Sunday, December 7, 2008

Sola de Tlayuda






Making our way out of the Valley of Oaxaca toward Sola de Vega always seems easier than it really is at the beginning. Climbing starts gradually and rolls along gently eventually becoming one continuous hot 10km climb that promptly descends 14km through some of the best Mezcal country in Mexico. In celebration of day one I drown my hunger in Oaxaca's answer to pizza, the tlayuda. I wrap my hands around this plate-sized, crunchy, corn tortilla that has been smeared with refried beans, asiento, and topped with tasajo (beef), stringy Oaxaca cheese, tomatoes, avocado, lettuce, and baked over a charcoal fire. It might be my fierce post-ride hunger talking, but this little eatery easily makes the best tlayuda I've had yet.

Sirens sound as large numbers of pilgrims make their way past our roadside table, through town on their way to or away from a visit with the miraculous Virgin of Juquila a few long mountain ranges away. We prepare to turn in for the night to rest up and join the wave of people making their way to Juquila.

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