How to experience timeless Morocco in the midst of change

(FROM THE NEWSLETTER): The world is changing faster than ever. And while all places evolve and adapt over time, Morocco’s pace of change is sudden and jarring.

I’ll admit that it’s odd to talk about change in Morocco when you’re sitting in a house that is centuries old in a city founded 1,200 hundred years ago.

The city is Fez, an ancient and awe-inspiring wonder in a country brimming with history, culture and other-worldly landscapes.

But lately, even Fez is changing. It's becoming a bit more like Marrakech, which is not necessarily good. Many of the changes are making Morocco harder to visit, especially for people looking to explore Morocco’s real food culture and ancient traditions.

We blame the pandemic. And the recent earthquake made things worse.

Learning to make traditional Moroccan food from our wonderful Berber friends in a remote village.

The Moroccan government declared a covid State of Health Emergency on March 19, 2020, and imposed some of the most severe lockdown rules in Africa (often enforced by armored vehicles) until it ended on February 28, 2023. During that time, the government imposed on again, off again curfews, restrictions of movement not only into and out of the country, but between cities.

Tourism represents 7% of the Moroccan economy and employs 5% of its workers. All that economic activity stopped. Workers stayed home and tourist business owners suffered catastrophic losses.

A huge number of workers outside the tourism industry also couldn't work for months. Businesses downsized or closed. The unemployment rate skyrocketed.

The loss of income sent a ripple through the Moroccan population, driving up debt and causing other financial problems.

As the pandemic waned, tourism started crawling back. But then a 6.9 level earthquake struck on September 8 in the Atlas Mountains fairly close to Marrakech. Visitors canceled their plans and many buildings were damaged.

And since we arrived in Morocco a month ago, war broke out in between Hamas and Israel. And more people canceled their trips to Morocco.

In Fez, they still process leather the old fashioned way.

During The Morocco Caravan Experience, we got to spend a night in a remote ancient village in an old rammed earth house built in the 17th Century. Although that house was safe for our stay, it suffered superficial damage. Our initially intended riad in Marrakech was damaged as well, and we found an alternate (and equally stunning) accommodation. Buildings all over Marrakech were destroyed or damaged and currently many are scaffolded or walled off. Beyond even the human toll, the earthquake delayed Morocco's hopes for recovery.

The pandemic and earthquake accelerated negative trends already in progress in the country, including the replacement of local crafts by cheap, made-in-China knockoffs, adulterated argan oil and fake honey as well as the further industrialization of the food supply. Street merchants are selling more aggressively than ever. Goods for sale are much lower quality, and prices much higher, in general. Prices are soaring. Lodging, transportation, food and other traveler expenses have doubled or tripled in some instances. Local businesses are desperate to pay off their pandemic debts, and are trying to gouge their way to solvency.

ATM withdrawals limits have been lowered for locals and tourists alike, while more sellers and service providers are insisting on cash. And so visitors often can’t get enough money to buy the things they want to buy, further reducing income for Moroccans.

And there's construction everywhere.

And added to all this, there’s greater government controls throughout the country, including police checkpoints.

Some experienced, skilled people in hospitality have left the industry, and young, new and inexperienced people have taken their place. Many of the better conventional tourist activities and cooking classes and day trips have been replaced by the herding of busloads of tourists into rushed, soulless, cookie-cutter "experiences" that are rampant all over Morocco.

Damage to buildings and construction materials are visible all over Marrakech.

Our signature exclusive bespoke and totally authentic gastronomad experiences are still possible, but only because of our deep, long-standing relationships with the local chefs, winemakers, artisans and others who enable them.

Before the pandemic, The Morocco Caravan Experience was the only way we're aware of to experience the true, authentic, best version of Morocco's exquisite food culture and traditions. Now, in the aftermath, that's truer than ever before.

It’s not all bad news. Positive changes abound as well: A few promising new restaurants have popped up here and there. A very small number of holdouts are still selling better traditional objects, fabrics and clothing in the Medinas. Internet connectivity is faster and more ubiquitous. The road through the Atlas Mountains, which had been under construction for years, is mostly finished and is now smoother and safer. The government is sprucing up some areas with landscaping and other improvements in major cities.

It’s clear that Morocco is making a big effort to build the country’s infrastructure to attract mass tourism as a way to provide more jobs and increase revenue. But there are always unintended consequences to the rapid growth and changes caused by mass tourism. Something that’s more evident and palpable this year than ever before.

Real Moroccan food is gloriously delicious.

We love Morocco, and believe in the Moroccan people. But it has become a more challenging and less rewarding country for nearly all tourists, and also the locals who have to endure the overly crowded medina streets, soaring prices and loss of income because of the pandemic, earthquake and war in the Middle East.

Now more than ever, The Morocco Caravan Experience represents the antithesis to the mass and rapidly increasing industrial tourism spreading in Morocco. We take you outside of the ordinary tourist bubble saturated with run-of-the-mill activities. Instead, we immerse you in the true Moroccan culture with the extraordinary warmth of genuine Moroccan hospitality in the most remarkable places.

During our Moroccan Caravan Experience you enjoy the warm embrace of our local Moroccan friends as we gather and break bread around the table. We transport you right into the heart of authentic hospitality while enjoying the most exquisite and exceptional food and wine through magical culinary gatherings.

Our goal is that you can enjoy one-of-a-kind unforgettable travel adventures that are meaningful and transformative, creating memories you can cherish for a lifetime.

— Adventure and joy, Amira

Come home with me to El Salvador, the undiscovered gem

(FROM THE NEWSLETTER): I've lived in different countries around the world for the past 17 years. This experience has been meaningful and deeply gratifying. It has also given me a profound sense of belonging in all the places I've spent a lot of time. Ironically, I didn't have this sense of belonging in the country where I was born. But something has changed. Now I feel like I've come full circle and have that sense of belonging in my home country, too.

I fled El Salvador because of the civil war. And I returned many times since to a country beset by crime. That war and that crime mostly kept travelers from discovering one of the most beautiful and traditional countries in the world.

But now everything is different. Because of a large and controversial crackdown on crime in the last five years and on gangs in the past year (called the "State of Exception," where due process has been suspended for anyone with gang tattoos), El Salvador has transitioned from the "murder capital of the world" to the safest country in Latin America. Salvadorans are generally ecstatic about the change, and can walk in their own neighborhoods without fear for the first time since the 1970s.

I have visited El Salvador three times just this year, and have another trip there planned in the very near future. And I can tell you, it's an entirely new place. For the first time since my childhood, I feel more than just safe, but a real sense of freedom in the country where I was born. Rediscovering El Salvador has been a transformative experience for me.

My childhood in El Salvador was wonderful. I was very lucky to have had a paternal grandmother who was a formidable woman and role model. Her name was Lucia Serrano (or: Doña Lucía Montoya de Serrano Piche). I called her Mama Lucia. She was the first female mayor of her town of Zacatecoluca and the first female governor of her Department (which is like a US state) of La Paz. In fact, she was the first female to hold an official office of any kind in Latin America. She was also asked to run for President of El Salvador during the war, but declined the offer. (During a trip to Oaxaca this year, we met a well known German retired war correspondent who covered Latin America, and he knew my grandmother. It was surreal.)

Doña Lucía Montoya de Serrano Piche, my grandmother.

My grandmother was an ethical person with a big heart. She and I shared the same birthday and she always made me feel so loved and special. My grandmother was loved and admired by many. Her politics were famous for staunch anti-corruption policies. But she broke her own rule to never use her influence or power for her own benefit only once that I'm aware of — she pulled strings to rapidly get visas for me, my little brother and my mom to emigrate to the US legally as the civil war was getting out of control in 1980. Of the many grandchildren she had from her 5 children, she bestowed this gift upon me and my family. And for that, I will forever be grateful.

My grandmother as Mayor in 1956, with her city council.

I have a theory as to why she did it: My grandmother lost her infant grandson (my dad's nine-month-old baby and my youngest half-brother) due to an accident by the child's nanny. Then she lost her son, my father, due to complications from alcoholism. He was 41.

In 1980, Bishop Óscar Romero was assassinated while celebrating mass at a church in San Salvador. Opposition guerrillas started forcibly recruiting both adults and children as soldiers. I was with my grandmother in her car when rebels tried to assassinate her. It was all going bad quickly, so my grandmother used her influence to get us visas fast. We flew to the United States where I became a citizen a few years after arriving.

I feel incredibly lucky to have been spared from that horrendous war. My grandmother probably saved my life, and definitely gave me a better life.

El Salvador’s Pacific coastline is truly stunning.

I have been lucky and feel blessed for my good fortune. Moving to the US is what many people in the world would love to do. Most of the lucky Americans born in the US might not realize how billions of people around the world would love nothing more than to visit and, preferably, live in the US for a chance to realize the American dream. I’m proud to be an American Citizen and I love the United States. I would never take for granted how lucky I am for all that the US has meant in my life.

Surprisingly, traveling around the world has made me even more appreciative of the United States. It’s a privilege to be an American Citizen. Talking with others around the planet and learning about their struggles and how they live is always eye opening. Although the US is far from perfect, I’ve gained an important perspective about how much freer and easier life is in the US generally, relatively speaking.

I have been traveling to El Salvador on and off since 1996 (when I first brought my kids to visit the place where I was born and meet my grandmother). But my realization of what I’ve been missing didn’t begin until 2019, during a family reunion there. I was embraced by loving relatives and began to unearth something beyond poignant family stories: my childhood identity.

In many ways, losing my mom early this year brought me back on a journey of literal discovery. We wanted to honor my mom by spreading her ashes on her favorite beach, in her beloved country. In the process of searching for my mom's roots and, subsequently, my own, I got back many memories I had forgotten and recovered a part of my life I had left behind that had remained mostly dormant.

My mom’s death this year has been challenging. But losing her well before she died due to Alzheimer’s left a huge void in my heart that I don’t think will ever close. But my mom left me with the gift of a newfound appreciation for my native land bringing me back full circle to the place I came from. I feel at home again in my beloved El Salvador.

Salvadorans, among them extended family, suffered through a deadly civil war and unspeakable gang violence for over four decades. But El Salvador is safe again and now being described as an undiscovered travel gem.

Kept unexplored by tourists due to 40 years of internal turmoil, El Salvador is a hidden tropical paradise. With soft black sandy beaches, warm Pacific waters, world renown surfing waves, lush nature, majestic volcanos, welcoming people, stunning lakes, charming colonial villages, ancient Mayan ruins, delicious food (including its famous pupusas), sopa de res, pan con pavo, nuegados y chilate, pan dulce, Salvadoran quesadilla, amazing dairy products, infinite types of delicious tropical fruit and incredible seafood. El Salvador is a travel destination marvel unlike any other!

The widely diverse Salvadoran cuisine is second to none in flavor, ingredients and uniqueness. And don’t even get me started with Salvadoran horchata! Made from a gourd seed called morro, Salvadoran horchata is exquisite.

El Salvador is also known for producing some of the finest coffee and cacao in Latin America and even the world — it’s a little piece of heaven for coffee and chocolate lovers!

Nothing in the world like the food in El Salvador.

I’m deeply excited to be hosting our first ever El Salvador Tropical Experience in January. I have so much gratitude for those of you who immediately signed up to attend. I appreciate your trust and support more than words can ever say.

Sharing my place of birth, the delicious cuisine I grew up with and the wonderful soft sandy beaches I ran on as a little girl in my beloved El Salvador with you is truly an honor and a dream come true. It will be an unforgettable journey of a lifetime filled with unparalleled adventures!

We have one last room available for this first and one-of-a-kind epic culinary tropical exploration! It will be an honor for me to welcome you in my native land.

Joy and adventure, Amira

Moroccan eggs for breakfast in Marrakech

Amira fell in love with this dish for cooking eggs in an oven. It’s cracked, but still in use.

We just added a new Oaxaca Mezcal Experience for this year!

Greetings from Oaxaca!

I’ve got some great news! By popular demand, we've added a new Oaxaca Mezcal Experience this year! It happens December 3-9.

We’ve been in Oaxaca enjoying our own personal “Gastronomad Experience” with our local friends. This place is magnificent and truly inspiring! I can’t wait to share this new Oaxaca Mezcal Experience with you!

There’s something truly magical about Oaxaca — its deep blue skies, puffy white clouds, colorful buildings, cobblestone streets, friendly people, delicious food and ever-present history. It fills your heart with joy and happiness.

And the food!! This isn’t the Mexican food that you already know and love. Oaxaca is its own gastronomic universe, with some of the world’s most delicious flavors and ingredients.

The Wall Street Journal called Oaxaca the “Mexican city every food-loving traveler should visit now.” And Travel + Leisure magazine named Oaxaca the Best City in the World to travel to for the last two years in a row!

And these publications are talking about mere tourism!

Imagine the unimaginable — skip right past the tourism and go directly into the heart of the real, authentic Oaxaca. We lovingly craft a bespoke itinerary full of fun and delicious surprises. Get to know our brilliant friends, some of whom are the city’s top chefs and food makers. Experience magical gatherings in breathtaking settings with the most exquisite foods and drinks this region has to offer.

This isn’t just travel. It’s time travel. It’s travel beyond the world that you know and into a world you never imagined.

And while we do enjoy some of Mexico’s greatest wines, we also deeply explore the Oaxacan tradition of mezcal. (Because of US import restrictions, most of Oaxaca’s best mezcal cannot legally be sold in the United States. You can find it only in Oaxaca.)

The Oaxacan Mezcal Experience is more than an experience. It’s a magic spell. And you’ll be enchanted completely.

But space is limited. Secure your spot today and prepare for a transformative culinary experience! Get pricing and book now!

Why Mexico City is the Center of the Chocolate World

Everybody loves chocolate. The intoxicating aroma of freshly roasted cacao. The decadence of a deep, dark chocolate dessert that melts in your mouth. The joy of hot chocolate.

When people associate the idea of chocolate with a place, they usually think of a European place — Switzerland, Belgium or Vienna, for example.

But Mexico City is by far the greatest city in the world for exploring chocolate — especially during our Mexico City Cocktail Experience. And here’s why.

Europe’s relationship with chocolate began in the 19th Century when, in 1828, Dutch chemist Conrad van Houten invented the cocoa press, separating cacao butter from the solids and, in doing so, invented cocoa powder. The commercial availability of cocoa powder enabled pastry chefs and home cooks alike to buy, store, cook and bake with chocolate far away from where it's grown or roasted.

Van Houten’s work also enabled the invention of chocolate bars by Joseph Fry in 1847, as well as chocolate candies.

Today, Europe produces a dizzying array of delicious chocolate foods and drinks —pralines, chocolate truffles, chocolate bonbons, chocolate cakes, mousses, custards, cookies, chocolate tarts, soufflés, milk-based hot chocolate, chocolate liqueurs like crème de cacao, chocolate covered nuts, chocolate spreads like Nutella, and, of course, chocolate bars.

Every kind of cocoa powder-based European treat is available in exquisite form in Mexico City as well, both in the most traditional European form, and also in a Mexican flavors-infused variation (like chocolate candies with chiles). The city’s restaurants, pastry chefs, bakeries and confectionaries make all the European chocolate foods, often matching European quality.

While Europe’s relationship with chocolate began 200 years ago, Mexico’s began 5,000 years ago. That’s when the Olmec civilization starting using and eventually domesticating the cacao bean in Southern Mexico, which was used by Olmecs and later Mayans, Aztecs and other Mexican civilizations as both an important beverage and a currency.

Our word “chocolate” is from the Aztec word “xocolātl” (pronounced something like show-ko-LA-tull), which means “bitter water.” Mesoamericans typically mixed chocolate with corn and spices (but no sweetener) and drank it.

Because chocolate has served as an important food in Mexico for millennia, regions, indigenous groups and even small villages have their own unique ways to prepare and consume chocolate.

Mexicans in various parts of the country enjoy ways to consume chocolate that few Europeans have ever even heard of, such as chocolate atole (made with corn and milk), chocolate tamales, chocolate-dipped chiles, chocolate-covered fruit and, of course, the ultimate use for chocolate — black mole. Mexicans also use species of cacao never used in European chocolate.

The most common way for Mexicans to consume chocolate, though, is water-based hot chocolate containing sugar, almonds and cinnamon mixed and frothed with a molinillo — (a mixing stick introduced by the Spanish).

Mexico City is also great with American chocolate ideas like chocolate beer and chocolate cocktails, chocolate chip cookies, brownies and chocolate muffins.

Markets throughout Mexico offer custom chocolate blending and grinding. While European cooks mainly use industrially produce cacao powder from cacao grown in Africa, Mexicans buy freshly roasted and ground-to-order chocolate with custom mixes of sugar, cinnamon and other ingredients from cacao grown in Mexico. The quality of Mexican chocolate is far higher than European chocolate, on average.

But Mexico City is the greatest city in the world for chocolate for one simple reason. It’s the only place on Earth with all styles of European chocolate, all styles of American chocolate and all styles of Mexican chocolate. (If there’s an obscure style of chocolate in some remote Mexican region, you can also find it somewhere in Mexico City.)

And while everything we do during the Mexico City Cocktail Experience is a secret surprise, it’s a safe guess that there may be chocolaty deliciousness involved. - Mike

You can taste Mexico City, Oaxaca and Baja in every great Mexican dinner

“Get dressed! We’re going to an oyster tasting,” Amira told me.

It was late afternoon in November of 2020. I was in our apartment in the city center of Oaxaca, Mexico, and had just settled down to work.

But this is Oaxaca. Resistance is futile. Great food events happen almost constantly, it seems. (The night before, Amira had been invited to a chef’s roundtable dinner with several of the city’s prominent chefs and food producers, plus a special guest chef from Japan. The night after, we would enjoy the anniversary of a restaurant called Oaxacalifornia.)

But tonight, an “oyster tasting” at Casa Oaxaca Hotel.

What all these events had in common was Chef Alejandro Ruiz, the Godfather of Oaxacan cuisine. He organized all three events, has run Casa Oaxaca Hotel and co-owns Oaxacalifornia (as well as several other fantastic restaurants in Oaxaca). In addition to organizing dozens of incredible food events in the city, Chef Alex also trains on, consults over and represents Oaxacan food to Mexico and the world. Over the years, he’s also become a close friend of ours (and a major ingredient in our Oaxaca Mezcal Experience).

We arrived at the “tasting” to discover that we were among only around eight or so people — a few local chefs, plus Amira and me. Leading the event was a guest: Mexico’s leading supplier of seafood to the country’s best restaurants, including Mexico City’s Pujol. His name is Ezequiel Hugo Hernandez Zúñiga. He brought oysters and PowerPoint.

Chef Alex’s staff served our tiny gathering wave after wave of oysters on the half-shell, each a different type and accompanied by all kinds of spicy and flavorful sauces, all the while Mr. Zúñiga delivered a master class on the world of oysters. After the half-shell oysters, we were treated to incredible oyster soups and tacos.

All the while, we drank paired wines, beers and cocktails, plus mezcal, of course.

The lecture lasted three hours. The dining around six hours. But the conversation continued late into the night — all about oysters, food, restaurants and cooking.

At some point, probably around 1am, the kitchen staff (which had been standing by the whole time) figured we must be getting hungry again, and started bringing out tlayudas (a kind of giant Oaxacan tostada folded in half and eaten like a sandwich) and other Oaxacan comfort foods.

I told Chef Alex that I really enjoyed the mezcal we had been drinking. “You want to try some really great mezcal?” I said “of course!” and he rang up (OK, woke up) a man named Chucho Espina — another serial food entrepreneur, restaurant owner and mezcal maker and mezcal expert.

And so around 2am, we followed Chucho to an art gallery to taste mezcal. So we sat in one of the gallery rooms surrounded by photography, with its gravel dirt floor, around a hastily assembled table, and tasted some of the most incredible mezcales I had ever tried until the sun came up. (Chucho has since also become a friend, and he always seems to show up at every Oaxacan gathering, and at his own bars and restaurants, offering surprising, amazing and unique mezcales.)

The evening (and night, and morning) was unforgettable, totally unique and quintessentially Oaxacan.

Over the years, I’ve noticed that almost every incredible high-end dinner in Mexico involves three locations: Mexico City, Oaxaca and Baja California. In fact, we had been exploring the Mexico City food scene for years before visiting Oaxaca for the first time, and noticed how enamored Mexico City chefs were about Oaxacan flavors, herbs and other ingredients. Oaxaca is considered the epicenter of Mexican mole, for example. And 80% of the world’s mezcal is produced in the state of Oaxaca.

Great Mexican fine dining almost always involves Mexico City chefs or culinary culture, Oaxacan flavors and ingredients and Baja seafood and wine (The main wine country of Mexico is Valle de Guadalupe near Ensenada).

Mexico City is one of the world’s greatest places for food, which is why we love our Mexico City Cocktail Experience. Mexico is the only country in the world with two restaurants currently in the Top Ten of the World's 50 Best Restaurants list — Pujol and Quintonil, both in Mexico City. And both these restaurants specialize in Oaxacan flavors, dishes and ingredients and Baja seafoods (supplied by Mr. Zúñiga) and wines.

Our “oyster tasting” was no different, bringing together Mexico City, Oaxaca and Baja for the ultimate Mexican food experience.

Of course, Mexico has 31 states and thousands of distinct food cities and areas, and it’s all delicious. But the secret sauce of high-end Mexican cuisine almost always bring together Mexico City, Oaxaca and Baja. -Mike

The Ultimate Valentine

Tens of millions of tourists see Venice each year. But hardly anyone knows about the heaven-on-Earth Prosecco Road less than one hour North.

And yet this may be the most beautiful wine country in the world, with a fantastic and wildly underappreciated culture.

While everyone is familiar with the City of Venice, the islands and lagoon, the culture of medieval Venice responsible for that city was part of the larger "Serenìsima Repùblega Vèneta," which means "Most Serene Republic of Venice" in the Venetian language. The "country" of Venice extended all the way up to the Prosecco Road to the mountains beyond.

During our incredible Prosecco Experience, we explore the wonders of Venetian culture — the incredible food, wine, architecture and history — which lasted for a thousand years.

The Prosecco Road itself connects the beautiful towns of Conegliano and Valdobbidene and all the charming villages between, winding over brilliant green vineyards and forests. The landscape is breathtaking and picture-perfect.

The castles, abbeys, historic towns and incredible beauty of the Prosecco Hills should be well known to every Europe-loving traveler. But the tourist masses haven't found this idyllic spot yet, and so the Prosecco Road is one of the last undiscovered wine countries.

Which is just how we like it. We don't do tourism. The Prosecco Experience is not a tour. It's an immersive exploration of an incredible place and wonderful culture with our brilliant and visionary local food and wine friends. (We can’t give you the details; every exclusive gathering, meal, activity and location is a secret.)

But if you guess we’ll be drinking some incredible wine — well, that’s a very good guess. The Prosecco Hills is a wine country without equal — you're always surrounded by vineyards on rolling hills. We'll wake up and go to bed surrounded by vineyards.

And while everyone is familiar with the kind of prosecco this region exports abroad, the best prosecco can be tasted only in the Prosecco Hills. This Experience will transform your relationship with prosecco. We'll also enjoy a wide range of other incredible, astonishing red and white wines made only in the region. We’ll enjoy this wine with the winemakers themselves.

And the food — the food!! — so amazing. We can’t wait to show you this magical, undiscovered gastronomic paradise.

We have just one room available for our next Prosecco Experience, which happens May 23 through 28, 2022. Book now and make it yours. You deserve this!

On the places you won't find in the travel guides

When you’re on a two-week vacation, you need to turn to the travels guides — books, sites, apps, blog posts, social media posts and maps recommendations. But when you’re living abroad as a digital nomad, you have the time to explore, find the stuff that’s not in the guides and try them out.

In this picture, I’m in line for a dive Xochimilco pulqueria (I’m the gringo at the back of the line with the giant backpack). This bar is purely local. And, in fact, it’s unlikely to spot gringos even in the neighborhood.

We love this kind of discovery. And the reason is that once any bar, restaurant or other thing blows up in the travel guide, it changes. It’s great to experience the unchanged places, which authentically cater to locals.

The only way to discover local-only establishments at scale is to spend months and months in a place, wandering around and relying on serendipity.

Let's get real in 2022

The last two years have tested everyone’s patience, endurance and forbearance. But if the pandemic has taught us anything, it’s this: Life is short. The world is vast. Being cooped up sucks. And people are precious.

Let’s make 2022 the year we embrace the real and reject the artificial. Let’s turn our backs on fake “friends” on social media and any other social interaction that doesn’t bring us joy. Let’s reject fake, fast and junk food. Let’s spend less time in our concrete jungles and track housing complexes and strip malls.

Let’s give ourselves the gift of what we really need: Real food. Real friends. Nature.

Let’s get real.

Traveling to Oaxaca to explore the food, culture and architecture of this Mexican gem

Waking up in Oaxaca to the chirping of birds and the hum of this city on the second day of spring was nothing short of glorious. Even after arriving exhausted from California, being in Oaxaca again is a dream come true. We had been scrambling to get ourselves ready to reclaim our digital nomad lifestyle after sheltering in place for many months. (Note: This post is an excerpt from the Gastronomad Newsletter.)

We’re living in a traditional Oaxacan house, which belongs to a friend of a friend. It’s as pleasant as can be and perfect for doing the work Mike and I do. It has a nice big kitchen with lots of natural light where I can work on creating recipes for the Spartan Diet Journal. 

The house has a wonderful open air courtyard where hummingbirds love to visit and we enjoy watching them from floor-to-ceiling windows as we sit in front of our laptops every day. We have a nice hipster bakery cafe next door — the smell of baking butter is wafting through the windows as I write this.

Travel is even more meaningful than it used to be somehow. Mike and I have truly loved our lifestyle and always feel so grateful and blessed. But traveling and seeing our Oaxacan friends again makes us so happy (even if we can't hug and we have to meet outdoors keeping distance and wearing face masks).

Pandemic woes are temporary. But Oaxaca is eternal. 

Oaxaca is a state. But the history and culture (including food culture) of Oaxaca centers on the Oaxaca Valley in the Sierra Madre Del Sur Mountains. 

The Zapotec civilization ruled the Oaxaca valley between around 700 BC until two years after the first Spanish set foot on the Mexican mainland (around 1521). Although there are many indigenous languages spoken in the State of Oaxaca today, the main language group is Zapoteco, which has 7 distinct languages and more than 100 dialects. It's mainly these Zapotec peoples — their farming and food practices — that make Oaxaca such a unique culinary paradise. 

Mexico is the food capital of the Americas, and Oaxaca is the food capital of Mexico. 

The Spanish brought the food cultures of the Arab world (having previously expelled the Moors from Spain, but not their food culture) and Asia (having established a trade route between their various colonies, including in the Philippines and elsewhere in Southeast Asia). But no import could rival the incredible food types of the native Americans in general, and Southern Mexico in particular. This tiny tropical area, from the Oaxaca valley to Guatemala, and from the Pacific to the Atlantic, gave the world the cultivated or domesticated varieties of corn, chocolate, tomatoes, tomatillos, avocados, chilis, squashes, turkey, papayas, vanilla, jicama, chia seeds, allspice, many species of beans and hundreds of spices and herbs. 

What's different about Oaxaca compared with many other Mexican regions is the combination of specific types of food production, plus the existence of 16 officially recognized indigenous groups faithfully preserving ancient foods and food practices. 

While all of Mexico's "greatest hits" are present here — (amazing hot chocolate, corn tortillas, sweet breads, sweetened watery drinks and all the rest — Oaxaca is especially well known throughout Mexico for many traditional dishes and drinks originating in the region. Some of the more well known include: 

mole

Oaxaca is called the "Land of the Seven Moles" because each of seven regions in the area is said to specialize in a specific type of mole that's different from the other six. These general mole types are black, red, light red, chichilo, green, yellow and manchamanteles (stainer of tablecloths). In fact, the "seven moles" label is an oversimplification or even a marketing fabrication. Despite this categorization, moles do vary widely from household to household and from seller to seller. Both the variety and quality of moles to be found in Oaxaca is overwhelming. (Mole is simultaneously the most Mexican and the most international food ever created, typically containing ingredients originating in the Americas (North and South), Europe, Asia and Africa.)

tlayudas

A tlayuda is a large (about the size of a medium pizza) thin tortilla roasted on a comal or over fire and topped with beans and a combination of other ingredients including lard, avocado, some kind of meat, Oaxacan cheese and salsa. 

quesillo

Also known as Oaxacan cheese, quesillo is like a slightly more flavorful mozzarella or string cheese. Dominican friars brought the mozzarella idea from Italy to Oaxaca and used cow’s milk instead of buffalo milk. It's made into long ribbons and then bound up like a ball of yarn via the pasta filata process. While clearly an Italian import, the centrality of quesillo to Oaxacan dishes and also the quality of the cheese from Oaxaca makes it central to this region. 

Oaxacan tamales

While tamales are universal to Mexico, every region has its different varieties. Oaxacan tamales are wrapped in banana leaves (as is common throughout tropical Mexico and Central America, and often contain uniquely Oaxacan moles). 

tetelas

Tetelas are made with corn masa wrapped around a filling that can include beans, chilis, pork, mushrooms, cheese and other ingredients, folded into a triangle shape, grilled and then topped with sour cream, cheese and even roasted grasshoppers. 

memelas

Memelas are thick corn tortillas shaped to be filled with a spread of refried beans, lard, quesillo and topped salsa (similar to sopes). They’re shaped like tiny pizzas with a little border around to keep the filling inside the open face memela.

chapulines

Also found throughout Mexico, chapulines (roasted grasshoppers) are especially associated with Oaxaca because of the quantity and variety available in the Oaxaca Valley. Local markets feature baskets of different types piled high and sold by the kilo. They can be eaten in or on various foods, or just eaten by themselves by the handful with chili, lime, garlic or onion and salt. 

mezcal

One of the world's most exquisite, complex and sophisticated distilled alcohol drinks, mezcal is made from the agave plant (maguey). Before mezcal can be made, a mezcalero has to wait at least 7 to 9 years to begin the harvest and distillation process as most agave plants take at least 7 years to reach maturity at which point they can be harvested. Some wild agave species take 30 years to reach maturity. While mezcal is made in various regions around Mexico (including tequila, which is just one of the many varieties of mezcal), the vast majority is produced in the Oaxaca valley, which features vast agave plantations like the California wine country features vines. To make most mezcal types, the spikey leaves are cut off and the center "pineapple" is chopped, cooked underground, mashed, fermented and distilled using traditional handcrafted methods that go back generations. Different mezcales have different characteristics based on the type and age of the plant, the terroir of where it's grown, the harvesting, cooking, fermentation and distillation processes, the ingredients added for flavor (including in rare cases turkey meat or specific worms), the style and amount of aging and other factors. 

pulque

Pulque, which is fermented agave juice, is to mezcal what beer is to whiskey — it's the same basic ingredient fermented rather than distilled. Before the Spanish arrived, pulque was a drink mainly for the upper classes of native societies, and also used ritualistically. Before the 20th Century, it was drunk more commonly than beer. Pulque is a delightfully sweet and sour drink by itself, and also flavored with fruit juices and other flavorings. In our experience, Oaxaca has the best-tasting pulque we've encountered in Mexico thus far. 

The cultural expression of Oaxaca is apparent not only in its gastronomy, but also architecture, art, and preservation of its indigenous traditions that reward the senses with flavors, colors, aromas and beauty.

We're here mainly to continue preparing for the upcoming 2021 Oaxaca Experiences, which will bring people together from abroad to introduce them to local friends and the local community, as well as the beauty and deliciously unparalleled splendor of Oaxacan culture. 

This will be a once-in-a-lifetime culinary and cultural immersion to experience Oaxaca’s authentic expressions of flavors, aromas and colors through a deep exploration of its food, beverages, architecture, folk art and handmade crafts as well as the warmth and wisdom of its people. We hope you get to enjoy this epic travel adventure. -Amira

Our Day of the Dead in a tiny village in Oaxaca

Amira and I were invited by our friend Dalia to her indigenous, Zapotec-speaking village in the middle of Oaxaca to join her traditional Day of the Dead celebration. Dalia is an amazing cook who grows all her own food and makes everything from scratch. Here are some of the highlights of our day.

Dalia made for us a regional specialty called atole con chocolate, which is a white corn drink very common throughout Mexico, but with a local twist: white-chocolate foam. She ferments a white variety of cacao under ground for three months, adds a little wheat, then grinds, sifts and froths it using a wooden Aztec hand mixing stick. This is the chocolate foam before being added to the atole.

Here’s the completed drink. It’s truly delicious and wonderful.

Dalia’s barbacoa is made from lamb from her own flock.

They make giant, very thin and crispy tortillas around here made from their own corn that they grow and usually mill by hand using an Aztec stone grinder called a metate. Amira got involved. Amira is wearing a kind of apron vest called a mandil, which they loaned her as a way for her to be part of the group.

This is the wood fired comal Dalia uses in the corner of her kitchen.

Dalia’s barbacoa is mind-blowingly good.

Here’s Amira enhancing the barbacoa in the traditional way with lime, cabbage with cilantro and green salsa all from Dalia’s garden.

Dalia’s mole negro, made very traditionally with more than 30 ingredients, is one of the best I’ve ever tasted.

After lunch we spent some time with Dalia’s ofrenda.

Dalia lit the candles.

Masks off for a moment so that Dalia could ritually purify Amira with copal, a flower they gather in the mountains and turn into incense.

We had a nice long walk through the village to Dalia’s mother’s house.

The ofrenda at her mother’s house is dedicated to her father, who passed away five years ago.

Dalia offered us some mezcal from a plastic jug. They buy it from a place that dispenses it from a barrel.

The multitalented Dalia also weaves. She makes rugs, table runners and more, all stunning.

She showed us how it’s done.

These are her naturally-dyed wool yarns, which she dies by hand using plants either picks wild in the mountains or grows in her garden.

These are tiny coasters!

Before leaving, we enjoyed these baked apples. Dalia just tosses them on the coals (in Spanish: Al rescoldo), then peels and slices them. We drizzled them with wild honey. The perfect ending to a very sweet visit.

The joy of making (and eating!) Mexican mole

We love mole. Especially after what we experienced on Sunday, thanks to our friend (and Mexico's chile expert, Fernando). 

Wait, mole? What's the deal with mole? 

Most people think of mole as profoundly and exclusively Mexican. And, of course, that's true. But it's also probably the most international foods ever created. In fact, no food represents the Columbian Exchange more than mole. 

Mole is a product of Spanish colonialism. The exact origins of mole are unknown. But we do know that recipes first emerged in the early 19th Century. And the moles you find today all over Mexico contain ingredients from Mexico, Europe, Africa and Asia. The states of Puebla and Oaxaca are most closely identified with a next-level culture of mole. 

Inside Mexico, the regional variations and family recipes add up to probably tens of thousands of individual varieties. The variety of moles is endless. But what they have in common is two core Mexican ingredients -- chiles and chocolate. Beyond those ingredients, most moles contain between 20 and 40 ingredients, with some containing more than 100 ingredients. These include nuts, dried fruit, seeds, cilantro, seedless grapes, plantains, garlic, onions, cinnamon, black pepper, achiote, guaje, cumin, cloves, anise, tomatoes, tomatillos, garlic, herbs and more. Some moles even contain finished foods, such as tortillas or cookies. 

(Outside Mexico, you're likely to encounter a bland, one-dimensional version of mole poblano.)

Mole is usually used as a sauce for meat or tomales, and also a marinade. At Mexico City's famous Pujol restaurant, mole is served as a course -- they bring you a plate with mole on it, which you eat with a tortilla. 

Because of the wide variety of moles easily available at markets, and because of the internationalization and industrialization of Mexico's food culture, the art of making mole is being lost. 

That's why Fernando and his family decided to stop this loss of culture, and learn how to make mole by making mole. Once they master the art of traditional mole making, they plan to teach others how to do it.

(Fernando's family owns a market called La Flor de Jamaica. And Fernando teaches our Gastronomad Experience guests all about chiles and salsa. He's also dedicated his life's work to preserving the knowledge, culture and botanical diversity of chiles and other Mexican food plants. That's Fernando pictured below wearing the giant hat.)

On Sunday, Fernando and his family (and we) all got together to make mole and other delicious foods completely from scratch using traditional methods over wood fires. This process of experiential learning was lorded over by an older woman who had learn from her mother and grandmother, and also a professional cook. 

Most of the mole ingredients were toasted over a wood fire on a comal, then ground with a large flat volcanic-rock grinding stone called a metate and a hand-held stone called a metlapil.

This turned out to be a wonderful, slow, relaxing way to spend a beautiful Sunday in a small town in the state of Mexico, just South of Mexico City. 

We basically ate all day, took turns grinding mole ingredients, hung out, chatted and ended up having a mind-blowingly fantastic mole chicken dinner.

We are so lucky to have a friend like Fernando, who generously invited us to participate in this day with his wonderful family. And Mexico is lucky to have a man like Fernando working so hard to preserve the nation’s unparalleled gastronomic culture.