Last night, using the little bit of internet connection I could get, I found a hostel that looked good: La Villada.  http://www.hostels.com/hostels/oaxaca/la-villada-inn-hostel/16956?dateFrom=2015-12-16&dateTo=2015-12-17&guestCount=&groupType=#anchor=overview& It's located in the far northwest section of Oaxaca, but no matter where I stay I'm going to have to take buses to go places.  

 
Took a cab ($3 to most parts of town), showed him on my phone map where I wanted to go, and he got me there no problem, even though the streets in this area are laid out real weird. Look it up on a map (17.05N 96.43W).  

 
Big steel double door to driveway, with regular size door cut into it.  
You get a key for the 'people' door (24hr access). There's a buzzer next to the door. Pushed it. Less than a minute later someone let me in.  

 
Stepped into the office and asked for a room. No reservation, no problem. As I've mentioned, this (Christmas) is the height of the year for vacationers (well, Easter also).  


 
 













 
Half of the buildings on the property on the property are connected in one way or another; more on this later, with pics. I'm in a connected one. My room is the third one, far end, on the bottom floor. The top floor is a conference/party room.   
 
    










 
 

Villada is on a mountainside, and on the northern edge where it drops down into a valley. Nice views. Fresh air. No buildings in front of me. And, for the moment, I'm the only guest! Like the place so much, I decided to stay for two weeks (which was my original plan).  


 
























 

 

The first place in town I wanted to see was the Zocalo. This is normally the town square, but Oaxaca is big enough to have several squares spread around the town. This is the central one, and, as usual, it's in front of the main church. There's another church caddy corner from the cathedral, but it's not even named on maps (should have checked it out while I was there).  

 
 
 



























































 
 



Walked around quite a few blocks. There might be some decent shopping to be had, but you can't tell from the store fronts: they're all small. I guess street space is very expensive. Parking is near impossible, though there are parking garages (don't know if that provides enough). Everything is a one-way, at least in the center of the city, two lanes plus a parking lane. Lots of streets become one lane, as people double park.  

Didn't like this area at all: streets too narrow, sidewalks too narrow, businesses too narrow; makes you feel real cramped.  

 

Enough traipsing around for one day! I headed back.  

Located somewhat away from everything, Villada decided to have their own restaurant, as a convenience to guests, which is open from 8am to 8pm. There are about ten selections plus a special (most days): the menu is limited because the daily guest total is usually between 20 and 30, and not eveyrone is going to show up. Prices are very reasonable, at $3 to $6, with drinks running $0.60 to $1.30. There's one cook, though the owner, her mother and her grandmother sometimes pitch in (usually the mother fixes the daily special). There are no servers. You fill out a meal card, then wait for it to be served. You pay only when you check out. There's a fridge full of drinks, including beer (2 choices, but if you regularly drink something else they'll buy it for you, if you're staying a while). You put your name on a card with a list of drinks, put a tick mark by the one you want; it's a running tab, on the honor system, which you pay at the end of your stay. I like this place! No hassle, very accommodating, very friendly, family run.  
 



 
The special today was this chicken plate plus guyabana water for $3.  





The parking area is down below the dining area, and on the same level as my room. This old pickup truck is parked there.  

  


 

 







 
Sat in front of my room to work on the blog (another reason I decided to stay here - decent internet, most of the time). I'm pecking away, and hear a noise off to my left: about six feet away, behind this rather flimsy fence, is this bull!  

He and the cows were being herded back home, from a pasture down below, by an old gent.  

 
 
 


 
Went up the hill to try for a sunset shot.  



 
Coming back down, took a pic of Villada outer wall. And a pic of the owners' residence inside.