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Published: February 18th 2009
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Well I left Cuernavaca behind to head to the state of Oaxaca. It is just about the southern most state in Mexico with a coastline on the Pacific. From Cuernavaca I went about 3 hours straight East to Puebla where I switched buses, from there I went South to the city of Oaxaca, the capital of this state. The ride from Puebla to Oaxaca was every bit of four and a half hours, but we drove through some pretty enormous mountains that were definitely impressive.
The City of Oaxaca is extremely aesthetic. Narrow streets and almost an old Spanish church everywhere you look with mountains in the distance in all directions. I found a cheap hotel, Hotel Pasaje, for about $12 a night. The center of town is the Zocalo, or the main plaza. There is a huge church there and outdoor cafes line the plaza. I spent my first day making plans for the following days and just wandering around walking in churches. My second day I went to yet another old ruin site. Monte Alban is the most well known archeological site in this state, and pretty well known everywhere else in Mexico. Having just spent time all
by myself in Xochicalco I was a little disappointed to find other people there, but that´s just being unrealistic. The site was great, on top of a huge hill surrounded by arid mountains. Only about 15 min from the center of town.
The following day I found a little tour company next to my hotel and payed about $10 for an excursion to three little towns outside of Oaxaca. We first went to Tule to see a 2,000 year old tree. From there we went to Teotitlan del Valle, a town known for its weaving. They have been weaving there since long before the Spanish arrived, however when they did get there they offered some techniques that expedited the weaving process. We had a demostration on how they make the yarn out of sheep´s wool, lanolin, and how they dye the yarn. From there they showed us the final step of putting it all together, a large rug they said takes about 15 days, depending on the design of course. I bought a really impressive weaving that I am shipping back, I really think it is amazing. It is a weaving of a Diego Rivera painting called "mujer desnuda".
Since I was in Mexico City so recently and saw many of his murals, buying this one really appealed to me.
From the city of Oaxaca I remained in the state and arrived on the Pacific coast to a town called Puerto Escondido(Hidden Port). Nice little town, known for one of its beaches being great for surfing. After staying pretty busy in Mexico City, Cuernavaca and Oaxaca I pretty much hung out on the beach for the three full days I had here. One morning I did wake up early to go fishing in search of Sailfish, but we did not catch a thing. Saw a few sea turtles though. As you can see the water was pretty gorgeous, but knowing I have the Caribbean to look forward to, these will not be my best beach photos.
From Puerto Escondido I spend one night in Bahias de Huatulco and did a little snorkeling then headed to Puerto Arista. This town has maybe 1,000 people and consists of basically one main road. It is a hot spot for Mexican families on the weekend while most other times it is pretty much empty. The most eventful thing that happened to
Puerto Escondido
Playa Carrizalillo me in Puerto Arista occurred while I was leaving. I left my hotel in the morning and just asked someone who worked there to call a cab. I figured it would take me to Tonala, the larger town 20km away, where I would catch a bus to San Cristobal de Las Casas. When a taxi came there were two guys in the back already. I asked the driver about going to Tonala and he said yes, but I was still confused. What I eventually realized was he drives around town in the morning and picks anybody up who needs to go to Tonala and eventually we head that way once the cab is packed full. This is a typical little four-door taxi and I was in shotgun. So now I am up front, we have two guys in the back and then the driver stops to pick up a lady and her middle school aged daughter. One of the guys get out of the back, the woman and the girl jump in the back and the guy sits up front with me. I am halfway off my seat next to the driver with a Mexican guy to my right squeezed
next to the door, all the while I have to allow room for the driver to shift gears because automatic transmissions just don't exist in mexican taxis. After driving around a little more on the outskirts of Arista the guy next to me gets out at the Mechanics, so he is not going to Tonala. I figure that was it and we head to Tonala. We then stop and pick up another lady and her little child. I want to remind you this is a tiny cab, it is the morning, but humid and beginning to get quite hot. So the middle school girl in the back gets out so the little boy can sit with his mom in the back. So now there are four people in the back and myself, the girl and the driver up front. We then take the 25 minute ride to Tonala and I could now catch a bus to San Cristobal de Las Casas.
San Cristobal is a gorgeous town in the mountains. These mountains compared to the dry arid ones of Oaxaca are green and full of trees, though both impressive in their own right. The town itself has a very
Sunrise in Puerto Escondido
Before my unsuccessful fishing venture. similar feel as Oaxaca. Both have narrow streets and plenty of churches and museums to look at. Obviously a big traveler destination as well. I spent two full days here, both I spent walking around finding different stuff to do and taking pictures. I did come across a theatre during the day where they were selling tickets for a Mayan play that night. The show was called "Palenque Rojo." Palenque being one of the most important and grand Mayan cities to ever exist. This play told the story of how a rival city, Toniná, attacked Palenque and in doing so captured its king. This rival city was ultimately the downfall of Palenque though it was never as large or important. Palenque is the place I head to directly from San Cristobal and is also in the state of Chiapas.
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Ross
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Why didn't you offer to ride on top of the taxi? I thought they taught you manners in Oklahoma, didn't they?