We flew to Mexico City, changed planes to practically the next gate (despite our precaution of having Eva in a wheelchair since her knee has been bothering her for several months now), and headed on to Oaxaca City, arriving around 5. First impressions as we drove in a van from the airport were:
- mountains all around, on all sides, not snow capped but impressive,
- brown and arid, very little green (although it is the end of the dry season),
- big-trunked ancient palm trees,
- jacarandas with their gorgeous purple flowers in bloom all over,
- red bricks and cement block the size of bricks used to build,
- some streets have vendors in the streets blocking lanes of traffic, and
- people seem brown just like the land (browner than in Merida) and have two distinctive facial styles -- one is oval and long while the other is rounder and shorter.
After settling into our room, we wandered down to the Zocalo, cathedral, Governor’s
Palace, and a park filled with lovely, giant laurel trees. There is a bandstand where a band was playing so we sat down to enjoy a cool breeze and concert, joking that it was not quite Ravinia. Had dinner in the Zocalo at El Asador Vasco, upstairs so no vendors bother you while eating, and tried the famous Oaxacan grasshoppers, called chapulines. They are served with guacamole and tortillas and are actually delicious, especially at this time of year when they are small. They are seasoned with chile, salt, and lime so you don’t really feel like you are eating bugs. We also had mole (Eva a amarillo and me a negro) which was quite spicy, enticing us to eat less and leave room for dessert which turned out to be quite memorable. Eva had a chocolate cake which was rich and divine. I had a meringue which was about 3 inches tall, incredibly light, and delectably served with a caramel sauce.
- mountains all around, on all sides, not snow capped but impressive,
- brown and arid, very little green (although it is the end of the dry season),
- big-trunked ancient palm trees,
- jacarandas with their gorgeous purple flowers in bloom all over,
- red bricks and cement block the size of bricks used to build,
- some streets have vendors in the streets blocking lanes of traffic, and
- people seem brown just like the land (browner than in Merida) and have two distinctive facial styles -- one is oval and long while the other is rounder and shorter.
After settling into our room, we wandered down to the Zocalo, cathedral, Governor’s
Palace, and a park filled with lovely, giant laurel trees. There is a bandstand where a band was playing so we sat down to enjoy a cool breeze and concert, joking that it was not quite Ravinia. Had dinner in the Zocalo at El Asador Vasco, upstairs so no vendors bother you while eating, and tried the famous Oaxacan grasshoppers, called chapulines. They are served with guacamole and tortillas and are actually delicious, especially at this time of year when they are small. They are seasoned with chile, salt, and lime so you don’t really feel like you are eating bugs. We also had mole (Eva a amarillo and me a negro) which was quite spicy, enticing us to eat less and leave room for dessert which turned out to be quite memorable. Eva had a chocolate cake which was rich and divine. I had a meringue which was about 3 inches tall, incredibly light, and delectably served with a caramel sauce. The town is colonial like Merida, but smaller and in some ways, better preserved. There are lovely carved doors, fanciful wrought iron, and fabulous cement decorations on many of the buildings. There are 19 cathedrals in town, and the two we saw in detail were gorgeous. And there are crafts -- everywhere!! You can shop for the four types of crafts in town or go out to the villages and meets the craftspeople. We did a combination to purchase green pottery, black pottery, alebrijes, and woven goods. We also sampled the local "gold" which is mezcal, a rougher version of tequila.
We went up to an observatory to see the whole valley from on high, so had our taxi driver go up to the Planetarium and astronomical Observatory which sit on a hill on the northwest side of town above the Guelaguetza auditorium.
We went up to an observatory to see the whole valley from on high, so had our taxi driver go up to the Planetarium and astronomical Observatory which sit on a hill on the northwest side of town above the Guelaguetza auditorium.
From there, we decided to head out to Monte Alban – founded around 500BC by the Zapotecs who are responsible for its architectural style and power, although there is earlier evidence on the site of the Olmecs (the people who made those giant jade-covered heads). The ruins are interesting for their geometric decorations and sheer size. 
Also, there is an observatory which is shaped like a pentagonal arrowhead, oriented at an angle to every other structure on the plaza, and is thought to be the first astronomical observatory in all of Meso-America. And, it sits on a mountaintop that apparently was flattened, although archeologists have no idea how these ancient Indians managed to do this, at about 6000 feet or almost 1000 feet higher than Oaxaca City. This site is now named for the 17th century Spanish lord but no one seems to be sure what the Olmecs, Zapotecs, Mixtecs, or Aztecs who occupied the site might have called it. They found tombs with ceramics, turquoise-encrusted statuary, and incredible gold jewelry. The guide said the center was unoccupied from about 800AD to perhaps the 13th century when the Mixtecs were in power in the area. Although the 
main square and buildings occupy the site on the mountain that was “shaved”, the whole area of the settlement includes several hills. The area of the main plaza is not only flat, but also apparently was paved. They found evidence of cisterns to hold water and caves to store corn, beans, squash, chiles, or other foodstuffs. One building called the Dancers has a gallery of glyphs carved into stone which may depict symbols, medical procedures, and a variety of features. Our guide believes Monte Alban may have been a medical center and found evidence for this is depictions of childbirth carved on stellae. He also believes that it was such a powerful center than there were many foreign visitors – and use the glyphs to demonstrate African features, a bearded middle easterner, and others. Their ball court, which seems quite small to us in the Yucatan, may have hosted a different game altogether, more like handball than soccer. Their writing probably was the basis for the Mayan language, but is written vertically instead of horizontally, perhaps for space, or perhaps because the stone was harder to carve than our limestone in the Yucatan.
Also, there is an observatory which is shaped like a pentagonal arrowhead, oriented at an angle to every other structure on the plaza, and is thought to be the first astronomical observatory in all of Meso-America. And, it sits on a mountaintop that apparently was flattened, although archeologists have no idea how these ancient Indians managed to do this, at about 6000 feet or almost 1000 feet higher than Oaxaca City. This site is now named for the 17th century Spanish lord but no one seems to be sure what the Olmecs, Zapotecs, Mixtecs, or Aztecs who occupied the site might have called it. They found tombs with ceramics, turquoise-encrusted statuary, and incredible gold jewelry. The guide said the center was unoccupied from about 800AD to perhaps the 13th century when the Mixtecs were in power in the area. Although the 
main square and buildings occupy the site on the mountain that was “shaved”, the whole area of the settlement includes several hills. The area of the main plaza is not only flat, but also apparently was paved. They found evidence of cisterns to hold water and caves to store corn, beans, squash, chiles, or other foodstuffs. One building called the Dancers has a gallery of glyphs carved into stone which may depict symbols, medical procedures, and a variety of features. Our guide believes Monte Alban may have been a medical center and found evidence for this is depictions of childbirth carved on stellae. He also believes that it was such a powerful center than there were many foreign visitors – and use the glyphs to demonstrate African features, a bearded middle easterner, and others. Their ball court, which seems quite small to us in the Yucatan, may have hosted a different game altogether, more like handball than soccer. Their writing probably was the basis for the Mayan language, but is written vertically instead of horizontally, perhaps for space, or perhaps because the stone was harder to carve than our limestone in the Yucatan.In Santa Maria Atzompa, the green pottery is made that is in daily use for cooking, serving, and storing things. The pottery (barro) is kind of pinky and then is glazed a dark green. We had a quick lunch of empanadas as we tried to decide how many pieces of this green pottery we needed. We found a small dish with two parts which will be perfect for serving sauces or salsas.
Our final stop the first day was the town of Arrazola, the home to many of the people who made alebrijes – carved wooden (mainly copal) creatures which are painted with fanciful colors and features. Although we’d seen examples of these throughout Mexico, we began to appreciate the wide variety of styles from primitive to quite exotically detailed. From Armando Jiminez and his wife, we bought a baboon with big, big hair. From Claudio Ojeda and his wife Tereza Gonzales, we bought a tiny dragon with huge wings and an even huger tongue that were painted with beads of paint.
We stopped at the store of Arsenio Morales and loved the praying mantis, but didn’t bring any home and saw several other smaller artisans as well.
The next day, we headed east, beginning our day with a delicious cup
of chocolate. Oaxaca is known for its chocolate which is a mixture of cacao beans, almonds, and cinnamon. It can be served with milk or water, but is frothy and rich when combined with milk (chocolate con leche) and became our favorite morning drink.
In the town of Santa Maria del Tule is the most amazing tree, well actually several trees, but one is immense and known as the Grandfather (the others are the father, grandson, and cousin). This grandfather tree is over 2000 years old and is a (Ahuehuete or Montezuma) cypress. The trunk is more than 10 meters (33 feet) in diameter. Naturally, there is a Catholic church right there!!
We stopped at the store of Arsenio Morales and loved the praying mantis, but didn’t bring any home and saw several other smaller artisans as well.
The next day, we headed east, beginning our day with a delicious cup
of chocolate. Oaxaca is known for its chocolate which is a mixture of cacao beans, almonds, and cinnamon. It can be served with milk or water, but is frothy and rich when combined with milk (chocolate con leche) and became our favorite morning drink.In the town of Santa Maria del Tule is the most amazing tree, well actually several trees, but one is immense and known as the Grandfather (the others are the father, grandson, and cousin). This grandfather tree is over 2000 years old and is a (Ahuehuete or Montezuma) cypress. The trunk is more than 10 meters (33 feet) in diameter. Naturally, there is a Catholic church right there!!
We drove on to Mitla, stopping along the way to see an ancient carving in a rock near the ruins of Yagul and to learn about making mezcal at Rancho Zapata, where we also had lunch (Eva had rabbit and yes, it tasted like chicken). Mezcal is distilled from the agave or henequen plant, just like tequila is. It grows for 7-9 years, then is cut and the “pineapple” is what is used. The leaves that are cut off (and that used to be the green gold of the Yucatan when it was turned into rope 
for ships) is still made into rope, although locally only, and often it is used in crafts (like the hair on the baboon). The pineapple is cut and roasted over a smoky fire for 3-6 days depending on the weather (when it’s colder, this takes longer – and bits of this taste delicious, like pumpkin pie). Then it is further cut and smashed under a grinding stone pulled in a circle by a burro or horse. This mushy pulp goes back onto the fire
and then into giant wood vats with water to ferment. Finally, the water goes into a still to be cooked with wood. It goes through the still fermentation at least twice – the twice fermented mezcal is really rough tasting. After fermenting, it is stored in barrels for a maximum of 5 years and is bottled with a worm (a gusano can be one of 3 things: the worm in the mezcal, the worm from the mezcal dried and ground with chile and salt into a powder which is eaten as a botana using fresh lime, and the third press of the agave).
for ships) is still made into rope, although locally only, and often it is used in crafts (like the hair on the baboon). The pineapple is cut and roasted over a smoky fire for 3-6 days depending on the weather (when it’s colder, this takes longer – and bits of this taste delicious, like pumpkin pie). Then it is further cut and smashed under a grinding stone pulled in a circle by a burro or horse. This mushy pulp goes back onto the fire
and then into giant wood vats with water to ferment. Finally, the water goes into a still to be cooked with wood. It goes through the still fermentation at least twice – the twice fermented mezcal is really rough tasting. After fermenting, it is stored in barrels for a maximum of 5 years and is bottled with a worm (a gusano can be one of 3 things: the worm in the mezcal, the worm from the mezcal dried and ground with chile and salt into a powder which is eaten as a botana using fresh lime, and the third press of the agave).Mitla has not been restored the way that Monte Alban has (in fact, Monte Alban is over 60% 
restoration, our guide told us), but was as interesting to us for the myriad of geometric patterns used to decorate the walls and temples. It is significantly smaller than Monte Alban and now, has a Catholic church and market right in the middle of it. Apparently, the name means either “place of the dead” or “burial place” in Zapotec and there are tombs which are part of the city. This could have been inhabited as early as 900BC but is an area of earthquakes – it is the same San Andreas fault line as California. There are reports from the 1580s back to Spain saying the High Priest of Mitla had a jaguar covered throne and sat higher than the king.
restoration, our guide told us), but was as interesting to us for the myriad of geometric patterns used to decorate the walls and temples. It is significantly smaller than Monte Alban and now, has a Catholic church and market right in the middle of it. Apparently, the name means either “place of the dead” or “burial place” in Zapotec and there are tombs which are part of the city. This could have been inhabited as early as 900BC but is an area of earthquakes – it is the same San Andreas fault line as California. There are reports from the 1580s back to Spain saying the High Priest of Mitla had a jaguar covered throne and sat higher than the king.Then we drove on to Teotitlan del Valle, where the weavers live and work. This is a surprisingly prosperous town with lovely, large homes everywhere. We had planned to stop at several towns where weaving is done but found one village was enough once we met Isaac Vasquez (and all his relatives who also work at this home/factory) who demonstrated the whole process to us and from whom we bought an exquisite rug (blew our wad so to speak). The process 
begins with sheared wool which is then carded by hand, then spun on a spinning wheel to make strands. These are then dyed using natural materials, dried, and woven into patterns. If the rug design is original, the weaver may “sign” it and of course, it is more valuable than most you can buy at a market. The natural shades of the wool are beige, grey, and off-white. To get yellow, they use seeds. For blue, they milk a tree called anil or indigo, make a paste, and dry it into chunks. To make green, they’d mix blue and yellow. To get red, which is the primary color, they use cochineal bugs which live on the nopales cacti (the flat paddle ones you see in Mexican grocery stores and are used for salads or in soups, and the pinky flowers are called tuna and used for drinks) and shield themselves with a white powdery film. Crushed, they emit a red liquid that really looks like red food coloring dye. To get orange, lime is squeezed in the red. To get purple, bicarbonate is added to the orange. Just like the other crafts, whole families are involved in designing, making the wool workable, dyeing it, and weaving the rugs.
Our driver, Izamal, whom we simply lucked into, told us the story of his life since his taxi was not working very well and so he could not drive very fast. We were particularly amused by his trouble with women. Izamal is an attractive man in his 40s we guess, fun and well-spoken, loves to sing along with Vicente Fernandez, and is nicknamed Tejano because he used to love to wear cowboy hats and boots. He has a wife and a girlfriend and now a new girlfriend, as well as three children. His wife of 16 years, with whom he has two children, is divorcing him and has taken everything but his taxi and clothes. This, he says, is the result of his doing just what she told him to do. After their first child was born, he suggested having a second child so the children would be close in age. His wife refused saying she wanted lots of space between the children, but said that if he wanted another child right away, he should just go out and have one with some other woman to prove what a man he is. Well, he took her at her word, found a girlfriend and they had a baby. The wife didn’t know about the girlfriend and vice versa until recently when he tried to move in with the girlfriend, mentioning that his wife had thrown him out. So both the wife and the girlfriend are through with him and he is back living with his parents. He has found another girlfriend who knows about these other two because he swore he was going to be honest and upfront this time. He took her home to meet his parents and his mother warned her about him saying he doesn’t drink, doesn’t smoke, doesn’t do drugs, doesn’t gamble, but he does have one vice—women—and if you want a happy life, find another man who drinks or smokes or does drugs or gambles since it’s an easier vice to live with. And she should know since her husband has 18 children, her two among them, with 11 women!! This is not the end of Izamal’s troubles, though. For years, he has been a womanizer and has entertained his buddies with tales of his conquests. Now that he’s decided to straighten up and just be with one woman, he has no stories to tell, so his pals are teasing him about being gay!!
begins with sheared wool which is then carded by hand, then spun on a spinning wheel to make strands. These are then dyed using natural materials, dried, and woven into patterns. If the rug design is original, the weaver may “sign” it and of course, it is more valuable than most you can buy at a market. The natural shades of the wool are beige, grey, and off-white. To get yellow, they use seeds. For blue, they milk a tree called anil or indigo, make a paste, and dry it into chunks. To make green, they’d mix blue and yellow. To get red, which is the primary color, they use cochineal bugs which live on the nopales cacti (the flat paddle ones you see in Mexican grocery stores and are used for salads or in soups, and the pinky flowers are called tuna and used for drinks) and shield themselves with a white powdery film. Crushed, they emit a red liquid that really looks like red food coloring dye. To get orange, lime is squeezed in the red. To get purple, bicarbonate is added to the orange. Just like the other crafts, whole families are involved in designing, making the wool workable, dyeing it, and weaving the rugs.Our driver, Izamal, whom we simply lucked into, told us the story of his life since his taxi was not working very well and so he could not drive very fast. We were particularly amused by his trouble with women. Izamal is an attractive man in his 40s we guess, fun and well-spoken, loves to sing along with Vicente Fernandez, and is nicknamed Tejano because he used to love to wear cowboy hats and boots. He has a wife and a girlfriend and now a new girlfriend, as well as three children. His wife of 16 years, with whom he has two children, is divorcing him and has taken everything but his taxi and clothes. This, he says, is the result of his doing just what she told him to do. After their first child was born, he suggested having a second child so the children would be close in age. His wife refused saying she wanted lots of space between the children, but said that if he wanted another child right away, he should just go out and have one with some other woman to prove what a man he is. Well, he took her at her word, found a girlfriend and they had a baby. The wife didn’t know about the girlfriend and vice versa until recently when he tried to move in with the girlfriend, mentioning that his wife had thrown him out. So both the wife and the girlfriend are through with him and he is back living with his parents. He has found another girlfriend who knows about these other two because he swore he was going to be honest and upfront this time. He took her home to meet his parents and his mother warned her about him saying he doesn’t drink, doesn’t smoke, doesn’t do drugs, doesn’t gamble, but he does have one vice—women—and if you want a happy life, find another man who drinks or smokes or does drugs or gambles since it’s an easier vice to live with. And she should know since her husband has 18 children, her two among them, with 11 women!! This is not the end of Izamal’s troubles, though. For years, he has been a womanizer and has entertained his buddies with tales of his conquests. Now that he’s decided to straighten up and just be with one woman, he has no stories to tell, so his pals are teasing him about being gay!!
Friday, we spent the day with Susana Trilling, of the Seasons of My Heart cooking school (a cookbook we’ve owned for years, but never cooked from much) and about 16 others who had 
also signed up for the class. She took us through the largest market in Oaxaca called Abastos and for hours, we wandered and listened and looked and snacked on delicious tamales and wondered at the chiles and herbs (sasparilla!!) we’d never seen. There were acres of shops of every conceivable sort. We had some chocolate specially blended for us (and dragged it home, but have yet to try it since it’s a block. We need to soften it up and make rods or rounds or something easier to store!) Here they feed their chickens marigolds and so they are very yellow. 
There is a melon that looks like a watermelon and is sweet but is called chilacoyte and is white and sweet inside. They have large square bananas here, as well as the regular ones and the little ones. As I stood listening to a discussion about something, I saw a very very very old and very very very brown-skinned woman sitting on the floor right next to me. She was working with something preparing it to sell, but was undone by the sight of me. She could not get over my white skin and finally could not bear it and reached out to pet me on my leg, saying suave (soft). Guess it’s lucky I’d shaved those legs!!
After what seemed like days in this giant market, we ate a variety of tortas and gordas and tortillas filled with all manner of things then headed out for Susana’s rancho in the montes, about 45 minutes of driving, and heard about the menu and began to cook. She talked about each item and offered tips, then we divvied up into groups so at
least two people worked on each menu item. I did soup and Eva did salad. Things had been prepared for us so we were not washing lettuce and peeling garlic, but there was lots of tearing and cutting. We
cooked and schmoozed and out came the cervecas and we did more of the same. Finally, we all sat down to eat. We began with salbutes, a Yucatecan botana and “sandwich”; then the garlic soup with squash blossoms, croutons, and cheese – you cannot imagine how many garlic cloves were sliced to feed us all!; then Eva’s salad, a thing of beauty; and then a coloradito red mole with turkey and rice with chepil, a pre-Hispanic herb still used today. And finally, we had what she called a chocolate pudding, but it was more like a date pudding that is thick like a cake rather than like chocolate mousse.
We spent the rest of our time in town. We found black pottery, blouses, coral beads, and some carved gourds (since we had not had time to go to those villages). We went to art galleries and attended a dance performance at the Teatro Macedonia Alcala – six solo pieces, all of which were interesting but one of which was outstanding. The theater however is a jewel. Dined al fresco all the time, Sandy needing a shawl or rebozo at night to stay warm.
also signed up for the class. She took us through the largest market in Oaxaca called Abastos and for hours, we wandered and listened and looked and snacked on delicious tamales and wondered at the chiles and herbs (sasparilla!!) we’d never seen. There were acres of shops of every conceivable sort. We had some chocolate specially blended for us (and dragged it home, but have yet to try it since it’s a block. We need to soften it up and make rods or rounds or something easier to store!) Here they feed their chickens marigolds and so they are very yellow. 
There is a melon that looks like a watermelon and is sweet but is called chilacoyte and is white and sweet inside. They have large square bananas here, as well as the regular ones and the little ones. As I stood listening to a discussion about something, I saw a very very very old and very very very brown-skinned woman sitting on the floor right next to me. She was working with something preparing it to sell, but was undone by the sight of me. She could not get over my white skin and finally could not bear it and reached out to pet me on my leg, saying suave (soft). Guess it’s lucky I’d shaved those legs!!After what seemed like days in this giant market, we ate a variety of tortas and gordas and tortillas filled with all manner of things then headed out for Susana’s rancho in the montes, about 45 minutes of driving, and heard about the menu and began to cook. She talked about each item and offered tips, then we divvied up into groups so at
least two people worked on each menu item. I did soup and Eva did salad. Things had been prepared for us so we were not washing lettuce and peeling garlic, but there was lots of tearing and cutting. We
cooked and schmoozed and out came the cervecas and we did more of the same. Finally, we all sat down to eat. We began with salbutes, a Yucatecan botana and “sandwich”; then the garlic soup with squash blossoms, croutons, and cheese – you cannot imagine how many garlic cloves were sliced to feed us all!; then Eva’s salad, a thing of beauty; and then a coloradito red mole with turkey and rice with chepil, a pre-Hispanic herb still used today. And finally, we had what she called a chocolate pudding, but it was more like a date pudding that is thick like a cake rather than like chocolate mousse.We spent the rest of our time in town. We found black pottery, blouses, coral beads, and some carved gourds (since we had not had time to go to those villages). We went to art galleries and attended a dance performance at the Teatro Macedonia Alcala – six solo pieces, all of which were interesting but one of which was outstanding. The theater however is a jewel. Dined al fresco all the time, Sandy needing a shawl or rebozo at night to stay warm.
Monday, our last day, was more wandering and shopping and enough time to treat ourselves to reflexology treatments at Namaste since the plane didn’t leave until 5. We spent the day up around Santo Domingo church. Unfortunately, the museum was closed (houses the loot from Tomb 7 at Monte Alban) and the cactus garden was being replanted, but the church is awesome.FOR MORE PICTURES, click here http://picasaweb.google.com/necshs1/OAXACAMarch2008.
Got back safely, unpacked everything and were so pleased with all we'd purchased, and now are settling in while Eva recovers from arthroscopic knee surgery she had almost as soon as we got back!!
