Oaxaca

When I woke up towards the end of my twelve hour night bus between San Cristóbal and Oaxaca I was surprised to find that the countryside had changed so drastically. The bumpy single carriageway road no longer wound its way through impressive looking mountains, covered in varying shades of green jungle. Instead we snaked through foothills, surrounded by lighter green foliage and tens of different types of cacti. When I saw a Mexican riding a donkey along the road, I realised that the stereotypical Mexico that I had imaged before coming, was based somewhat in truth!

Cacti

Oaxaca (pronounched ua'haka) is a lot bigger than most of the towns I have spent time in, although the central area has a similar feel to the colonial towns I have previously visited. Despite the traffic, it has a welcoming feel to it, with the central Zocalo bustling with tourists, locals and vendors and the streets around hosting  a large variety of cafes, restaurants and art galleries.

Tired after the journey, my first day was spent wandering the streets, getting a feel for the city. The Templo Santo Domingo is a beautiful church near the centre, intricately decorated with carvings and illumination on the inside. Attatched to it is an incredible anthopological museum about the Oaxacan indigenous people, from their beginnings through to the Spanish conquest and how they adapted to it. The setting was beautiful and the displays and explanations were really well laid out.

Decorated Skull found in Monte Alban ruins.

Today was spent on a day tour, starting off with a visit to Tule, a local village which has the world's largest tree. We then stopped off at a local market before heading to Mitla, some small, but very well preserved Mayan ruins. Despite their size, the carvings on the outside and inside of the temples were very clear and there were even some tombs to crawl through. They were also built and used later than most of the bigger, more impressive ruins, and so their structure was different. 

Mitla ruins

This was followed by a tour of a Mezcal distillery, an alcohol similar to Tequila, but made on a lot smaller scale using traditional techniques. The tradition of putting a worm in Tequila actually comes from Mezcal. The worms come from the agave plant used to make the alcohol and enhances the taste. None of the myths about the worms being hallucinogenic or making the alcohol stronger are based on truth! They also make cremes similar to baileys out of the Mezcal, which are not as strong, and really delicious! 

Worms in Tequila.

 Our last stop on the tour was a town famous for its woolen rugs, entirely handmade out of natural products. We were shown how the wool was converted into strings, and then spun before being dyed. Even the dyes were made out of natural products,  coming from cacti, bugs, flowers, moss... It was fascinating watching them colour some water, and seeing how adding a drop of lime juice could change a deep red to an orange. The intensity of the colours was incredible, considering they were all of natural provenence! We were then shown how the rugs were made, using traditional looms.It takes an impressive 68 days to make one rug, working 8 horus a day. An excellent learning episode, despite the pressure to buy rugs at extorionate prices.

Spining the wool.

Working at the loom.