Ecoturism in Ixtlan

A number of rural mountain communities near Oaxaca have set up "ecoturistic" facilities over the past 15 years. They've built very nice cabins in the woods, and offer various outdoor activities, including hiking. You can't just go hiking on your own...all of the land is owned by someone, often communually by the local villagers, and you meed to go with a guide for even a simple walk in the woods. It generates employment, and gives villages an incentive to preserve their natural surroundings.

Unfortunately, not all of the communities really seem to "get" tourism. Or maybe it's just that they aim their tourism at a different audience than us.  We spent a couple of days in the eco-cabanas in Ixtlan de Juarez, about an hour and a half from Oaxaca City.  When we arrived on Sunday, the area was swarmed.  It was a lot like a provincial campground in Canada:  families having picnics, kids riding their bikes.  The site offers activities like zip-lining, a kids playground, and a couple of short walks in the woods (to a cave, and to a river).  Instead of campsites, there are rental cabins.  Actually very nice facilities with king sized beds, private bathrooms, and fireplaces.  No kitchens in the cabins, but there is a restaurant on site.

The staff in Ixtlan were all geared up to deal with the tail end of the Xmas time rush, and were busy all Sunday dealing with their swarm of visitors.  They didn't really have time for the stupid foreigners and their questions.  The young woman in the Ixtlan tourist office (about 6 km from the actual site) had no patience for our questions about *obvious* things (things obvious to someone who's spent her whole life in Ixtlan, of course), and no patience for our poor Spanish.  I don't think she was an actual teenager, but she hadn't lost the attitude.

Later, after visiting the next town, Capulalpam and their much equipped and more intelligently staffed tourist centre, we were able to arrange a guided hike into the cloud forest for Tuesday.  As hikes go, it wasn't much of one (just a road walk for a couple of hours).  But we learned from our guide that they don't get much foreign tourism in the area, and most tourists to Capulalpam come from other parts of Mexico.  I also got the impression that hiking as we do it in Canada is a bit of a foreign concept.  

We ended up leaving the area after only two days.  The unfriendliness of Ixtlan didn't help, but it was mostly because I came down with a bad cold.  Cool air makes me cough.  And being inside doesn't help much when buildings aren't heated and it's 8 C inside.  Even with the fireplace lit.  Which we could only do for about 2 hours a day, because they wouldn't give us more firewood than that.  :-)  So  we decided to head back to Oaxaca where it's warmer.