Day 3 - Shopping frenzy.

Charlotte, Russ, Kathy and I started the day with a trip up to a place where there make ¨black pottery¨. Oaxaca is very famous for it. The firing process produces a distinctive black, almost metallic sheen. Almost looking like hematite. Too porous for eating from, this pottery is meant for decoration only. Many pieces are decorated by cutting through to produce intricate patterns. It´s very beautiful. We didn´t get to see anyone in action, but Charlotte talked with a little old woman who makes it. She was so cute. Charlotte had taken a photo of her. I later saw her undo her long braided hair and re-do it. Having someone photograph her, seemed to make herself conscious of her looks for the first time in probably a long while. She showed us her ¨potters wheel¨.I wish I would have gotten a photo for it was nothing but a small plate on a saucer. There was no mechanism of any kind. Just two plates balanced on top of each other. Being a former potter myself, I can´t begin to imagine how much skill it must take to make the precisely symetrical pottery this way.

The prices on the black pottery are very reasonable here for this is where it´s made. If you come across the pottery elsewhere in Mexico, it is more expensive. Not a lot makes it to the US for it is fragile. I´m hoping mine survives the plane trip home ;)

We then stopped by and had a snack at a road-side stand serving roticerie chicken. It was incredibly delicious and so cheap, it was practically free!

The whole time we were in the area, we heard firecrackers that were as loud as gun shots. There was a church across the street that was in the middle of some celebration, maybe a religious ceremony. We walked over to find young men liting rockets with cigarettes, letting them go from their hands! They certinly weren´t bottle rockets, they were roman candles or something. Certainly an accident waiting to happen!

After the black pottery extraviganza, we headed back to town and had lunch. I didn´t know what to get, so I asked the waitress what she recommended. She pointed to a few things and I finally just said Ï´ll have THAT¨. Not knowing what I was going to get for we couldn´t understand what she was saying. After looking up the dish I got, I discovered it traslated to ¨shellfish¨. What they brought, was a huge foil pouch on a plate filled with steamed shrimp, octopus, squid(?), a whole small crab and a large piece of white fish. The sauce was tangy and spicy. It was a treat! After lunch, us girls headed over to a few markets for some shopping.



At the Warez Market, there was a large indoor area as well as streets lined with vendor stalls. Selling everything from pork rinds, meat, fish, peppers, cheese and grasshoppers to jewelry, clothing and everything else you can think of. The streets surrounding the area also had vendor stalls. We came across a great black pottery stall.



I bought a ton of bracelets to sell at festivals this year. Some regious themed, some made of the black pottery.



After hitting another market on the way back, we were shopped out! We headed dwn the street to catch a cab, stopping off at a cantina along the way. THAT was an experience! Typically, just a male-only hang out, we were quite the hot commodity in there ;) The only women that can be found in a cantina are prostitutes or tourists.



We came back to the hotel and rested a bit. I did a little henna design on Kathy.



Charlotte, Russ and I then headed out to the park up the street. For $1.50 USD, we got a single order of beef tacos from a street vendor. You got 3 and they were filled with fresh cilantro, cheese, onions and a bit of hot sauce. Muy beno! We then headed over to a tamali place for MORE food!

Now to sleep...