Blogs from Monte Albon, Oaxaca, Oaxaca, Mexico, North America - page 2

The days that we spent in Oaxaca were, for the most part, very leisurely. This beautiful colonial town is perfect for long strolls, with its Spanish colonial architecture, broad plazas, ancient churches, and delectable food. It feels that there is an equal part traveller or Spanish student for every native Mexican here. As many people are here studying in language schools, it is easy to find people who will converse with you solely in Spanish. So I had lots of opportunities to practice. Oaxaca is also a central location for artists in this area, and many boutiques along the pedestrian drag show this off. It is easy to take a bus to Monte Alban. There are many companies offering the service. It took us some time to find the one I had read about in the ... read more

I only had 2 days in Oaxaca which made the morning lost in locating my day bag left somewhere the night before and the hostels padlock that had gone awol. Having found the bag and bought a replacement padlock I spent the remainder of the day visiting the ruins of Monte Alban. Like, Teotihuacan, not that much is known about it but it's glory days were between AD 450 and AD 600. It sits 400m up a steep mountain and overlooks the valley that hems in Oaxaca City. Much smaller (pop of 30K at peak compared to Ts 250K pop), younger and less deadly than Teotihuacan , Monte Alban also attracts many fewer tourists. There are signs that tell you what the buildings might have looked like and their purpose, but you end up just appreciating ... read more

I´ve escaped!!!! (Hahaha not really!) We have a super dooper mega long weekend this week thanks to the Dia del Niños (yesterday), Dia del Trajabo (today), a random day to bridge the gap (tomorrow) and it being the 5th of May on Monday...almost as special in Mexico as the 16th Spetember as I can gather. Unfortunately the Battle of Puebla sounds so boring I haven´t had the will power to read up about it and find out exactly WHY we have this fantastic spate of holidays. On Tuesday the Dia del Niño celebrations in the camp were fantastic. It was all kicked off with an entertainer playing games with the children, a sack race and one where they had to tie a balloon to their ankle and the last one with their balloon intact won. I ... read more

In Oaxaca checkten wir in ein wunderschönes und vor allem SAUBERES Hostal ein und machten uns gleich auf den Weg ins Zentrum. In jedem mexikanischen Ort heißt der Hauptplatz Zocalo. Der Zocalo in Oaxaca war wirklich beeindruckend. Jeden Tag von früh bis spät war wirklich viel los auf dem Platz (2000-3000 Leute oder so). Und die Stimmung war immer freundlich und ausgelassen, wie wenn jeden Tag Urlaub wäre. Am nächsten morgen sind wir gleich in der Früh mit einer Bustour nach Monte Alban gefahren und haben ein Engländer-Pärchen getroffen, dass auch bereits in Mexico City in unserer Herberge gewohnt hat. Die Zapoteken-Ruinen von Monte Alban sind super erhalten und echt sehenswert (siehe Pics). Danach wurden wir noch zu einer mexikanischen Shopping und Essens-Tour genötigt, die eben bei unserer Bustour dabei war. Auch witzig - vor allem ... read more

We arrived in Oaxaca City yesterday on a night bus from Villahermosa. We are out of the way of hurricane Dean up in the mountains here where the weather is cooler and dryer. After we got settled into out hotel and cleaned up we went to see the Zapotec ruins of Monte Alban which are located on top of a mountain (big hill) overlooking the city.... read more