We reached Latuvi which was a bigger village of about 600 inhabitants which seemed like a mini-metropolis after the last few villages and the presence of a larger young population was immediately obvious. “Why didn’t you answer your walkie-talkie?” Fulcencio asked one of the youngsters in the tourist office after we arrived. “Because you called me”, he shot back immediately. The impudence of youth, it seems, is also ubiquitous! We said goodbye to Fulcencio, who was probably my favourite guide of them all, though they each had their charms. We tucked into a lunch of chicken and squash stew which Claudia (by far the youngest cook we’d met) lovingly put together for us. After lunch we relaxed and as Karla took a nap I read on the hammocks that looked over the valley. It was nice to have a break from hiking but the imminence of the return to the city hung over us a little too.
For dinner Claudia made us a Memella (I think) – a softish tortilla with tomato, avocado, cheese and beans. She may have been young but she’d been taught well. We had a couple of mescals (a Tequila-like drink made from agave that is very popular throughout Oaxaca) to digest our food and headed to bed to prepare for the early start the following day, the longest walk so far (at least 16km, though inevitably more) and the race against the clock to catch the last bus of the day at two o’clock in Matlan. I was sure I would start jogging in my dreams.
This blog is part of an Off-The-Beaten-Track Travel Diary. Click on the links below to navigate through this journey.
