What’s Updates Vol. 2
Last Wednesday, I moved to the colorful Centro-adjacent neighborhood of Jalatlaco, a cobble-stoned web of street art, bohemian bars, organic tiendas, and interesting cafes. My place is sandwiched between a 300-year-old church and a nameless tortilleria. Between the whiff of fresh tortillas that greets me every time I step out my door to the occasional sounds of the ancient church bells ringing, my senses are loving the new landscape. There’s also a man that sells tamales that walks by my door every morning. One of these days, I’ll buy one while still in my pajamas. I’m so excited to call this spot home for the next two months!
Despite the chaos of moving mid-week, the one-street wanders continued. This past week I dined on Moroccan fare at El Morocco, sipped Oaxacan craft beer from Colectivo Cero, and learned about the coffee culture of Oaxaca at Typica, an adorable walk-up coffee stand in Parque El Llano. My must-try list stretched a few lines longer with the spots I saw but didn’t get a chance to visit, spots like Coquina Hua Xha, a spot that’s been described to me as dining at your Oaxacan grandmother’s home, Colectivo 1050 Grados, a pottery cooperative that sells pieces from seven ceramics-producing communities in Oaxaca, and Okame, a hole-in-the-wall Japanese restaurant that dishes up pork buns, ramen, and matcha frappes.
The trouble with exploring is that you find. And without a bottomless budget to indulge in all of it, the must-visit list just gets a little longer instead. That’s okay for now. Interestingly enough, this street-by-street focused wandering is satisfying an anxiety I didn’t even know I had bubbling under the surface. You see, any walk through Oaxaca inevitably results in an overwhelming amount of mental notes and Google pins to re-visit spots. For me, that was overwhelming. At least now I’ve narrowed my focus to one street a week, am logging all of my finds as I find them in my Oaxaca City Guide, and have calmed my mind by committing to eventually walking every single street in Centro.
This may all sound a bit silly and meaningless to some, but for me it’s serious fun and, as I said before, oh so satisfying. I also have a lot of free time on my hands at the moment.
This past week, yet another of my consistent writing gigs was put on pause. Or I should say, it’s just taken new shape. A shape that requires me to finally take a step with my writing that I should have taken years ago. It’s time to consider writing for the big guys. And by big guys I mean the travel publications I’ve always idolized, like Outside Magazine, Travel + Leisure, Conde Nast Traveler, and Lonely Planet. It’s time to trust the skills I’ve honed these past six years of travel writing and start pitching these publications that I am more than ready to appear in. In other words, it’s time to kick that fear of rejection to the curb and step into bigger and better opportunities.
In other news, I’ve never been happier. If you follow me on Instagram or if you read last week’s post, you may have noticed there’s been an uptick in mentions and appearances of a new man in my life. His name’s Yefra and yes he is my boyfriend. We met via that same writing client that’s pushing me to take my writing to the next level. Looking back, it’s fun to think about how all of the pieces fell together for Yefra and I to meet when we did.
Back in early July, I was asked to do my client a favor and help his friend, a local professional mountain biker, write letters to mountain bike organizations and teams in Canada and the United States. I agreed and met up with Yefra shortly after arriving in Oaxaca in July. Little did either of us (or my client) know that we’d hit it off so well. I remember leaving that first meeting with Yefra and thinking, there’s something really special about this guy.
As the meetings continued, that feeling only grew. Hours passed like minutes when we talked and the depth of our conversations always left me feeling like I’d entered a different dimension or world or…I don’t even know. It simply felt timeless and entirely out of the ordinary.
It still does. Today, almost three months after our very first meeting, I find myself in the most beautiful partnership, one that’s based in a solid sense of trust, respect, love, and mutual understanding. It feels like a meeting of minds and hearts, one that’s effortless and so perfectly right on time…and entirely unplanned might I add. I tell Yefra often that he is my tangible proof that there’s something greater at work in my life than my eyes can see. And that is beyond reassuring at a moment like this when so much is yet unknown to me.
This past weekend, Yefra, Julien (a fellow travel blogger), and I went on a spontaneous adventure to San Martín Tilcajete. This small village about 30 minutes outside of Oaxaca is famous for its fantastical copal-carved-and-painted alebrijes. We visited the workshop of David Hernandez, and surprisingly got a very thorough free tour and explanation of the entire alebrije-making process. I also learned my Zapotec protector is a jaguar. I like it!
The day came together so well that I’m thinking of piecing it together into my first do-it-yourself guide for purchase. Stay tuned for that!
I’ll leave this week’s update there. If any of this touched your heart, stoked your wanderlust, or got you thinking, leave a comment below. I’d love to hear from you!
Nothing but love,
Amber
Never Miss an Update
I’m now sending these Weekly Updates via Substack. Click the button below to choose your subscription style. You can opt for the free subscription to only receive these posts in your inbox or go for the paid subscription that also includes:
these weekly What’s Updates in your inbox + subscriber-only posts
discounts on Inner Voice sessions
trip planning support for travel to Mexico, Colombia, and Peru
free access to all #OneStreetWander walking routes
