Oaxaca

We left very early (5am) for the approximately 5 hour drive to Oaxaca. There were 5 of us in our cousin, Carlos' BMW.  He wanted to arrive in Oaxaca around 10 am.  On this trip was Carlos and his girlfriend, Gloria, Carlos' daughter, Denis, and us. 

Our cousin drives so crazy fast and the back middle seat belt buckle was missing so the middle seat was the stress seat. In that seat you can see us passing other cars or trucks in the double yellow line areas and in curves and it had no seat belt if we crashed.  I started out in that seat but it was too stressful for me so Al switched with me.  Apparently it's known that on these two lane roads the cars straddle the lane and the right shoulder so when passing, the cars coming the opposite direction do the same so the passing car car rides in the middle.  Thank God we arrived safely although with more grey hair!
  
When we arrived in Oaxaca, we went to a market to get breakfast. The thing to eat there are Tylundas. They are very big tostadas with beans, lettuce, avocado, tomato, and meat.  

Denis biting in!

My Tylunda (without beans)

Al really enjoyed the bread and chocolate of the area too.

We checked in to our hotel before setting off for the archaeological site of Monte Alban. 

Al, Nancy, & Denis

Al, Nancy, Gloria, Carlos, and Denis

Ladies wearing floppy hats!

We were lucky to be in Oaxaca for their yearly festival so we went in to the center of town and watched the parade. There were lots and logs of people and it was so much fun.  I love to see different cultural celebrations and the different dresses on the ladies.  Here are photos and videos of the parade. 

Al buying esquites (corn, lemon, and chili)

Us and many more people waiting for the parade to start before we melt from the heat!

The fun part was I had no idea what to expect from the parade.  It was certainly different than any parade I've seen before.  We were watching the parade at a corner where the parade route turned so I mostly got the back of people.

We loved the pineapple dancers!  (and that damn lady with her selfie stick! Ugh!)

Parade videos:

https://youtu.be/F-e1PJvcmpo

https://youtu.be/0LCLaOLKYk8

https://youtu.be/L9gNiWnE_LU

https://youtu.be/5IGYkbY6oog

https://youtu.be/oLeyp1lhX-Q


After the parade we ate dinner in a restaurant in town. It started out with a small drink which we didn't realize it had chapelenos on the rim like salt on a margarita.  They are crickets mixed with salt and other spices.  Here is Al after he found out he just ate some crickets. 

The historic area of Oaxaca is beautiful. 

The next day we went to Herves el Agua. It is bubbling water coming from the ground and the minerals have formed some pools which people can swim in. The water was pretty cold. 

Roommates!  

We hiked down the mountain to the bottom of the mineral column and enjoyed the view from there. 

After hiking back up we left for our next stop, Mitla. In Mitla there was a archeological site which a church was built. It's free for Mexicans on Sunday's but I got stopped and had to pay 70 pesos ($3.50 US). 

I loved these little taxis!

My ticket

Denis, Al, Nancy, and Carlos

Inside some rooms where the walls are preserved.

In Mitla we ate at a beautiful restaurant called Zapata. We had the Oaxacan special which served 4. 

Then to our last stop, the big tree. Apparently the tree closes at 5:30 so Carlos drove like a mad man to get us in the gate to see the tree before it closed. We thought it was funny that a tree closes but it was good we arrived before it closed. This tree really is BIG!  The sign says its 2000 years old and there is a smaller tree which is around 1000 years old. The Zocolo was very pretty and we enjoyed the view and walking around. 

The really big tree on the left and the smaller one on the right!

In Oaxaca, they make an alcohol called Mescal. It's the same as tequila but it can't be called tequila because tequila comes from a specific area like champagne in France. We saw a demonstration of how mescal is made and then had some tastings like a winery. This stuff tasted terrible to us but the gardens of the location was pretty. 

Apparently there are 39 types of plants that mescal and tequila can be made from. This locations had samples of 30 of the plants for us to see. 

Denis checking out the different varieties of Mescal

The it was time for the scary ride back to Mexico City. Luckily Denis was driving but Carlos was teaching her how to drive crazy on those 2 lane roads so it was another stressful ride home. Then we hit traffic at a toll booth and lost about 25 minutes there. We arrived back at our Tia's house at 1:15 am. Everyone else except Al and me had to work on Monday so it was hard on them. 

It was a very fun and quick weekend trip to Oaxaca (except for the car rides).  I most enjoyed the parade and the water pools.  

The area surrounding the cities of the state of Oaxaca were beautiful and filled with mountains and lots of trees.  I would love to go back to Oaxaca again some day!  Thanks Carlos, Gloria, and Denis for a great weekend!