Oaxaca...round two.

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Hola from Oaxaca again!

Well, had another great tour...went to Monte Alban...Monte Albán is a large pre-Columbian archaeological site in the Santa Cruz Xoxocotlán Municipality in the southern Mexican state of Oaxaca. the site is located on a low mountainous range rising above the plain in the central section of the Valley of Oaxaca. The present-day state capital Oaxaca City is located approximately 9 km (6 mi) east of Monte Albán.

The partially excavated civic-ceremonial center of the Monte Albán site is situated atop an artificially-leveled ridge, which with an elevation of about 6,400 ft above mean sea level rises some 1,300 from the valley floor, in an easily defensible location.

It was very peaceful and parklike.

The next stop was down a long dirt road to a place where they paint carved wooden things (mostly animals). The workers there were hard at work painting miniscule little details on all sorts of animals. I bought a cat and a mouse.

Next stop...a 16th century monastery. So impressive how they can build such high heavy buildings so long ago.

Next stop lunch. Buffet...with all sorts of yummy food.

Last stop was the black pottery factory. We watched a pot get started from stem to stern. Great stuff...wanted to buy more...but limited on space in my bag.

Yesterday, I took a four hour cooking class. On the menu was ...

Mole Negro,
Squash Blossom soup,
Stuffed chiles,
Grasshopper quesadillas,
Mushroom dip,
Guacomole Dip,
four kinds of salsa,
Rose petal ice cream
and horchata.

The teacher was so relaxed and mellow. He took us to the local market and explained all sorts of food stuffs. There were five people in the class...one from Guadalahara, California, and two from Australia. We ate like kings and queens afterwards!

Later that night I got together with Gordy and he took me to three of his favorite bars....one was a rooftop with awesome view of Santa Domingo Church, one was a hipster tapas bar, and one was a dive bar with real live cigarette smoke!

This morning a couple from the hostel and I went to the Sunday market in Tlacalula. Getting there was like riding on Mr. Toad's Wild Ride....plus no seat belts. Yikes!! It was a fascinating market. Live chickens, live sheep, bread, fruit, veggies, chiles, grasshoppers, pottery, etc etc etc etc.....a lot of Zapotec (indigenous people) wares.

I had the BEST lunch...the yummiest Tlayuda and a bowl of mexican hot chocolate.

Took a second class bus back to Oaxaca...which felt like grandma driving compared to the morning taxi.

Gonna head to the coast (Manzunte, San Augustinillo, and Puerto Escondido) in the morning for 5 days. Looking forward to hanging out in a hammock with a beer in my hand, a book in the other, and the sea shining in my eyes.

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Comments

[Heidi]

grasshoppers
Did you really eat grasshoppers? Were they crunchy?

[Doug]

So...are you going to make us grasshopper quesadillas for HH when you get back?

[tom]

what is a butter fuly?
that's a new one one me....