Mezcal-itos!

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Oaxaca City (again). I am back here now so that K&N could see this beautifully colonial city which stands 1200m above sea level so it´s fairly temperate (33 degC), I was more than happy to show them around and had omitted stuff on my last stay so we could all do it together. Like mountain biking!! Our hostel rents top notch ones for 120 pesos (div 10, div 2 so 6 GBP) per day, I think its a a great way to look around a city, our trip took us in a circuit of OC and also to the Monte Alban ruins.

Monte Alban is a mixture of Zapotec (AD 300) and Mixtec (AD 1200) before being conquored by the Aztecs (AD 1600) ruins atop of a 400m mountain, it´s the kinda ruins you see on TV with actual pyramids not the silly collection of small walls like the other ruins I saw here. The trip up was monster with the heat, we evaporated, I now weigh 0.5kg and if I turn sideways I disappear, truly! 😉 We also saw some good examples of Oaxacan pottery, Lisa Marie I swear you´d be impressed by it!

After our 7hr bike ride, we went out for a fancy dinner then K&N suggested to me that we enjoy some traditional native dancing which was surprisingly good, the costumes were very colourful, they even had head dresses! And best of all we sampled some Mezcal so we were a bit tipsy, we all got sunhats when I bought a bottle which we were (embarassingly) very chuffed with, now we REALLY look like tourists. B-)

I got an email from work (great! Not.) Since they "didn´t realise" I would be away for the second month (despite numerous emails, conversations, forms) they say I have to pay 48Euros a day in Austrian social insurance...how mad?! Do I REALLY need to know this now? And no, I can´t call them today...there´s um....no phone! No phones at all. Email is done by carrier pigeon. Gah! Forget THEM!

Today I found myself in a church and felt compelled to commit an Original Sin. I considered hitting a badger with a spoon. I think it´s been done. (hmmm....who will get they reference...thank you three people!)

Happy birthday to my sister Tori! Congrats! And Best Wishes to Dad, being chauffered around by mum will be a liberating experience....enjoy!

What I learned today: I am allergic to churches. Couldn´t stop sneezing. Sorry God!
Hurray: Suntans, being in the chocolate capital of...the world! A whole street dedicated to chocolate!
Argh: My first 12hr overnight bus ride to San Christobal tonight....meep!

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