Planning? Sure, let's call it that...

Really not much to update but I thought I should check in.  Carolyn and Joe and I met at Blue Fox for breakfast and travel discussion.  Mostly breakfast, a bit of travel.

Joe and Carolyn at the Blue Fox 

Mostly me talking about my new 'washing machine'.  Back up a bit.  Carolyn had asked if there is laundry in the room/building.  I assume not (actually, I'm not sure I even checked brb...), nope, no washer.  I emailed the airbnb contact to ask if there is a laundromat nearby.  No response.

I am so used to washing my clothes in bathroom sinks, this wasn't really a consideration for me.  I just figured, if we are lucky, there will be a laundry line for drying on the roof, as per normal Mexico laundry facilities.  I did google laundromats in the near vicinity but there aren't any showing close to the apartment but that doesn't mean much. Most small businesses won't be on google  maps.

But Carolyn's question came to mind as I was poking around amazon for boxing day sales.  I happened upon the 'Scrubba' which is essentially a dry bag with a washboard built into it.  This is something I could have used over the last 10 years!!  I found it on super-sale so I bought one.  It hasn't arrived yet but I am pretty stoked.  Here is the scrubba info, do not look at the price, I DID NOT pay that much!

I did check some Oaxaca websites.  I found a UNESCO biosphere close by that I might want to visit.  Joe seems keen to go too but it would mean renting a car and another hotel/airbnb.  We'll have to see how the logistics work out.  Tehuacan-Cuicatlan Biosphere Reserve.   It looks pretty cool though. Lots of cacti.  Birth place of domesticated maize/corn.   Here are some pictures from this guy's website:

I have also emailed a Oaxaca Birding Tour organization (just today so no response yet) to see if they have a guide or tour available during my five guest-free days.

And other than those somewhat specific searches, I have scanned those 'top 5/8/10/15 things to do in Oaxaca' websites.  Lots of Mole (yes!), Mezcal (sure, why not), and Markets (my weakness, better bring a second bag).  3M isn't just for sticky notes!

It took some doing, but I found the apartment building on Google Street maps and had a look at the street.  Looks good.

 https://goo.gl/maps/TTwkFtqAGWP2

3 weeks to go.  

My spare room is almost full!

I haven't really done any planning yet, although I did buy two new pairs of capri pants from Sally Ann one day (I ripped the bum out of my old pair when I fell on a flower pot while mowing the lawn and didn't realize and proceeded to finish mowing, in public, buses, cars and pedestrians passing, with my capri-free bum on display, but I suppose that is not a Mexico relevant story, but still a good story so here it is...)

When I first mentioned that I was going to Oaxaca, I had a few friends hop on board.  In the planning stages, I was losing track of who was coming when so I created this awesome spread sheet.



So, as you can see, my friends Carolyn and Joe are coming down with me and taking the double bed room for the first 10 days.  Then, I have 5 days on my own.  Then my mom is arriving for most of the last two weeks.  And Shirley, who lives in Mexico now is coming to Oaxaca for a week to visit while my mom is there.  My two bedroom plan is working out exactly as I had hoped.

As you can see, there is still room!

Anyway, that's it for now.  I may do some research/planning after my life settles down (hahahahah, or not).  

Going to Oaxaca

It all started with a casual conversation with my mom.  We were talking about my aunt taking her kids and their spouses on a trip and we said, 'we should go on another trip'.  And my mom said, we should go to Oaxaca.  And I said, yea we should.  But she left it there. I did not.  I called her the next day to say that round trip flights are under $600.  Then I looked to see what an apartment would cost and called again with my results - cheap.  But mom was wishy-washy.  So, I said, well, I might just go by myself.  And then I booked that cheap flight.

This all basically happened over the course of a day, really an hour between looking up the flight and booking the ticket.

I found many decent looking apartments on airbnb but I decided to go a bit more expensive to get a second bedroom with two beds.  That way, I could invite friends to come and stay for part of my month there.  Within a day or two, I had some on board with this crazy plan.  Mom is coming for the second half, and Carolyn and Joe are coming for the first half.

Here is the apartment
And just in case, there are five airbnb apartments in this building.