It looks like we're leaving Oaxaca tomorrow for the Sierra Norte. Many of the small mountain villages there have built eco-lodges and offer guided hikes, bird-watching, mountain-biking, etc. as a way of encourging tourism and getting some income. It will be a chance for Harv to get out of the city and do some astronomy, and a chance for both of us to spend some time outdoors.
We'll also be leaving the expatriate community here in Oaxaca which is centred around the Oaxaca Lending Library. The Oaxaca Lending Library is a great institution for the extraneros living here, and even for English speaking visitors who end up spending more than a few days in the city. It's a "member pay" lending library with 30,000 books mostly in English, but also has internet access, reading rooms, bulletin boards and binders with information about rental places and other services (like professionals who can provide accounting or dentristry in English). They sponsor social events, like a Christmas carolling party, and a hiking group that we've joined several times. They also have evening lectures, sketching classes, and have information on volunteer opportunities.
We joined the library when we arrived, and have met a number of people who either winter here or live here full time. But it feels a little weird to be meeting only Americans and Canadians. I don't think I've spoken more than a few sentences of Spansih since I finished my language class 3 weeks ago. Time to head out of town and continue the adventure.
Happy New Year everyone! We'll likely be out of touch for the next week. I expect the eco-lodges are not going to have internet access.
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