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  • Writer's pictureSarah Fink

Day 189 - A Surprise Guest



We are now in Oaxaca, Mexico and LOVE it! It's been a long time since I have been this excited about a place. As soon as we landed, we immediately felt like we were in a good spot with the mountains and dry heat surrounding us. The colorful, well-kept colonial town is buzzing with charm and culture.


Getting here was a bit rough... when we arrived at the Cancun airport ticket counter on Wednesday morning, we were notified that our flight had been canceled and there wouldn't be another flight until the next morning. With no other options except to accept the later flight and their offer to put us up in an airport hotel, we begrudgingly went along with the new plan. We were bummed that we had checked out of our all-inclusive resort where we could have entertained ourselves with waterslides and cool drinks all day and we also had a pre-paid Airbnb awaiting us in Oaxaca sitting empty for the night. But the airport hotel was pleasant and we spent the day clocking in a full day of school and got plenty of zzz's for our 4 am wake-up call.


Mexico City's airport is not an entertaining place to pass the time with a 3.5-hour layover. We were surprised how confined and lusterless the terminal was for such a large hub. Our airline, Volaris, was modern and very COVID precautious, but the landing is what had Clint and me on the edge of our seats. Seconds before the plane was about to touch down on Oaxaca's runway, the cockpit door quickly opened and closed and the plane immediately shot back up and continued on a zig-zagged path up to high altitude. There seemed to be no rhyme or reason to the pilot's direction. With no communication about the reroute, the passengers were sent into a silent frenzy. We were all looking around at each other panicked and confused. The woman next to Clint was saying prayers and repeating the sign of the cross across her chest. Luckily, the kids weren't spooked because they were unaware of all the different scenarios that ran through our heads. When we finally landed 15 minutes later, the woman seated by Clint vowed that she would never fly again. Upon exiting, we asked the flight attendant what happened and she just shrugged her shoulders and said, 'weather‘.


Balloon vendors surround the town squares.


But now we are safe in beautiful Oaxaca, where warm smiles greet you, the colorful, freshly painted buildings invite you and friendly vendors sell their finely-crafted textiles, jewelry and art along the freshly swept streets. Oaxaca is hailed as "Mexico's Culinary Capital," so we have lots of eating on the agenda here.


The brilliant streets are filled with eye candy.


Our first meal did not disappoint. Before we could indulge, there was the full-body sanitation process where we were sprayed with sanitizer from head to toe (I'm pretty sure it was not organic!). The bottom of our shoes were cleaned and off we went to a beautiful balcony with splendid views of the Sierra Madre mountains. We had to try one of Oaxaca's delicacies— deep-fried grasshoppers called Chapulines. Crunchy, but not bad!


Before you dine, you must complete the full-body sanitation process.



Our biggest surprise was when we arrived to our Airbnb. I always enjoy the anticipation of what our next Airbnb will be like. Because I love architecture and interior design so much, it's always fun to see what each Airbnb's style, layout and special touches will be. Some places underwhelm and others exceed our expectations. This place was amazing and looked way better than its online photos. I knew the Airbnb would be more spacious and grand than our usual stays, but we didn't know that it would come with our own staff—this is a first!!

Upon arrival, the housekeeper was still inside. We found that surprising because we checked in a day late because of our canceled flight, so we thought the home would be ready. But after about an hour of the housekeeper coming and going from room to room, we got the impression she wasn't leaving. After piecing together messages from our host and the bits we were comprehending from the Spanish-speaking woman, we realized she was there to stay. Angeline is at our service to cook, clean, shop and tend to anything we need from 8 am to 3 pm daily at no extra charge according to our host. I guess I didn't read the fine print when booking!! I'm still not sure how I feel about all of this! I'm uncomfortable asking her to do anything, especially when I can do it myself. The house is so immaculate that I'm not sure what more she could clean. The first morning I started a load of laundry and left a dirty pile of clothes on the floor next to the washer. When I came back to put the next load in, sweet Angeline had already hand washed the entire load that was on the floor and it was hanging in the sun to dry. She's a step ahead of me!


Our Airbnb in Oaxaca.


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