Wednesday will mark three weeks since we arrived in Oaxaca. It was a three day rush to get here from Laredo and since then we haven’t moved. The big news is I bought a cup of rice pudding last night. Sylvia had some but Rusty and I had the bulk. 75 cents well spent.
It was fair enough as I got no chocolate cake at the campground when the residents celebrated the caretaker’s 63rd birthday. Calí (short for Calixto) cleans the toilets, empties the trash cans and trims the grounds. He is tireless and a bit of a tyrant as he takes muddy footprints in the showers personally. I mop the floor after I’m done even though I leave my Crocs outside the door while showering. Cali specializes in tough love.
We are a mixed bunch of French, Canadians, Germans,Poles and Mexicans. None as scared of driving Mexico as you might think. The campground owner, carrying the Coke bottle,is a vegan just to wreck our stereotypes! He spent the day catching wild cats and taking them to the vet to be neutered. They were all back prowling the bushes in the afternoon. Rusty ignores them.
I thought of Webb Chiles as I walked through Sam’s Club and passed a promotional stand for Scotch Whisky but Laphroaig was not on the menu. My sister lives in the top left hand corner of the map but I have never, oddly enough gone whisky tasting in the Highlands.
Halloween is not a big deal in Mexico but the Day of the Dead the next day is party central and Oaxaca is known for its extravagance.
I had a hard day driving Oaxaca on Saturday as the city streets are a shambles of torn up asphalt and holes. Imagine driving into this thing below. That’s why driving at night is very dangerous.
There was an accident on the way home when a propane truck went off the road and that created a massive snarl of Biblical proportions. I got back to the campground in not a great mood.
Oaxaca also has a truly peculiar habit of directing traffic to the left side of the road. Check it out as there’s a frontage road on either side but our two lanes are on the left. It is bizarre to the rational mind but you have to be on your damned toes! 
Anyway Guatemala seems to be opening up and the general strike seems to have depleted the country of food and fuel so the blockades seem to be coming down. Tuesday, all things being equal we will be in our way I hope. I feel like I’m putting down roots!
