Market day in Tlacalula

The Tlacalula market just east of Oaxaca city is a huge Sunday market that has been operating since before the Spanish arrived. Many of the indigenous people from the surrounding hills come here on Sundays to sell their goods and socialize.

A group of us hopped on the local bus at 9:00am to do the drive out to the town of Tlacalula.

Alebrijes and Cactus... more touring around Oaxaca City

Yesterday was another great day out touring for the group. We once again booked a van for the excursion and driver Omar showed up right on time for our 9:00am departure.

We headed directly to the alebrijes studio of Jacobo y María Ángeles located south of the city of Oaxaca in the town of San Martín Tilcajete.

Into the city of Oaxaca

There is so much to see and do around the city of Oaxaca that we haven't spent much time in the city itself. Ruth and I were here at the beginning of March 2013 when we spent a week or so in the city, but otherwise it has only been the surrounding area.

Friday, we went with some of the group into the city.

Hierve el Agua and Mitla Ruins

There is a lot to see and do around the Oaxaca city area, but a prime attraction is Hierve el Agua... that's why we keep returning there to show it off to some of the new people in the group. Also, Ruth and I have been there 4 times now and we never get tired of it... the scenery is simply beautiful.

We headed out with the group at 9:00am Thursday morning.

I wonder how many people are getting taken advantage of?

Just a few things to talk about today.

Yesterday was a day off... nothing planned for the group and everybody just did their own thing. Aron and Owenita got new rear shocks shipped to the campground so they were waiting for them when we arrived. And Mona and Roger got a new toilet! So they both had projects on the go yesterday.

The rest of us just puttered about. We took some laundry down with a few others. Ruth went for a long morning walk with Denise and Bob and Scarlett the dog.

Mexico RV Caravan Travel Day - Ojo de Agua to Oaxaca city

Up early and on the road for an 8:00am start. It was baking hot overnight. The temperature inside the motorhome was 26C (79F) when we got up in the morning at 6:30am. Too hot, and too many bugs.

Once again, we are reminded how much happier we are away from the coast.

5 Awesome Things to Do on a Countryside Getaway

 Sometimes we need a break from our busy lives, and a great way to do this is an action-packed, countryside getaway. Perhaps you live in the city and are dying to connect with nature, or maybe you spent lots of time in nature as a child and want to relive those memories.

Whatever the reason, a vacation in the countryside is a great way to destress and have fun. If you’re planning your getaway and need some ideas of what to do in the middle of nowhere, here are five awesome activities to keep you busy!

Mexico RV Caravan Travel Day - Ocozocoautla to Ojo De Agua Balneario

Well, Monday began the final leg of our four and a half month Mexico RV trip. Don't get me wrong, there will still be lots of adventures over the next five weeks, but Monday turned a corner as we started our return trip towards the U.S. border.

We set out from the orphanage at 8:00am. We had to retrace our route back through the wind tunnel corridor of La Ventosa where we exited the toll road towards the balneario (water park).

Carnaval in Ocozocoautla, and thanks from the kids!

It's that time of year when carnaval is going on in many countries. Here in Ocozocoautla, they have been celebrating for over 500 years and the annual event has become quite famous in the area. It's one of the reasons that we hung around a few extra days!

We had been told that you want to get there early... so a bunch of us set out at 8:30am Sunday morning...

Shopping day 2 at the orphanage and lots of work going on!

Busy day for the group yesterday here at the orphanage! Those who wanted to, met up at the main hall to do some painting work at 8:30am. Ruth and I were headed out shopping again at 9:00am, while three of the men were tasked with helping with the pump installation and associated electrical wiring.

Oh, and right at 9:00am the new living room furniture set showed up for the older boys residence...

Shopping day for the orphanage

You might have missed last night's blog post... go there first!

https://www.travelwithkevinandruth.com/2020/02/sumidero-canyon-photos-and-fundraising.html

So, we had a total of 64,000 pesos (($4,482 CAD, $3,380 USD) to spend.

We sat down with Lily, the director and her husband Juan to discuss what their priorities were. The first thing they brought up was a new water pump. The old one is well... old! And it's not strong enough to begin with. And it keeps breaking down every couple of months and they need to send it out to be repaired and it costs 3,000 or 4,000 pesos every time, and then of course the residence buildings are without water during the downtime.

The proper replacement pump is almost 20,000 pesos.

Sumidero Canyon photos and fundraising total

First things first... our caravan group and a few readers of this blog raised a total of 64,000 pesos ($4,482 CAD, $3,380 USD) for the Hogar Infantil orphanage.

To those of you who contributed, thank you sooo much!

Today (Friday) will be shopping day. Looking forward to showing you what we purchase for the kids.

The indigenous town of San Juan Chamula

First things first... fundraising update!

As of this morning, we are at $4,281... well surpassing our original goal. Can we make it to $5,000? Maybe, or maybe not.... I like to hope that perhaps some of you are waiting until the last minute to surprise us with a big donation!

Today is in fact the last day to donate through our channels... we have to provide a cut off date in order to know what we can buy with the proceeds because Friday is shopping day!

Trip to San Cristobal and fundraising update

Lets get to the important stuff first!

We have broken through the $3,000 goal and are now headed for $4,000 with two days to go. As of this morning, our total for the orphanage stands at $3,541 CAD!

If you can afford twenty bucks (most of you wouldn't even miss it!) this is a great cause where your money goes directly to help the kids.

Some photos of the orphanage

When we arrived here, it was on Sunday. So there were quite a few visitors about, spending some time with the kids. There are somewhere around 70 children who live here, but not all of them are orphans. Some simply come from dysfunctional families who can no longer care for them properly, and so Sunday is family day.

But Sunday is also family day for the employees and caregivers here. So the directors and the people we need to coordinate with were not here either... they were spending time with their own families.