Activities include adventure nature tours and quests, hiking, mountain biking, bird watching, Oaxaca language and cooking schools, tours of Oaxaca City and shopping in village markets.

Adventure Quest in Oaxaca

As you step off the plane you will realize that you are in a different kind of world. This becomes more and more apparent the longer you stay. The sights and sounds, the language, the food, the tropical mountain climate, strange plants and animals,...all contribute to a sense of adventure. Add to this the visits to ancient ruins, Zapotec crafts villages, the colonial city of Oaxaca with its Catholic churches and museums...galleries, shops, markets, music....

The Casa Raab Estate consists of 40 rolling foothill acres with creeks, cultivated fields, and a mineral springs pool for healthy soaking with outstanding views of the valley below. Great for hikers, walkers and mountain bikers. Burros and goats graze nearby, with music drifting in from the village.

Adventure Nature Tours: Of course, then there are the mountains. The mountains surrounding the Oaxaca valley system rise to around 11,000 feet asl. Oaxaca is at 5,500' asl, and you can easily drive to mountain villages at 8,500 within a couple of hours. The changes in climate, flora and fauna, vistas....are famous. World ecological sites are scattered around these regions.

Mountain Bikes: These can be rented locally, and our local pro Carl, will take you into the hills just above Casa Raab. From easy scenic rides in San Pablo Etla to advanced single-track rides in the Sierra Madre Mountains...Mountain Bike Oaxaca is your one stop for all biking adventures. Visit MountainBikeOaxaca.com for more information.

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Bird Watching: "The Bird List" (Microsoft Excel spreadsheet, click here to download) now contains over 100 species found on the estate. Wake up in the morning, get a cup of coffee,  and just step outside to begin your birding experience. Local guides are available for longer journeys in search of the most rare birds.

Handicraft Villages and Traditional Markets: Oaxaca is famous for its folkart. From pottery to painted wooden animals, from tin work to jewelry, from embroidered clothing to hand woven tapestries and rugs...the quality and diversity are outstanding. The colorful traditional markets are stimulating with their color, counds and aromas...

Fishing in Mexico:  A few rivers in the mountains hold nice trout. There are also wonderful trout hatcheries in the mountains with lagoons to fish in. A bit too easy, perhaps, but great fun and good practice. You get back home with a cooler full of rainbow trout for the cook to prepare. Casa Raab has all the rods and tackle needed for trout fishing.

Salt Water Fishing in the Pacific is available. Sailfish can be sought after during the season, as well as many other species. Ocean fishing trips are multi-day events, and advance planning is required.

Oaxaca Language Schools: Come to Oaxaca and study Spanish in one of the many institutes. All levels are available including informal lessons for travelers and also the most structured advanced courses for accredited students.

Cooking Classes: These range from professional classes at the Seasons of My Heart cooking school with Susanna Trilling, to instruction offered by different restaurants to simple lessons in the Casa Raab kitchen.

Golf & Tennis: There is a good country club (by Mexican standards) within 20 minutes of the Casa. It is a nine hole course, but well laid out and maintained. The club also has a nice restaurant, steam rooms, and a huge pool. A Tennis Club is just down the road in the other direction. 

Horseback Riding & Donkey Petting: Casa Raab has (at present) 5 burros and 2 horses. Kids are welcome to play with the donkeys...and riding them is fine for the smaller children. The horses are available to more experienced riders. There is a riding stable with fine horses to rent, and good instructors to teach, about three miles from the Casa.

Music: There is music playing in Oaxaca city at nearly any time, especially at nights and on the weekends. We also offer to bring in local strolling musicians for any parties that you may be planning. Finally, if you are thinking of buying a guitar or a mandolin, Oaxaca has several music stores that feature good quality instruments, relatively inexpensive, and hand made in Mexico.

The Bodega Boys usually get together at Casa Raab for acoustic music and fun about once a week, and welcome all players or singers. We have many instruments here, and you may certainly bring your own. We play a large variety of music, including Americana circa the 70s- & 80s, as well as jazz, blues, and some local tunes.

Mezcal Tours: Mezcal is the traditional local distilled liquor. It is made, like tequilla, from cooked agave hearts. Mezcal making in Oaxaca is still a rather primitive process, and the excellent quality illustrates the difference between a careful hand made product and an industrial one. Drinking mezcal in Oaxaca is a bit like drinking wine in France; the varieties are amazing, and the quality can't be found anywhere else.

Casa Raab has been collecting hand made mezcal directly from the remote stills in the mountains for over ten years. We also grow maguey (agave) plants by the thousands. We have a medium size pottery still on the property where we process hand picked "pinas" that come from our fields. Once or twice a year we do a "run", and try to produce some of the best mezcal in the world. Visiting during a distilling period is great fun, and really educational.

We also offer trips to the remote locations in the mountains where the "mezcaleros" operate their stills. Taking a tour to several of these locations is guaranteed to be an exciting and different kind of journey, as we travel to places that tourists never visit.

Quests: Guests at Casa Raab often suggest new activities that we don't normally pursue. Perhaps a visit to some hidden ruins, a small village somewhere, a particular artist or a hidden eco-zone. Close or far away, we call these "Quests", and welcome the opportunity to seek out and explore new areas.

For The Kids

The children will begin to feel a sense of adventure as soon as they get off the plane. Our 40-acre estate will keep them busy exploring the foothills. The Casa Raab hidden onyx mine and mineral springs are fun to visit. Playing with our burros (donkeys) is always a winner. Of course the swimming pool is usually in constant use by the younger ones. Our staff members love children, and their extended family can supply baby-sitters if your kids  are young, and you want some help. Oaxaca City is child friendly and safe, with plenty for them to do

Holidays

The heights of the holiday seasons (Day of the Dead, Christmas, New Years) certainly see a large increase in tourists, both international and Mexican. The town pretty much fills up since Oaxaca at these times is quite special. There are many other holidays in Oaxaca, with the Holy Day fiestas (Easter, etc) attended by visitors and locals alike.

When renting during the various holidays not much changes out at the Casa. We honor the various special days, and sometimes the staff takes a day or two off. There is a lot happening in the villages nearby, and you can frequently walk to local exciting fiestas.

Our visits to Zapotec villages during the Day of the Dead celebrations are especially memorable, and Christmas in Oaxaca is wonderfully charming.

For Casa Raab Special Events

For a calendar of Traditional Oaxaca Holidays:
www.oaxacainfo.com/calendar.htm