Nora, her mother, and their two helpers are busy in the kitchen all morning preparing a special Christmas Day breakfast which is not served until 10.

There are several wonderful dishes, but I confess I cannot recall them because I couldn't take my eyes off the spread on the sideboard: cornbread with green chiles, a huge, rectangular apple pie, and a beautiful Kahlua flan. I sample them all, but the flan is my favorite.

The mud-floored cabin in which Juarez was born is enshrined in a beautiful little park in Guelatao, a small mountain town about an hour's drive out of Oaxaca.

There isn't much to see, but the drive is lovely and the town itself charming, set prettily in the surrounding mountains.

GOOD FOOD. . .
On the way home we stop for a late lunch at Campamento del Monte, a roadside restaurant offering trucha fresca (fresh trout). For about US$7, we are each served an enormous grilled fish accompanied by fries. Absolutely delicious!

. . . AND DISAPPOINTING FOOD

Unfortunately, after our huge breakfast and lunch, tonight we have reservations at Casa Oaxaca, reputed to be one of the finest restaurants in town. We are actually dining at their second location, but have been told the food is fabulous.

The restaurant has set a lovely table for us in their small dining room, but we insist on moving instead to their newly opened rooftop, with a full moon rising and the spot-lit domes of Santo Domingo as a backdrop. It's far too dark to read a menu, and the battery-operated light on our table is not working properly.

When the waiter appears with a large platter to show us the available fresh fish, we just look at him helplessly. Resourceful fellow, he retreats to the other side of the rooftop, 20 feet away, where he holds the platter of raw fish under a light.

The menu features one fantastic delight after another, but the food does not live up to its description. It's not bad, just disappointing, more so because it is relatively expensive. I guess I would give Casa Oaxaca one more try, just to be sure it wasn't an off night.

Despite our disappointing meal, we are in a riotous mood and everything sets us off laughing. At one point, a fellow at the table next to us leans over and asks me, "Where are you all from, and is there room for more?"