Oaxaca City Explore! Up early and ready for a big day in Oaxaca city - the home of some of the best food in Mexico. I took a bus into the city which turned out to be quiet a long way away and when I arrived it was obvious the city was packed with people and cars for the day of the dead celebrations. I almost immediately ran into two Aussies I had met in Mazunte and they had already been in Oaxaca 3 days so they gave me a bunch of tips and info. I headed straight for the big church in the centre of the city and the place was a buzz of activity with tour groups, backpackers and locals alike making the most of the holiday. Right next to the park was a little market where the locals were selling different types of Mezcal. Mezcal is a liquor made from the cactus and very famous here in Oaxaca so I went to town sampling as many types as possible; from straight 40% - 60% bottles to the much nicer 20% types with flavours and creams. The cafe Mezcal, and piña colada Mezcal were among my favorites and as I left the little market I realized I had quite a buzz on and was starting to warm up (freezing cold in Oaxaca today). I made my way through the main touristic area (walking street) taking photos of all the amazing decorations for the day of the dead celebrations. There were locals and tourists everywhere; buying and selling and doing their best to keep warm. I wondered around some interesting markets and tried a bunch of interesting snacks, sweets and more mescal before deciding I better head to Theron market to get some lunch. On the way to the main market I came across another really cool market full of interesting stuff and ended up loosing an hour or two there before once again continuing on. Finally I made it to the main market where all kinds of typical Oaxacan cuisines were being sold; from tortillas to moles and asados to tamales. I had my mind set on trying the Mole but after seeing this ginormous pizza like thing called a tlayuda I had to go for that. For about $3 I got a ginormous pizza like thing; a toasted tortilla covered in refried beans, cabbage, tomato, avocado, chorizo, oil and a sweet salsa - and yes it was to die for. It took me nearly an hour to eat the whole tlayuda and I enjoyed every breaking moment of it convinced that this is now my favorite Mexican food. Pulling myself out from the table and wishing I had stopped eating earlier I continued on through the market coming to all the chocolate shops. I should have walked straight passed the chocolate shops but I didn't and next thing I new I was off trying all the varieties of hot chocolate drinks. It started to get really cold so I walked around the main touristic areas periodically ducking into shops to warm-up. There was some music and parades and some artists doing work in the main plaza so I watched them for a while before once again heading off in search of warmth. I had this gypsy lady come up to me and ask me to give her baby water - I could sense the scam arising and took precautions. It started to get dark around 6:30pm so I went in search of the bus stop and the corresponding bus that would take me back to Jesicas. After 3 different bus stops, 10 different bits of information and an hour of waiting I was finally at the right bus stop freezing my arse off and contemplating how close to dieing from cold I was. Eventually the bus came and I boarded shivering from the freezing cold and preying the trip back to Jesicas would be quick. Unfortunately the trip was not quick and the guy behind me had the window wide open with cold wind blowing in and I actually think it may have been warmer outside of the bus. After an hour on the bus I arrived at the house and put all my clothes on which unfortunately didn't include many warm clothes as I had given most of these away in past weeks expecting Mecico to be in general warmer. In the evening I tried to relax and figure out what my next move in Mexico might be with the help of Jesica. Looking forward to tommorow and visiting the small village of Jesicas parents and family.