Oaxaca is a place I have wanted to visit for a long time. Unfortunately, the last time I drove through the area on our way to Panama in 2006 it was not advisable... the teachers were on strike, occupying the city, and violent. This time things had changed: The teachers were on strike again, they were occupying the city again (with tents covering just about every inch of downtown), but there was no violence. So while I couldn't see some of the city because of the tents, I could still enjoy it.
My hostel in Oaxaca, Hostel Don Nino, was great. The room was nice, the location (across the street from a park) excellent, and the owner, Fardi, was a biker. He had his Harley parked in the lobby, so I figured I would fit right in.
Oaxaca is know as one of the best places for food in Mexico. A couple of women I had met in Tulum told me about a cooking class and this was the first thing I signed up for. There were two of us in the class: me and a young Dutch girl named Mieka. Unfortunately, the restaurant owner -- Oscar -- was a bit of a pill. Fortunately Mieka and I decided we were going to have a good time despite his sour mood.
We started off deciding on the menu: Pumpkin soup, mole, quesadillas, and homemade chocolate ice cream with chile. Then it was off to the market to buy the ingredients. This was one of the most interesting parts of the class.
Three hours later it was time to sample our wares, and we discovered we had done a hell of a job!
The next day I borrowed a helmet from Fardi at the hotel and Mieka and I went to explore the ruins at Mitla, about 20 miles away. These ruins are famous for the intricate mosaics and stonework. Mieka put an interesting perspective on the 700 - 900 year old ruins by pointing out that at the time these were being built there were already great cathedrals all over Europe. 
We stopped for lunch at a great restaurant that was also a mezcal factory and did a little tasting of the local product. While Mieka drank all the mezcal, I got to sample the worms from the bottom of the bottles. Yum !
Unfortunately, at this point I began having a bit of bike trouble. We had been intending to go to some hot springs, but El Pinguino decided to catch a fever; in other words, an overheating problem. So back it was (slowly) to Oaxaca to sort it out. The Kawasaki dealer (like most of them) was useless. This was on a Friday and they told me they couldn't look at the bike until [maybe] Tuesday! Thanks guys... I'll certainly let all my biker friends know how helpful you are.
They did, however, suggest another shop down the road. It turned out that the owner, Ricardo Leyva, is a friend of the hotel owner and he was super. I needed a new thermostat, fan relay, and fan switch. Unfortunately only the relay was available. Fortunately, in warm weather the bike runs fine without a thermostat and Ricardo was able to wire in a manual fan switch that I just needed to turn on when riding in the city.
I have to give this guy credit: He really did a first-rate job of wiring, soldering, and everything else. He spent most of the day on Saturday on the bike and in the end charged me about $65.
What a guy!
The following day I visited the cultural museum in Oaxaca, built in an old monastery. It was very well done, with a great history of the area. And some interesting artifacts left by the original inhabitants.
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