Trip of Giants - Mitla and Teotitlan

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Another tour is on the cards today. We'll be visiting the Tule tree, Teotitlan del Valle to see a rug making demonstration, the ruins of Mitla, lunch at a restaurant serving "Camidas Oaxiquenas" Foods of Oaxaca, the ruins of Yagul, and a mezcal distillery.

So first the Tule, the widest tree in the world with a circumference of 58m. It is not a very tall cypress, but old at 2000 years. The name Tule comes from a swamp grass that was common to the area before it was developed into farmland. Remains of a recent (or coming?) festival create colour at the base of the tree, with large letters spelling the words "Asuncion de Maria". The arch of the adjacent church has a lavish display of lillies arranged in a huge wreath around the door.

The attraction is basically just the tree, so we drive on to Teotitlan del Valle and a place called Father and Son's Rugs (yes, really). It would probably sound more romantic in spanish or their native Nahuatl. There Nelson (the son) gives us a talk in english and spanish, demonstrating all the natural products they use to dye the wool in their rugs. The most fascinating product is the bug cochineal.
This is a small slater-like creature that lives in a white fungus on the skin of the prickly pear cactus leaf. When squashed in the hand, it comes out a strong red colour, of varying hue depending on one's skin acidity. Nelson
proceeded to add orange juice, which reacted to make a lighter orange-red, and then he added baking soda which turned it purple. He says with this simple combination he can make 60 shades of red, and overall 300 different tones of colour.

Next was the sales pitch to buy a rug. We ended up selecting one of his 'mountians and rain' designs, that took two and a half months to make. Fairly pricey (and over budget in one foul swoop), but it will be a keepsake. Knowing our history there was bound to be something expensive in our list of souvenirs.

And so we drive to Mitla. Mitla is different to Monte Alban and Yagul in that the area was also abandoned, but when the spaniards came through (I think 1600s), they rebuilt the town around the old ruins. The small sixteenth century church they built actually sits on top of one of the old pyramids. Unfortunately both those first settlers and the Mexicans later used a lot of the stone from the ancient structures to build their town. There is still plenty to look at though. Fascinating to see aztec stone relief patterns showing around the foundations of the big church by the entrance. The new built on the old.

The lunch is very good. Like on Monday they serve a large range of dishes, and with my stomach in mind I eat carefully 😊. This buffet was $140. Next on to Yagul. I opt to sit this one out, and walk around the carpark with the boys. There I see epiphytes growing everywhere, even on the cactus. Joseph finds a bit of muddy clay and proceeds to form balls with it, telling me of his extensive knowledge of pottery making. I make them wash their hands before Ky gets back: don't want any of those looks.


Ky enjoys the ruins, these dating from 3000 BC, with arrowheads found dating to 9000BC indicating the site was used many times in the past.

The final stop is at a mexcal distillery, which happens to be back at the turnoff where we'd gone to see the rugs. Mexcal is made from an agave like Tequila, but it is a different species of agave and a slightly different process is used. A good english-speaking young man explains the process to us, and we sample a piece of roasted agave pineapple husk that is sweet from having caramelised in the earth oven. We also sample some finished mexcal. Tastes a bit like tequila. They also have a range of cremas, creamy alcohols like Baileys. we decline to buy because of the problem transporting it, although a quiet mezcal and lime on ice would probably be a nice drink after a busy day.

We get the tour operator to drop us off in town, and go to Dominos pizzas for tea. It is cheap (relative to Australia), and very nice. Then a quiet evening in the room.

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Photos

Agave pineapple
ready for splitting and baking

Nelson Mendoza
at Teotitlan del Valle