another day, another town, Oaxaca

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I keep feeling the urge to leave places, by Tuesday I was in need of relocation from Taxco. Back to original plan of coast line, but which one. I've never been good at making decisions, with a book full of options it's not making it any easier. It brings to mind a quote that goes something like this, "If you don't know where you are going, all roads lead to your destination" Lewis Carroll. It flashed by me some time on the internet and I thought, yep that relates to me. So in the end I decided to head to another city, Oaxaca City and not the coast at all.
It is on route but a diversion none the less. I arrive in the evening, getting out of the taxi some what confuse as there are people lying around the streets under canopies of plastic, with banners and graffiti everywhere. I kind of worked out from the taxi drivers that they were teachers striking for better pay. I thought o.k, I can understand that, teachers all around the world don’t get paid enough. Little did I know that this demonstration that looked very relaxed, peaceful and sleepy to me, had been frantic only a couple of weeks before. The police had stormed the protesters in the middle of the night, killing some of the protestors. Freaky turning up here after such an incident. It was even stranger to be here for the elections as well. It was the first election in another country I had ever experienced. Weeks later it still wasn’t completely resolved.
What really surprised me, was that the government doesn’t allow the citizens to drink alcohol the day before or on the day of the elections. They make sure that you are sober when you go into that box. It’s a shame that that was the first weekend that I really fancied a drink.
Still I kept myself busy by visiting the city of the dead, Mitla and Monte Alban both archelogical sites. Both were cool in different ways and had completely different styles.

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Photos

solo in Oaxaca
self portrait

the teachers take to the streets in Oaxaca
and some of them die when the police come in heavy handed. It's terrible.

the teachers take to the streets in Oaxaca 2
and some of them die when the police come in heavy handed. It\'s terrible.

the largest tree ever, 2000yrs old
no one picture is gonna do this tree justice as it is too big. So you get the one of me standing in front of it.

what they cant do with a bush
in Mexico

Comments

[atim]

Great blog!! Will be traveling to Mexico city in a few days, and your blog has really given me some insight into how black people (esp. women) are treated over there. So far it looks like it's been a positive experience. I'm really excited/nervous about my trip. Looking forward to your next entry!

[BomBom]

how´s it treating you so far?
Glad to share my experiences with you. Its been an interesting journey to date, I´m now in Guatemala way behind on my blog but will be loading more stuff up soon. Happy travels. Dx