Delicacies in Oaxaca

Breakfast at our hostel was a mix of fruit, scrambled eggs, pancakes, and a pitch-black concoction that turned out to be mashed beans with cheese on top. On Saturdays, the Central de Abastos market is bigger than usual. You can find everything from screws and furniture to flowers, clothes, and meat. They even sell dried grasshoppers, which are considered a delicacy around here. We had forgotten what grasshoppers are called in Spanish, so we ended up hopping around with our hands to mimic the insect's jump. The Mexicans got a good laugh out of it, but we eventually found our way to the stalls selling the dried grasshoppers! :) It was a bit daunting to pop a grasshopper in my mouth, but surprisingly, it didn’t taste that strange... more like a crunchy mix of salt and sardine. After wandering around the market for a couple of hours without buying anything, we took a tourist bus (34 pesos per person) up to Monte Alban, an ancient city just outside Oaxaca, nestled in the mountains, which is now abandoned. The entrance fee is 45 pesos per person. Monte Alban is made up of a bunch of houses built from stone. You can’t go inside them, but there are signs outside explaining what their functions were back when the city was active and inhabited. Back in town, we had a late lunch. We found a new restaurant that served a daily menu. This is a great and inexpensive way to try different Mexican dishes. We had chicken and vegetable soup, enchiladas, and fruit juice for just 49 pesos per person. We’re in the process of planning the rest of our trip so that the days don’t slip away from us. We want to wrap up this journey with some beach time in Belize after visiting Mexico and Guatemala. However, we were quite surprised to find out that you can’t fly from Belize City (Belize) to Mexico City (Mexico). We haven’t fully decided on our route for the last few days yet, as we need to make sure we can fly back to Mexico City since that’s where we’ll be heading home from. It would take several days by bus to get back to Mexico City, but we’ll figure something out. It’s Saturday night, so we’re off to grab dinner and hit some bars afterward. We decided on an Italian restaurant where we tried something completely new... Casa de Pizza con banana. Pizza with ham, tomato, cheese, and banana surprisingly tastes really good! :) We also enjoyed some shangria, which is made with tequila down here. We ended up at the same bar as last night since it’s the most popular spot.