The local hills surrounding Oaxaca city.
Preparing for my upcoming 6 week trip to Oaxaca takes no time at all compared to the amount of time I spend explaining the weather there. Yes, that’s right, the weather. When I mention to friends that I will be spending a healthy chunk of summer in Southern Mexico, they almost invariably gasp and stare at me incredulously… “How could you spend summer THERE? it must be blistering hot!” Well, I will let you in on
Many varieties of orchids thrive all over Oaxaca state.
a little secret: summer is one of the best times to travel to Oaxaca. The inland area has pretty much the most perfect climate I have ever experienced with year ’round temps ranging from 45 to 90 degrees and very low humidity.
So, instead of staying in Oregon where it is hot, dry and windy (Hood River), I love to travel to Oaxaca where everything is green, green, green, flowers bloom in the fields and on road sides, and the short, sometimes daily, and often fierce, rain storms clean the air and wash the dust away (until the mud that flows onto the roads dries and turns to dust, that is). That leaky roof that hasn’t “needed” to be repaired for the last 7 months will have to wait until the dry season, the dying of fabric grinds to a halt because nothing dries when it is raining, and the ladies will get lots of embroidery done indoors.
If you haven’t ever thought about Southern Mexico in summer, you should, but bring an umbrella, just in case.
Artist, traveler, and social entrepreneur, Adele Hammond divides her time between Hood River, Oregon and the home where her heart is, Oaxaca, Mexico. The raw texture and color of Mexico became a part of her life when a year abroad with her family in a small Zapotec pueblo outside the city of Oaxaca gradually evolved into an extraordinary five.
Adele blogs about the culture, the crafts, and the people of Oaxaca and Chiapas, Mexico as well as her experiences in working with indigenous artisans there. Her travels take her down the back roads and into the workshops and homes of these people, where their diverse, ancient traditions and crafts are still being practiced today.
Her business, Latin Threads Trading, showcases and brings to a world market the work of these talented artisans while encouraging enterprise and empowering individuals to flourish independently and through their communities.
