Hi again!

Its been a lovely weekend here in Oaxaca. After the six hour bus journey we went to the Zocalo (city square) for some dinner. We thought its time to try the local delicacies - big time. We took Mezcal as and appertizer. Both Silja and I thought its some kind of drink, but as they brought our drinks to the table we both gasped cos it was pure spirit that they gave us, Oro de Oaxaca, Gold of Oaxaca. It was a bit like Jallu though.. But we got so drunk that we couldnt even drink the whole glass. To add to the horror we took local food called Mole. Silja took it with rice and chicken and I had the local pizza version of it. It looked like mud! It wasnt that tasty.. Well, at least now we know what it is!

Oaxaca is a beautiful city and most of the population seems to be indians. At least they look like it. We havent yet found a "normal" supermarket in this town, i suppose there isnt one, because people here sell all kinds of stuff on the streets and theres also many markets, like in Helsinki we have Kauppahalli. I havent bought anything yet,except good food and fruits!

Yesterday we tried to go see the ruins in Mitla (one hour buss drive from the center) but we seriously didnt find them. There were lots of signs - each pointing to a different direction. We went through the markets there and just wandered around. It was a nice little village with many little three wheeled taxis. The journey there was also fun. We had to take the second class bus there and you can really see the difference here between first and second class. In the first class you have comfortable seats, air conditioning, movies.. etc. The second class.. haha, its an adventure! First of all, it was hard to find the actual busstation, the bus itself looked as if it would fall apart, they drove with the doors open -like maniacs and shouted at people, trying to get them on the bus even if they wouldnt go to that direction! When we came back from Mitla the bus did fall apart. We were lucky though, cos they got another bus there pretty fast. No drama there. The day was great even though we didnt find the ruins. Maybe we´ll see some anyway ..

We took a few hours nap and then i went to the roof of the hostel to take pictures of Oaxaca by night. There were two guys sitting and drinkin beer, so I asked them where i could buy some too. They said that its best to get some next to the reception, and so I did. I also went to wake up Silja for beer and then we joined Alfredo and Kevin on the roof. We had a great time drinking beer with them and teaching finnish (holokynkolokyn became agannagnainan). After we had finished our 1 litre beers we went to a local restaurant to eat. I got some pasta, so i´d be sure to get something that would get me stuffed, Silja took some weird pizza: banana, pineapple,ham,tomato. It looked wicked! Andprobably was really good,according to Silja. The guys were teasing us.

After having some good food we went to a local bar and as a suprise i was the last one with beer left.. the others wanted to leave already so Alfredo said that i should drink the rest with one sip. I wasnt too excited about that idea.. but then he started to shout Fondo!Fondo!Fondo!, that means "the rest" and the whole bar was clapping their hands and shouthing that, looking at me. I fuessed i had no choice so i did drink it up. I got good applause and shouts!

We tried to find a karaoke bar, but failed. (it seems that there are a lot of things hidden from us in Oaxaca...) So we went to a local disco and phew! it was HOT! We danced a lot ... and of course it was salsa etc. When we left we were dripping sweat and our clothes were wet all over. Didnt matter because we had so much fun!

The guys left for puerto escondido this morning, and were going there tonight with Silja. Funny thing is that Alfredo and Kevin are staying at the same hostel as we are. More dancing ahead then.. Also we hope to try surfing.

Our bus leaves at 21.30 tonight so before that we have time to eat, see some churches or go to find some other ruins. I hope my stomach ache is going to pass before the bus trip. Anyhow, were going to enjoy this town to the very end - its a really welcoming place.

love,

Liisa & Silja

p.s Mom! A girl called Kaisa is prob gonna call you and deliver our "oversized" package to you at the end of this month. It was delivered to our hostel in mexico City even though we told them that were leaving.. Stupid Air France..