The Work Station and Accessories: Cacao, Spanish lessons and the healthy living explosion

Nine days in Oaxaca now. We have a room for 5 more days at Las Mariposas. It has been great starting spot because we had an instant community. All we had to do was get up every morning and go to the communal patio. From about 8 until 10 it is the meeting place where people get to know each other and exchange information. Most of our decisions regarding what to do and where to go have been guided by our new acquaintances, and our previous memories.

One thing fellow residents could not do successfully is find us a new home for 5 days from now. We did receive some suggestions, but they did not work out. We did not begin our search immediately upon arriving in Oaxaca because we wanted to take about a week to assure ourselves we wanted to spend 2 0r 3 more months here. We have decided to stay until April Fool’s day. The house search started in earnest 3 days ago. We felt pressure. Consistently, we were told that winter in Oaxaca is a bad time to be abode hunting. We wanted to avoid Air B&B and the like, feeling that they artificially jack prices too high.  After only two days of search, however, we wanted to be done with the hunt. So today we reserved an Air B&B. House hunting simply isn’t fun so we settled for a nice place that is more money than we want, and though it is in a good location -not perfect (we suspect).

Now we can concentrate on enjoying our last 5 days at Las Mariposas with our new friends. There are some perks to the new home. In a circumstance that struck me as odd, we could not find any fish shop, or a butcher shop that we were excited about in Oaxaca. Turns out the new place has both within a block, and my Spanish tutor gave the fish shop her approval as the best in the area. Any of the places we normally frequent will still take us under 30 minutes of walking time. Additionally, we now are in close proximity to some parts of the city we have never explored, and isn’t that a major part of travel? To see new things?

Once we move I will have a dedicated work space. For now I have a converted kitchen workspace. Of course having the proper work accessories makes it all worthwhile. See the photos below and in the featured image.

Speaking of my Spanish tutor, I am doing a few one on one Spanish lessons before I do a full immersion class again. The one on one is fantastic. We speak mostly Spanish, unless I am really lost. Corrections happen in real time and grammar, vocabulary and pronunciation are happening simultaneously. One thing learning to speak Spanish has taught me is that. like  everything else in life, I will never be done learning; and the more I learn, the more I realize I have to learn.

One of the things we found here in one of the cacao capitals of the world is chocolate bars that are legal for Sheila. That means no sugar or milk products. To be accurate, that means cacao bars, pure cacao. Over time I have come to like this version more than chocolate bars – milk and sugar enhanced cacao. It takes more patience to enjoy. There is a delayed gratification element to that enjoyment. I put the cacao in my mouth and as it begins to melt I attach it to the roof of my mouth and allow it to slowly dissolve. The nuances of the cacao come through and the grittiness of the product turns to a richness. I think of this as a Zen experience in the food world.

There are several chocolatiers in Oaxaca selling an assortment of chocolate bars and most have a version of pure cacao. One shop stands out for us though, Corazon de Cacao, meaning Heart of Cacao. It is a mini factory and also has tours and classes in making your own chocolate or cacao bars. We went there today and bought three bars. These, perhaps should have been included under accessories.

A final note. There are a number of quite small shops advertising themselves as health food and organic shops. Some sell food, others nutraceuticals, others herbal products, and some sell all of these things. I found this to be surprising, probably just ignorance on my part. It makes me feel good, however to see this. Overall, I notice that most of the population appears to strong, and hopefully healthy.

That is it for tonight.