.
We climbed to an elevation of 5,100 feet as we felt the temperature drop. I dug out my wool sweater and didn't put it away for a few days after. We passed countless little villages along the way . It felt like a whole new world. A part of Mexico that I doubt a lot of people know exists. The "real" Mexico. Their charming houses are made of wood, almost Swiss chalet-like.

We were enamored with Oaxaca and ended up staying for 5 days.
They have coined it the "culinary capital of Mexico", for good reason.
Our taste buds thoroughly enjoyed our stay .
The most famous vittles is called mole, which is a sauce made from ground up peppers and chocolate, among many other ingredients. The locals smother meat in this dreamy concoction and even spread it over pizzas and tortillas.
Oh. My . Goodness.
I can't describe how yummy it is. You'll just have to go and taste it for yourself.

There was this awesome market called "20 de Noviembre" in the middle of town where we liked to eat every night. It's filled with food stalls. Take your pick. A foodie's paradise. 

During the day, we usually scavenged on street tacos.
Oh, I couldn't mention Oaxaca without mentioning the CHOCOLATE. This place is a PMS- ing girl's heaven.
If you love chocolate, do yourself a favor and board a plane and get down to Oaxaca. You'll be glad you did. You might come back a few pounds heavier, but it's all worth it.  Unless, that is, you can afford the ticket to Switzerland. The chocolate is a hair better there. Your choice.
While snooping around one afternoon, we picked up the scent of rich chocolate and followed our noses. We discovered a street abundant with chocolate shops. I felt like I was walking through Willy Wonka's chocolate factory .
I got high off the seductive smells of chocolate. Mayordomo is supposed to have the best chocolate in town, so of course we had to make a pit stop (or 3) there.
The minute you walk in, there's a smiling Mexican girl with a sample of their delicious fudge on a little plastic spoon. Don't mind if I do!!
I'll tell you this, it's pretty yummy . The chocolate making process is done right there in the open so the curious can witness this miracle in action.

Dinh and I sat down, made ourselves comfortable and ordered a cup of chocolate con leche. Hot chocolate. I think I said "oh my gosh, this is so good", after every sip. I was wishing the cup would never end. By far, the best hot chocolate I've had in 32 years. They serve it with an egg yolk bread, that is meant to dip in the creamy goodness. It's a beautiful combination. It just works.

In Oaxaca, there are also these amazing thin pizzas called tlayudas, they are delish! They're even adorned with edible flowers.

Ok, so we stuffed ourselves with chocolate, what's next?
We made it a point to talk with plenty of the indigenous ladies in town, scattered around the city center selling their handmade goods. Wearing traditional garb, they were a pleasure to interact with. Very warm and light hearted. Tzotzil is their first language, but they also understand Spanish. It's sad to think that this tongue is quickly dying out. Dinh had the local ladies rolling in laughter as he attempted to learn the basics of this language. A people person, that guy is.

You can catch them stitching away on beautiful embroidered shirts and dresses and selling them for so little, compared to the time and effort they put into it.

Another point to mention, the entire time we were in Oaxaca, there were large platoons of teachers protesting the pay and education reform. The army and police were out in full force to make sure nothing got out of hand.
On our way out, the teachers blocked the road for an hour and a half while they protested.

After Oaxaca, we drove to the Cuajimoloyas, which is a little village set even higher in the mountains at 10,400 feet. We stayed in an adorable little cabin. Dinh suffered heavily from the cold and altitude. It was much cooler up in these majestic mountains. We stayed in an adorable cabin with a fireplace. I loved it. "Look at this place, Dinh, it's so cute! Don't you think?!", I exclaimed as I danced around our house for the night.

"Yea, it's great.", Dinh said sarcastically . I look over and see him laying on the bed, huddled under a blanket. This boy does NOT like the cold, let me tell you. He's not used to such high elevations, being a creature that's always lived at nothing higher than sea level. He had a crushing headache the entire time.
I dragged him out of bed like a caring girlfriend and we went to explore the teeny town.
We petted a donkey and talked to little kids.

Locals were celebrating "Dia de la independencia", which signifies their independence from Spain.
We stumbled upon a basketball court where the local boys were playing basketball and soccer. I crashed their basketball game, since it looked like it needed a little spicing up. Don't worry, I asked before. "Se puede?" (May I?),  I asked. The boys nervously snickered and obliged.

That night, we snuggled together under 14 blankets after the sun set, taking all the warmth with it. Our cabin grew frigidly cold as our fire died out when we fell asleep and neglected it. Bummer.
Because Dinh was nothing short of miserable with his headache and hatred for the cold, we decided to hightail it out of town and headed to San Cristobal De Las Casas. It was my favorite town in all of Mexico. And because this post is getting too long and the town deserves it's own post, I'll stop here.
Until next time my amigos!!!