I love the colonial architecture and lively streets in this city, but sometimes you just want to escape into the stillness of the surrounding hills.
We used to search out hikes on our own but it involved a lot of work, first asking people where exactly we could find the right colectivo to get us out of the city.
(The colectivo driver will continue to pick up passengers until he has his maximum of five adults - babies and small children on laps don't count - which means the passenger in the front may need to shift over to ride on the gearshift console, shoulder to shoulder with the driver. I've done it. So has Dave. It's cozy but not comfortable, and Covid has fortunately put a stop to that bargain transport for us.)
When we exit the colectivo/taxi we still have to stop several times along the way to ask directions to find the start of the elusive path - an opportunity to chat with locals in Spanish which I never shy away from.
It's worth the trouble, the hikes are a pleasure, and we've never been lost or had any remotely scary experiences. You can't get lost if you follow an aqueduct, and in spite of the stereotypes of a country inhabited mainly by drug lords, we only run into polite Mexicans, and shy campesinos going about their business, sometimes with a donkey loaded with firewood walking alongside them.
We liked the sense of discovery and satisfaction when we hiked without a guide in past years, but we're getting older and lazier, and maybe a touch less adventurous.
Now we let Larry look after everything.
He's the guy who organizes hiking routes, provides a nice van and driver to get us to the trail head, rounds up interesting companions - usually other foreigners, mainly grey-haired - and finds good rural restaurants at lunchtime.
His popular hiking program started in 2011 and after a two-year Covid hiatus, is going strong again. It's affectionately known as Hoofing it in Oaxaca and offers a variety of guided hikes, usually 7-10 km total distance.
We pay about $15 each and the proceeds from the hikes go to the OLL, the Oaxaca Lending Library, an important hub for English-speaking expats and visitors - it's the place for information, concerts, fascinating lectures, housing tips, English/Spanish language exchanges, meeting new friends, and borrowing books - all in English.
(I used to think "Lending Library" was a bit redundant. Then I learned Mexican libraries often don't allow books to leave the premises, people do their reading and research on-site.)
The pictures below are from our walk just a few weeks ago, an organized hike with a group of ten and leaders Albi and Marianne. Such a pleasant and peaceful morning, balancing on the rocks on ten stream crossings, the water was low and barely running during this dry season.
We ended at a restaurant terrace on the edge of a dam where we shared a lunch with new friends who had just moved from Florida to live permanently in Oaxaca.
More photos from overnight hikes in the mountains coming in another post.
