8th - 21st May - Oaxaca & Monte Alban

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Well if it was gonna happen to anyone it was going to have to happen to me.....

Arriving at Oaxaca City bus terminal at 5.30 in the morning Claire & I got off the bus after a sleepless transfer from the idyl of Puerto Escondido. Bleary eyed and a bit frazzled Claire left me in charge of her 3 hand luggage bags & my one little backpack, whilst she claimed the main backpacks from the hold of the bus. It was the first time we had travelled second class and although the bus journey and bus itself was ok the terminal we arrived at was crammed full of indigenous locals sleeping here & there on the stations floor.. (first sign). A little old lady asks me the time and how long the transfer took from Escondido to Oaxaca to which I happily oblige in my newly learnt spanish, showing her my watch to confirm the times (second sign). All the time I am stood just above the bags, I notice nothing until it was too late - Claire brings over the main travel bags - I bend down to pick up my bag.... What The Fuck? Where´s me bag go? Where´s the little old lady gone? (and her accomplice - the penny drops) FUCK IT! I´ve been ROBBED! That´s all it takes a split second of minor distraction... I hopelessly ran through the Bus Station trying to catch an eye of my bag being hurried off but see nothing but local folks sleeping rough, crammed into the shelter with no visable sign of authority... Luckily for me my Passport, Cash & Cards are elsewhere.... BUT i´ve managed to lose quite a bit of technology... you know things you can´t be without in this day & age - mp3 player crammed with 1000+ albums & speakers, digital camera, nintendo ds+ games, spanish phrase book, mexico guides, USB flash drive, all the accumilated medicines, pills and pòtions!!! At the time of the theft I was more stunned at being done over than for the loss of the objects - Claire´s saying "you can cry if you want?" I´m like there is nothing to cry about its only stuff - all of it can be replaced and looking at the poverty at the bus station its probably more benefit to them than me... It would have been the perfect heist if they had the various chargers for the technology they stole (in my main bag) so good luck to them!

So my first impressions of Oaxaca were tainted in all honesty, having lost the mexico guide books we entrusted a local taxi driver to take us to a reasonable hotel so we could sleep properly before having to go through the whole palaver of reporting the theft to the local cops. Later the same day we run around the town following this persons directions and that persons directions before finding the Tourist Deptartment of the local police with translaters et al. After filling out the incident forms and listing every item that the bag contained the translater (a young lady) started to transcribe the details to a mustachioed older guy typing on an old ´PING´typwriter. As they work through the list of items one by one they ask its value which we convert to US Dollars - after a while you could visably see the older guys expression changing - eyebrows raising as if to say HOW MUCH! - yeah that much! I´m not making this shit up! It actually made you feel embarassed about how much things cost and how a little back pack could have items that cost so much money... Well the Insurance Claim has since been made and all bar a few photos that I had taken at Puerto Escondido, could be replaced so I consider myself lucky no one was hurt and I have learnt a vital lesson: If a little old lady asks you the time - ignore her or tell her to " F**K Off!"

So the next day we re-equipped ourselves with spanish phrase books and maps of the area, mooched around town getting our bearings and moved to appartments that had courtyards and free wireless internet connection! Claire was an absolute rock during the theft of my stuff and after the dust had settled from my unfortunate turn of events she decided to throw her energies into something more useful and volunteered herself at: Oaxaca Street Children Project or you can read more about this on her blog at: Soul-Cultivator

So with Claire earning her wings I was left to my own devices - woo hoo! Well it gave me time to do the important things like sending off my Insurance Claim complete with estimates of replacements, find and buy a new camera (must have my own camera - couldn´t bear lose Claires!), visit the plethora of local art galleries and the excellent Oaxacan Cultural Museum, marvel at the ancient ruins of Monte Alban, delight in the local Hot Chocolate whilst watching people go by at the tree lined Zocalo and oh yeah - play Anarchy Online (an online computer game folks - Yep I´m never gonna grow up!). I can hear you all - How can you play games when there is all that beautiful scenery, exotic food, vibrant culture? Easy - firstly I´m a boy, secondly it´s not viable to be spending money everyday on excursions and tours and most importantly from about 11am to 3pm the heat here is unbearable.

Monte Alban is a real gem - I actually ended up going twice. First time around I took a local tour which included an english speaking guide who explained the significance of the ruins one by one and included details of the local plants and detailed history of the area as a whole. Basically (here comes the history) Monte Alban means White Mountain and was the main civil centre of the local Zapotec Indians from around 500BC-700AD, it´s actually where the Andes ends and the Rockies begin and was part of the main trading route travelling from North America to South America. The temple complex is 6000ft atop of 4 mountains that were painstakingly leveled off over 100+ years to provide a plateux for them to build on and is in the enviable position of having mountains surrounding every available vista which kept me humming the Carpenters - I´m On Top Of The World... Its visually stunning and because the site was abandonned before the spanish arrived the architecture is pretty much intact as it would have stood (albeit ravaged through time.. covered with plants and forrest then re-discovered and reconstructed hundered of years later) apparently only 20% of the site has been exavated to date so there is plenty more out there to find!
It has the usual pyramid style temples and ball court, the ball game was a major sport throughout the ancient mesoamerican empires the ball being made of 1kg of vulcanised rubber (yeah way before Mr Goodyear) that could only be hit using the elbows, waist and knees - the really good players were revered in their communities and at certain tournaments - the winners were sacrificed - hehe! Everyone loves a losers right?

There are two main areas on the site that are quite unique. Firstly scholars believe the arrow shaped building (when looking from above, and which is out of alignment with the rest of the site) is an astronomical building where the heavens would have been mapped out and their calendars updated according to the stars. Secondly the mysteriously termed ´Los Danzantes¨or the dancers... apparently when the site was first discovered over 200 stelae depicting childbirth, mishapen bodies (deformities or artistic impression), children, animal/human hybrids were termed dancers due to the flowing way in which they were carved. Its pretty much upto interpretation as to why and what they depict but I can definately assure you they do not look like dancers! Well it is certainly very impressive up there and the tour was over all too soon - so I went again with Claire on a Sunday (free entrance) and took it all in at a more leisurly pace and managed to view the museum which holds artifacts from the site - all washed down with a nice cuppa hot chocolate oaxaca style, at the onsite cafe.

After the initial shock of arriving and being robbed I can report that Oaxaca is a fantistic little city full of beauty and charm. It´s spanish influenced arcitecture is built to withstand the local earthquakes that the region gets and has cobbled streets full of local indigenous traders (and their kids) selling traditional mexican fast food, hand made trinkets, toys and textiles. Its hard to believe that it was the scene of rioting for nearly 6 months last year (from September - November 2006) it was sparked off by teachers during a rally and momentum took over until buildings were firebombed and defaced with anti-government slogans, cars torched, a journalist murdered at the height of the troubles, roads barricaded and tv and radio stations taken over by the militants. The troubles are age old corruption in government where the needy are getting overlooked and their lands misappropriated, lack of education for the young poor indigenous peoples.... the list of demands went on and although the rioting was eventually crushed by the military their presence is still felt in the town and you get the feeling that these issues have still not been fully resolved throughout the whole of Mexico not just Oaxaca which was a flashpoint.

Anyway enough of my ramblings, I keep thinking of things to write but no doubt you have already tuned off and dropped out... So it just leaves me to send my love to everybody and tell you that although my backpack is now lighter my spirits are as high as they have ever been... I LOVE MEXICO! I´m currently in San Cristobal de Casas and heading to Palenque then over to the Yucatan so until the next time -- ADIOS AMIGOS!!

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Photos

Oaxaca City - Amazing Street Art
Take Another Little Piece of My Heart!

Oaxaca City - Santa Domingo Cathederal
Baroque gone mad

Tule Tree - Santa Maria Del Tule
This tree is 2000 years old and has the largest trunk in the world

Oaxaca City - Viva La APPO
Throughout Oaxaca City there are remanants of last years riots - painted over anti-establishment grafitti (the APPO was the militant organisation)