Cocina y hamaca en paraíso (A kitchen and a hammock in paradise)
It wasn’t easy to get there: an overnight bus ride from Chiapas to Oaxaca City, a van ride to the Oaxacan coast that included a 1 km walk in the desert through a protest that blocked through-transportation, and finally a ride in the back of a pickup truck along the coast to arrive in the tiny beach town of Zipolite.
And it wasn’t easy to leave: I fell right into the lifestyle of the beach, spending too many hours swinging in hammocks, swimming in the ocean when the tides were calm, whale-watching, sunset chasing, drinking cerveza at any time of the day to get a little break from the heat.
Meanwhile, I spent a few days in a sweet cabana in the middle of a tropical garden. I had a little bed with a mosquito net, a shower with water heated by the sun, a kitchen with a gas stove on the patio, and a hammock to create my own breeze.
The best view of the garden:
Made me this happy (check out the kitchen in the background): 
Where I could find these ingredients fresh from the garden: (New food, Day 32. Nopales. Cactus leaves. Sure I’ve eaten nopales before, but this is the first time I ever cooked with them. The tiny ones are good to eat raw, they’re super tender. The bigger ones, I sliced up and made… yup, quesadillas.)
Where I could find these ingredients fresh from the garden: (New food, Day 32. Nopales. Cactus leaves. Sure I’ve eaten nopales before, but this is the first time I ever cooked with them. The tiny ones are good to eat raw, they’re super tender. The bigger ones, I sliced up and made… yup, quesadillas.)
Three types of mangos, bananas and oranges: (New food, Day 33. Mango verde. Green mango. This was a new type for me, firmer and less sweet than yellow or red mangos.) 
My favorite secret ingredient that took me 2 days to find in the crazy market maze of San Cristobal, and here I found some while hiking between beaches, straight off the tree: (New food, Day 34. Guash. No English translation that I know of, in fact I’m not even sure of the name in Spanish because it seems to have a few different names depending on who you ask. Anyway, it’s a type of bean, super small, soft, with a hint of garlic flavor.) 
Fresh coconut, comes with its own spoon:
Tropical snack on the beach that blew my mind: (New food, Day 35. Raputan. Not sure of the English translation here either, but it’s similar to a lychee fruit, only with the red, spiky shell I’d never seen before. They came into season, and all of a sudden there were vendors on nearly every corner.) 
True living in la tierra del amor (the land of love) in Zipolite! I’m already making plans to go back…
My favorite secret ingredient that took me 2 days to find in the crazy market maze of San Cristobal, and here I found some while hiking between beaches, straight off the tree: (New food, Day 34. Guash. No English translation that I know of, in fact I’m not even sure of the name in Spanish because it seems to have a few different names depending on who you ask. Anyway, it’s a type of bean, super small, soft, with a hint of garlic flavor.) 
Fresh coconut, comes with its own spoon:
Tropical snack on the beach that blew my mind: (New food, Day 35. Raputan. Not sure of the English translation here either, but it’s similar to a lychee fruit, only with the red, spiky shell I’d never seen before. They came into season, and all of a sudden there were vendors on nearly every corner.) 
True living in la tierra del amor (the land of love) in Zipolite! I’m already making plans to go back…
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ivan