Attractions in Oaxaca

Originally, we had planned to stay an extra day in Oaxaca, but we decided to leave tonight so we wouldn’t be rushed in the last few days. When we told the owners of our hostel, the wife nearly flipped out. It’s understandably frustrating to think you’ve rented out a room, only for us to leave early. The husband later came by to apologize for her outburst, saying she was premenstrual. We booked a half-day sightseeing tour that started at 10 AM, so we had just enough time to grab bus tickets to San Cristobal for our 8 PM departure. It’s going to be a long 10-and-a-half-hour bus ride, and each ticket cost 412 pesos. At a little before 10, we were picked up, and our sightseeing adventure began. First, we drove to Tule, home to the world’s thickest and one of the oldest trees. It’s over 50 meters around, which means it’s thicker than it is tall. Back in the day, before the Spaniards arrived, the indigenous people worshipped it. The Spaniards didn’t like that, so they built a church nearby for people to pray in instead. Next, we headed to a small village called Teotitlan del Valle, where a family has been specializing in weaving rugs for generations. They still use ancient traditions to produce their carpets. They only used natural colors. If you add a bit of lime juice, the color gets lighter, and if you add baking soda, it darkens. Moss provided the green color. Indigo gave the blue. A flower produced the yellow. An insect that lives on cacti created the red when crushed. Bark provided the brown. Then we went to a Sunday market called Tlacolula. You could buy just about anything there. We left with freshly baked Mexican bread and some coconut bread/cakes. Our half-day tour wrapped up in Mitla, an ancient abandoned village. The Aztecs believed that life is built in cycles, which is why there are so many old, deserted villages in the area. The Aztecs would move when they felt or experienced that a cycle was coming to an end. That’s why the same families or communities built both Monte Alban, which we visited yesterday, and Mitla. The architecture in Mitla was quite different from that in Monte Alban, even though the same community built both cities. They were constructed many years apart, so Mitla’s architecture is more modern. Monte Alban is mainly built with rough stones, while Mitla features cut stones adorned with numerous symbols representing the heavens and the earth, which they worshipped. The stairs leading up to the temple had very high steps. The easiest way to ascend was to go sideways, which also showed respect since you weren’t walking straight into the temple. The hallways were also very low, which meant you had to enter the innermost rooms of the temple bent over, demonstrating respect by bowing. Around 7 PM, we drove down to the bus station. We had just enough time to grab a bite to eat before boarding the bus at 8. You check in your luggage just like at an airport. Before we boarded, we went through a body search, and then we were ready for our 10-and-a-half-hour bus ride. We quickly fell asleep, so the journey actually went by pretty fast.