The colours of the buildings here are amazing. They're a lot like those we saw in Valladolid, only the historic centre of the city is much larger here so there are more coloured buildings.
By the time we leave this town, we will have stayed in three different places. The first one was beautiful. It was bright blue outside.
This place had the most beautiful courtyard gardens, backed by brightly coloured walls.
Courtney got the room with the hot pink walls!
As much as our existing place was lovely, the beds weren't too comfortable so we decided to get an apartment. We looked at a couple of places and discovered that descriptions on Airbnb aren't always accurate! We ended up in a place that is wonderfully large but is very noisy and you have to run around under the shower to get wet. Such are the joys of travel!
The obligatory town sign photo ;)
This region is famous for its mezcal. Tequila is one kind of mezcal, but from another region. John loved trying out the different types. There were plenty of places that gave tastings or specialised in selling differnet types. Courtney didn't mind it but it was way too strong for me.
This town is very busy with traffic. The streets are crowded with cars and busses. It's a little too much for us in some parts. One day we saw this bus hit a car. In typical Mexican style, what did the drivers do? They had a bit of a laugh about it! Most people in Mexico are incredibly kind to each other. One day, I turned a corner and walked straight into someone. If I was at home, the other person would have given me a withering stare or said something nasty but here, the guy simply said "Buenos dias" (good morning). We've been in shops where people have walked in after us. Not only do they say 'good morning' to the shopkeeper but they say it to us to. If you walk into a lift you should say 'good morning' to everyone in it. They are so polite.
We checked out the market one day and it was one of the best I've ever been to. There were so many interesting products. Grasshoppers anyone? Which type would you like - large, small, red or brown?
I love Mexican colours!
Some of the stands were permanent and we had free tastings of flavoured mezcals. The mezcals were mixed with juices and creams and they were yummy! We bought some and drank it in our apartment on our last night.
Courtney tried some nuts that had whole garlic cloves and other flavours through them. She said they were amazing (but I note she didn't buy any - check out the look on her face!)
We then found a stall that made cups of fruit salad then added yoghourt plus granola, jelly cubes and honey on top. It was great!
Of course, we were serenaded by guitarists......
Nearby, the large town square, the zocalo, is traditionally the centre of a town's activity. It still applies here, however it's very touristy. The balloon sellers always add a splash of colour.
Oaxaca is reknowned for being an arty town, so Courtney and I took advantage of this and did a series of painting lessons! Our teacher was a cool guy with long grey hair. Neither of us finished our paintings but they're well on the way. Courtney's looks great! Mine just proved that I should stick to scrapbooking - lol!
We went for a walk up a hill to the auditorium one day. We went through an underpass and there were amazing murals there. Murals are such a biug thing in Mexico. They're everywhere. There is also a lot of graffiti but very little graffiti is done on the murals, thankfully.
We met up with Leanne again and hired a taxi for the day between us to take us out along a valley near Oaxaca. There are lots of things to see along this valley.
First stop was El Tule where there is a tree with the world's largest truck. It was massive! The tree is estimated to be about 2,000 years old, which makes it older than any of the ruins we've seen in this country. Wow!
We weren't there to see umbrellas though - we came to see the ruins here. An interesting aspect of the ruins was that all types of cactii were planted in the area. They were so cool!
These ruins were unique - they had amazing decorations over all the buildings. Aparently each stone was carved by hand before being set into the walls.
Like many other ancient Mexican places, the buildings were originally painted. This one had been recoloured and it was a very cool effect.
Columns were hand carved from stone. The stone was all brought in from the surrounding hills. Archaeologists haven't figured out yet how they did this.
There were two tombs that we could visit. We had to bend right down through narrow passages to get there. They were hot and humid inside - probably not ideal conditions for storing bodies! Apparently when someone died, they just moved previous bodies aside and added the new ones in. They're empty now, however those stains on the floor look suspicious!
Like many invading civilisations, the Spanish have a lot to answer for. They built a huge church on top of the ancient ruins at Mitla.
Next stop was the springs at Hierve El Agua. For those of you that have been following our blog for a long time, you might remember that we visited Pamukkale in Turkey, where a series of pools were coated in calcium from the limestone-rich water and it formed a white landscape with solidified waterfalls. Well, there are only two places in the world where this occurs, and Hierve El Agua is the second place. Hierve El Agua was nowhere near as big as Pamukkale and, as we were visiting on a Sunday, it was fairly busy with locals. It was interesting to see though.
Water bubbled up from the springs.
Again, there were very cool cactii.
John and I walked down to the bottom of one 'frozen' waterfall. It was pretty cool! Note the people at the bottom - it gives you an idea of the size.
Some parts were like a wierd lunar landscape.
I loved the splashes of colour from minerals and the weird shapes the calcium had made.
Like Pamukkale, a couple of artificial pools had been built. These soon get coated with limestone and look no different from the rest of the area, except that they're too round to be natural. They create amazing infinity pools though!
Courtney was the only one brave enough to test out the cool water. It was a very photgenic location!
The women wearing traditional clothes mostly seemed to either wear scarves on their heads or they tied their hair in plaits with a ribbon through them. Some then tied the ribbons together.
Sombreros are everywhere.
Courtney had some lunch here and we watched as the lady made the tortillas. These presses make life a lot easier for many people!
Inside one hall was the bbq area. Slabs of meat hung in stands which were cooked and served up in tacos or soup. Smoke filled the air.
Courtney and I were walking together when we both suddenly smelled chocolate. Sure enough there was a chocolate crushing stall. Mmmmm!
Puppets!
Last stop was a place where they make mezcal. We learned about the process. This is an aguave plant when it's cut and ready to be crushed (with a grinding wheel pulled by a horse), then fermented and distilled.
While John, Courtney and I tasted the drinks, Leanne and Diego, our taxi driver, chilled.
Oaxaca is also known for its food and we ate in lots of different places. I can't say I was amazed by the food but some of it was quite good, We really like the chocolate-based sauces they make (sauces are called moles). They're not sweet but are rich and nourishing when you're a bit cold.
Most days, the sun shines constantly. The temperature is cold at night but the days are beautiful - sunny and mid 20's. No wonder so many Americans and Canadians are here escaping their winter!
Most days, the sun shines constantly. The temperature is cold at night but the days are beautiful - sunny and mid 20's. No wonder so many Americans and Canadians are here escaping their winter!
We are about to head of for 6 days walking in the mountains. We will have no wifi and are looking forward to experiencing village life.
We have just dropped Courtney at the airport. She is off to India for a wedding! Her next adventure is about to begin. We will miss having our kids with us.
Heather
