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Published: February 24th 2010
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After a 6hour night bus, executive stlye means you get tthe seat right back which was almost comfortable,got to the hostel waaay to early to check in so had to wait around for hours which was pritty annoying it was just wasting the day and when i eventually got a bed i fell asleep and woke up the next day to a chorous of snoring. the first day was just getting my bearings really and heading down to the zocalo which was pritty cool walking down the cobbled streets which really were not meant for cars seeing the newly painted pastle couloured buildings but stray ofcourse and you see the decrepid ones in a state of disrepair full of graffiti which kinda adds to the charm i guess.
the first sight on my personal little walking tour was the santo dominigo church which is really nice probably the best looking church iv seen and in mexico alone i have seen my fair share already. inside is pritty lavish too almost as much as the main one in mexico city. the place itslef is pritty chilled out almost sleepy but damn sunny. even the zocalo here was chilled out and you
could do the thing it says in the guide book about every zocalo in mexico and sit there to chillax and people watch, a random bike rally made things a little more intresting. had a little walk around the place, its not huge and the cathedral isnt actually as nice as the church up the road so i wasnt too botherd about going in or anything at the time it seemed a much better idea to grab a corona and some tacos. on the way back to the hostel i had a quick look through the markets which were pritty much full of tack, mole...chocolate mole is awesome and used on everything from sandwiches to being smothered on chicken, mezcal of every flavour and chilis. the walk back to the hostel was more of a slog than a stroll all bloody uphill.
The Tour
outragously expensive as i ifnd out its half the price after i book the damn thing but you cant really get to the place yourself im told, well you leave the highway on the side of the road down a bloody dirttrack along the side of the mountain at one point! anyhoo the first
stop on this thing was a tree...ok so it was the widest in the world and sacred or something but it was pretty much just a tree not too exciting and the next stop again didnt exactly wow me, learnt how the textiles and the dyes were made but were basically gettting a sales thing all the way through so switched off, as my enthusiasm was beginning to dwane we get to heirve el agua - the water boils- well the water doesnt really boil more bubble lukewarm but the place is amazing and the views just left me lost for words worth every penny and up there with how amazing the great wall views were in my opinion as you have a natural infinity pool on the edge of a mountain overlooking a mountain scape and then to your right is the petrified waterfalls which were formed with minerals or some shit it doesnt really matter they are just plain cool. there were hardly any tourists mostly just pro photographers and there is no such thing as health and safety in mexico so it was pritty much you can go anywhere as long as you have the balls and
dont mind falling of a fricking cliff. there are three waterfall/ springs like this in the world with the only one which actually produces ht spring water in turkey.
the next stop was mitla the sight where the spanish desided to build a big red domed church which happend to be on top of more ancient ruins becuase the ruins were built so well they were earthquake proof and so made good foundations for a church aparently. theres one big building left which is really cool, all made peice by peice rather than carving the designs out of stone makes it even more impressive and was for a house not even a temple because this place only got big when the people at monte alban, oaxacas biggest pyramid sight and the third biggest in the world i think fell. it was almost nice to hear and read about the spanish burning things down and stuff rather than the british all the time. the next day its fair to say started pretty late after being taken to try every type of mezcal available and shown how its made, its kinda like tequila but has a worm at the bottom of
the glass and is less harsh.
went down to the zocalo with an english guy whos been travelling on and off for years and was a good laugh especially as he was a manc some banter over some beer went down well, he liked the sound of his own voice but had a few intresting stories which meant you didnt ereally mind, sat in the zocalo drinking beers but the mexican way which was new on me, theres fresh lime juice in the boottom of the glass and salt on the rim then the beers poored in, so wierd but with a dark beer actually really good then you squeeze lime on your nuts...and its all good. aparently there are loads of different versions of this, some where you put lee and perins in the glass and chilli powder on the rim. back to the market but not for the last time we got some strawberrys and fruit juice in like a bucket glass for less than 2 pound and just kinda walked round talking shite.
the next day again followed in the same vien as we head for the market intoxicated by the smell of a chocolate
store, oaxaca is famous throughout mexico for its tradition in making chocolate, orignaly alcoholic! but not for its hot chocolate which is just milk and the chunks of chocolate added needless to say i bought some to bring home. eventually making it to the food market for a feast, huge sheets of meat at every stall with the air filled with smoke coming from the big grills cooking the meat on top and the churitzo & huge spring onions underneath. as we waited for it to be cooked we bought some grasshopers a regional favourite and well once you get past the legs getting stuck in your teeth they are actually really nice im not jst saying that either they were surprisingly good. and so came then end to my oaxaca stay all was left to do was watch some football.
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