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Pesquisa De Restaurantes

The drive and some highlights ...


Ecotourism, as we know it in the Ixtlán district of the Sierra Norte, may never reach the Mixe because of its distance from the city of Oaxaca amongst other factors. However, the Mixe still has many of trappings that attract travelers who want to get away from urban life and see different and pesquisa de restaurants more natural sights. In terms of material culture, the district may in fact be superior. Certainly, the drive, best handled as a two-day excursion, has much to offer to begin just as you start your ascent out of Oaxaca's central valleys.


What's in store should you venture off with your own or a rental vehicle for this 280-kilometer trek (round trip), are cave paintings; cascading springs; meals so fresh that the roadside eateries have no need for refrigeration; markets; by-products of the agave plant such pulque and mezcal; pottery in a style and color not often encountered in the state capital; and on a daily basis women wearing unique, regional dress.


The drive itself, without stops or side trips, takes upwards of 3 hours, beginning in Oaxaca and ending at the recommended final destination of Santa María Tlahuitoltepec. But it's the journey that holds much of the allure.


Driving from Oaxaca to San Lorenzo Albarradas, situated on the cusp of the Mixe, takes about an hour, and is accessible by continuing along Highway 190 beyond Mitla. The first sight of interest is Xaagá, a small village whose main industry is loom-made cotton scarves, shawls, and rebozos, as well as shirts and blouses, all wholesaled to middlemen or to merchants with stalls in Mitla, Tlacolula, el Tule or Oaxaca. Xaagá is also known for its 3,000 - 10,000-year-old cave paintings. For between 50 and 100 pesos you can hire a local to guide you right up them. The last several yards of the excursion are a difficult climb, so wear hiking boots or running shoes. Even if you don't do the final leg, the drawings will be quite close to you and easy to photograph. You can continue up the dirt road from Xaagá to the bubbling springs and "waterfalls" of mineral deposits at Hierve el Agua. Great for swimming, in one of two poolings reaching just over 6'. Unless you start out quite early, it's recommended that you stop at only one of these two sights, perhaps saving the other for the drive back, depending on the time available. If it's Hierve el Agua, it's best to take the alternate route by returning to Highway 190, especially during the rainy season, and in light of the ongoing dispute (an inconvenience only) between two villages each claiming the right to exact an entrance fee from tourists.


Back on Highway 190, after about 10 minutes you'll pass San José del Paso on the left, another marginal community whose residents eke out a modest existence producing cotton textiles. A few minutes later you'll encounter two quaint mezcal "factories," directly across the highway from one another, much more rustic and traditional than the larger more commercial facilities catering to tourists, which one encounters en route to Mitla. On balance, one of the two small facilities will be in full production, with the ability to witness a couple of the steps in the process, be they the agave baking in an in-ground oven, a mule crushing the cooked by-product, fermentation in pine vats, or the firewood-fueled still with the purest of mezcal dripping into a plastic or copper recipient.


If you miss the process, about 10 minutes further along the highway, just before the San Lorenzo Albarradas cut-off, on the left you'll come across another fábrica de mezcal, this one with a combined restaurant entitled Comedor El Tigre. No electricity and no refrigeration. Not needed. A very friendly family owns the place. Don't expect a menu, but rather the mother or her daughter-in-law rhyming off what's available for breakfast or lunch: memelitas, quesadillas, huevos al comal, huevos con chorizo, chorizo Asado, tasajo, cecina, or a daily stew. All safe. Served with beans, and of course, salsa made fresh before your eyes and served in its molcajete. Perhaps best of all is being able to pick up a tortilla straight from the comal over an open flame.


About a kilometer up the road you´ll find a sign directing you to the right to Hierve el Agua (by the alternate route). The last 15 minutes of travel to Hierve el Agua is on a dirt road, but a newly paved road is being cut through the mountain range.


Until this point in time in the trip the vegetation, since the approach to Mitla, has been mixed scrub, cactus, and some crops under cultivation, with agave predominating.


Back on the main highway, the next hour is spent gradually climbing to Ayutla, the first town of any significance in the Mixe. Vegetation quickly changes from agave to pine and other conifers and building construction from brick to wood. Large bags of pine charcoal for sale pepper the roadsides. On the approach to Ayutla, on your left, you'll discover the first of two or three pottery outlets.

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