Oaxaca Journal, Day 3

Only Day 3, and I'm already taking a sick day?

Felled by a stomach/intestinal infection, last night was a painful and violent two-way. Call it Moctezuma's Revenge, Delhi Belly or plain old TD, it seems to have finally abated after a sleepless night. But, once again, I need to catch up on some sleep. I'm looking at a chill day, with the possibility of another evening foray exploring Oaxaca.

It was really disappointing to cancel what I figured to be an interesting day trip to Octlàn de Morelos. But I look at the bright side - it's only a 12-24 hour bug. My sister and her husband recently traveled to Hawaii, only to discover that they had arrived with COVID-19. They were stuck in their lodgings, and were not able to enjoy much exploring.

Compared to that, this is a cakewalk. Ewww, cake. Yukko.

Today's Struggles
I barely survived a twenty minute walk down to the supermercado, where I wandered about aimlessly, not quite sure what I was doing or even why I was there. Kind of felt like I was getting a little heat stroke, so I found a place to sit and gather myself. My blood pressure and heart rate well above average.

I ended up buying some chili poblano soup in a carton, some tortillas, a couple of bananas, strawberry kefir, and some microwave popcorn. I'm more than a little concerned about gout, I have a tiny tingling in my foot and some minor cramping going on. I'm feeling like it's left over from the 12-hours of aches, pains and vomiting I suffered, combined with a lack of sleep. I read that taking Pepto-Bismol can make gout worse - so I stopped. Instead, I got some Metamucil with psyllium husk, hoping that might 'solidify' things a bit.

Getting home from the market was much better than getting down there, I considered taking a cab, but instead managed to stay cool by walking on the shady side of the streets and taking a back way to my apartment. Climbing the steep sidewalks actually felt good, in a 'North Beach' way.

I'm still a bit disoriented. It's 5:00 p.m. and I'm at my apartment. I ate the popcorn and had a banana and some kefir. Maybe after the sun goes down I'll saunter down Calle Panoramica and look for something to eat. I'm pretty skittish about eating right now. For some reason Mexican bread seems pretty tasty right now.
***********************************

Out Again In My 'Hood
Down the street a bit there is a little nicey-nice restaurant, surprising for this residential neighborhood. Wonderful atmosphere, patio view of the city, one of those places tourists might 'discover', since most of them stay closer to downtown. It's called Humito (Little Smoke)

I finally got to try memolitas, in fact three of them. A "memelita de frijol" is a special appetizer (antojito) that is prepared with a raw corn dough tortilla folded like a quesadilla, filled with black bean paste and cooked on a griddle. Mine came topped with cheese and meat - two with beef and one with chicken. If I was to do it over again I'd go with the chicken, much more savory.

I spent about a hour and a half at Humito, digging the vibe. I came back out on my street after asking for the check (puedo traer la cuenta, por favor), and started heading back to the house, with a very full belly. I've decided that my 'baptism by vomit' last night has steeled me for the rest of the trip.

I also got a glass of fresh squeezed lemon juice and a big pestle bowl full of guacamole, which many avocados give their lives for.

Back Out In "My" Neighborhood
A bit busier in the old 'hood tonight, what with it being Friday. I came upon a small group of abuelas and young giggling girls with their mamas, definitely Oaxaqueño, that were being handed cups of a white concoction by two abuelas - probably my age. It seemed like trick or treat, the children were excited as they continued past me, clutching their cups. I happened to be passing the open door as they left, when one of the abuelos offered the same to me. She was very happy I accepted, and she explained what it was all about, but I didn't understand. I saw a shrine just in the door, and asked if they were celebrating Nuestra Senora. Then I asked if I could step in and look at the shrine in the tiny entry room. I was surprised to see a group of young girls, ranging from 5 to 10 years old, lined up sitting on a bench. It was like thirty pairs of eyes, all trained on El Guero! Seems that they were waiting for more visitors. It was definitely a festive atmosphere. I inspected the home-made shrine up close, mumbled something like "muy hermosa!" - and bid them all adieu.

I continued my walk home, sipping the concoction which the abuela had described - all I caught was "aqua". It's milky colored, somewhat sweet, and has little nuts and pieces of melon floating about. NOTE: Later I discovered that it was rice horchata with melon and walnut, chilacayota, striped lemon, and stuff. I'm wondering what this date means in the Catholic calendar, and all I could find is that it's the fifth Friday of Lent.

Back in my digs for an early Friday night. Was surprised that my step count was this high - so many of them were pretty rough. But I'm feeling hopeful that a good rest will put me back in fine form. I'm hoping to check out the Teatro Macedonio Alcalá - which is an amazing edifice - they are screening Verdi's "Falstaff" (Met Opera) at 10:30am. Mainly, I just wanna see the interior.