(How about a coffee?)
I've been scrolling through Oaxaca photos lately and my eyes focussed on coffee shops and memories, so here's a compilation of 12 places to savour a cappuccino (and also check your emails, read a book, write a blog, rest your feet, visit with a friend, chat with a stranger, study Spanish, have a pastry, draw in your sketchbook, or sit and watch your fellow human beings living their lives).
It's Mexico, what's your rush?
#1. Some are tiny places with only three tables like our neighbourhood favourite El Volador, the cutest little pink building where I sat at the window one afternoon and did a drawing in my sketchbook of the aqueduct across the road.
#2. Café Del Teatro In the middle of a Spanish lesson my instructor and I left our notebooks and coffee mugs in a sudden rush to go look at the crowd marching in the street, noisy but nothing worrisome, just another teachers' protest.
#3. Café San Pablo My normally well-dressed teacher Luis apologized for his casual outfit the day we worked here, I think it was in 2013. The classes were usually at the school, but if I booked a private lesson it was often at a coffee shop. Luis was on his way to a beach holiday in Puerto Escondido right after my lesson. (Which meant an eight or ten hour drive to the coast.)
The ultra-modern cafe was built in the courtyard of an ex-convent San Pablo, a tranquil spot that welcomes quiet reading as the Spanish text explains:
Books are my breath, my life and my future.
In this place of faith and spiritual peace, drink a blessed coffee that will cure all your ills.
#4. Jaguar Yuu The name sounds like "how are you" in English. There was great food here, as well as in most of these places.
#5. Lobo Azul A McDonald's play area might have been nice for our little Mexican/German friends, Arthur and Matheo, but their mother knew there were toys provided here at the Blue Wolf.
The historical centre of Oaxaca is a designated UNESCO World Heritage Site so no international franchises are allowed. That's no McDonald's Happy Meals and no Timbits. I'm all for the strict laws that protect traditional character and charm, tacos instead of golden arches.
I've known Alejandra, their mother, since 2004 and have spent time with her in three countries. Maybe she'll let me tell her story in a future post.
#6. Nuevo Mundo This sunniest table was usually occupied but we grabbed it when we could, a secret window for watching the world go by.
An unwritten rule in all these places is that a cup of coffee allows you to stay as long as you want, long after your cup is empty. Refills are unheard of. The server won't bring your bill until you ask for it because it might look like you're being rushed. Life is pleasantly slow in Mexico.
#7. Café Blason High ceilings and great old plaster walls packed full of posters for cultural events, concerts, art openings, foreign films, theatre offerings, gallery exhibitions. All pre-Covid, not sure what the situation will be like now.
We needed wifi (weefee) and a password in those days, then were ready to happily settle in for an hour or so.
#8. Pan & Co This picture was taken years ago when we bought baguettes here at a corner coffee shop/bakery which sadly is now closed, quel dommage, no more French pastries.
#9. Café Brújula I painted this watercolour of the cactus in the courtyard of a popular hangout on the main pedestrian street.
Such stylish men you find in coffee shops. The young musician is cute too.
#10. Café Boca del Monte Here's the newest addition we found in January, 2020, just two minutes from our apartment that year (we tend to stay in different places nearly every visit). Where travellers go, coffee shops follow.
#11. Chepiche It's the very best one, an oasis that makes you want to live in this city forever. A gem of a courtyard in the neighbourhood of Xochimilco where Marisa and I ordered frothy Oaxacan hot chocolate.
#12. I haven't yet set foot in this scary little corner, just snapped the photo on my way by in the neighbourhood of Jalatlaco. Looks like it's Día de Muertos everyday.
These are just 12 of the many spots to hang your hat for a bit, loved by locals and travellers and offering refuge for the small price of a cup of coffee.
I hope you enjoyed the photos, they remind me why I want to go back to Oaxaca. The Covid situation has improved I hear and it's looking promising for a winter visit. We're hoping for Feb./22.
