The condo Janie stays at each year is a lovely little place. There are six apartments, all of which are rented by yearly returnees. They’ve created a lovely little expat community here. They’ve certainly taken care of Janie during this emergency. And I just learned they’ve compiled a list of resources to share with each other so that everyone can find a reliable doctor, driver, chemist, etc when needed. I love the spirit of camaraderie I’ve encountered already in the first few hours of my stay.

Two neighbors volunteered to take me out to breakfast the first morning. What a treat! And did I mention how warm it is here? Should have brought my Chaco sandals. It’s that warm! Our restaurant was completely within an outdoor courtyard, chock full of exotic plants and cactus. Sorry, forgot to take photos of the food. Next time…

And back to the condo.

When I returned, it was to be back in time for a meeting with Veronica, another of Janie’s adoptees. Veronica is a young Zapotec woman who has been doing custom embroidery work for Janie and some of her friends. Her designs are traditional but also push the bounds of the very strict vernacular style with a more stark graphic sensibility. She brought some samples for us to peruse.

It was a real treat to see her work.

Next, one of the neighbors walked me downtown, toward the central plaza in order to get pesos from the bank and to help me get my bearings in the city. Then she was off to do some errands. I was awarded hours of free time to walk, look, photograph, explore and simply discover the city for myself. It was, aside from the heat, a splendid afternoon.

I wandered around the Zocalo (central square), filled with vendors and all kinds of people out enjoying the day.

I wandered in and out of shops, among artisan tents and along quiet streets.

By late afternoon, I was exhausted but happy. So much beauty to take in! I found my way back to the condo and collapsed for a while. By 6 pm, Janie had another meeting lined up for us. This time with another young woman, Lily, who has been building a network of indigenous guides, artisans, restaurants and sites as part of her tours. She was recently noted by National Geographic as one of six “Notable Travelers” for 2024. I’ll try to find the article or a link or something for you in my next post. (It’s almost midnight and I’m running out of steam.)

After our meeting, bit of chat with Janie, a bit of cleaning up around the condo, a hot shower and then writing to you people. It’s been a full day! More coming tomorrow… especially because I found out there’s a rooftop patio here! I climbed up there before our meeting with Lily and found half the condo community up there having drinks and watching the evening light across the city and surrounding mountains. Wow! Pics from up there tomorrow perhaps. In the meantime, I’ll leave you with these three shots, my favorite of the day.

Hasta manana.