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Published: August 9th 2007
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Santa Maria del Tule
El Tule tree, a cypress tree, is a cousin of the giant redwood trees of California. It is probably the most massive tree in Latin America. HIGHLIGHTS:
Santa Maria del Tule
Teotitlan del Valle
Mitla
Hierve el Agua
Fabrica de Mezcal
The city of Oaxaca is loaded with tourist agencies and it really doesn't matter which one you sign up with because they all typically offer the same trips and prices. Carlos was charming enough that we paid less for our trip than the others did. In addition to the same trips and prices, all tours meet up in the morning and typically travel in a caravan.
We were picked up at 10:00 a.m. in a white Suburban truck., which is a very comfortable ride in Mexico Two ladies from Germany had already been picked up and it seemed it was just going to be the four of us.
Our first stop was to Santa Maria del Tule. You can read the captions of the photos for most of the information.
Santa Maria is just about 14km from the city of Oaxaca so it was a great first stop. Once we arrived, about 5 other vans full of tourists arrived as well. Many Europeans were in the group, but I suppose the Europeans travel everywhere. Our guides explained everything to us in
either Spanish or English. These Mexicans are quite expressive with their language skills and they were appreciated.
Our next stop was to Teotitlan de Valle, 14 km from El Tule, at the food of the northern Sierra, which means "Place of Gods" in Nahuatl. Nearly every house is a mini-factory where people card, spin and color wool, often using hand gathered natural dyes. Each step of the wool preparation is quite laborious; obtaining pure water is even a chore. The prices of the blankets, carpets, shawls, etc. vary in price according to the difficulty of the design and most importantly by color. They can naturally make every color, but some colors are more difficult than others. Everything is hand-made which means months and months of hard work is put into every piece that is made and hopefully sold. Due to the problems in the city of Oaxaca, these people had an extremely tough year without any tourists. We bought a replica tapete/carpet of a painting by Diego Rivera. We were told it took approx. 4 months to make. I have included some photos of our experience. We were quite impressed with the process and we just fell in love
with the tapete. We learned the entire process of how the tapete was made and also who made it. It was a very special purchase and something we will have forever.
Our next stop was to Mitla ("Liobaa" in Zapotec, the Place of the Dead), which is approx. 50 km from Oaxaca City. Mitla flowered late reaching a population of perhaps 10,000 during its apex around 1350 AD. Mitla was probably the most important Zapotex religious centers before the Spanish conquest. Our guide spoke Spanish, Zapotec and English perfectly. He was quite impressive with his language skills, but even more impressive with his pride of his Zapotec heritage. Mitla is one of the most important ruins, at least according to our guide because 90% of the ruins are original. Remnants of the original red and white stucco that decorated the entire complex hide in the niches and corners.
After Mitla, we changed vehicles because only a few of the tour groups were continuing on to the next two stops. Our next stop was to the ever so interesting Hierve el Agua. About an hour drive from Mitla, we arrived at Hierve el Agua. It was a very adventurous
and curvy trip up the side of a mountain on a dirt road where we encountered many animals almost awaiting our arrival. The drive was breathtaking though. Although the name translates as boiling water, the springs that seep from the side of the limestone mountain aren't hot. Instead, they are loaded with minerals. These minerals over time have built up into rock-hard deposits, forming great algae-painted slabs in level spots and , on steep slopes, accumulating into what appear to be grand frozen waterfalls.
The two groups continued from Hierve el Agua to a local restaurant where we filled up on food prior to heading to our last stop, una fabrica de Mezcal. While in the restaurant, we were offered to try to the worms from the bottom of the Mezcal. At first, I said no, but somehow Carlos convinced me to at least try one, which I did.
One of the mini-factories we visited, where people card, spin and color wool often using hand-gathered natural dyes.
say it was good would be a lie, but it was an experience. I am not sure how long there were in the bottom of the bottle of Mezcal, but for
one small worm it was strong! Carlos and I dined with "his aunts" from Germany that we had been traveling with all day. Of course, they weren't really his aunts, but because Carlos has some German heritage (we think...or Polish) it was very fitting.
The best things are usually saved for last and this was the case with the last stop. We were lucky enough as a group, to have the entire process of how Mescal is made in a Fabrica de Mescal on the outskirts of Oaxaca City. At first the idea of tasting Mescal is not one of good flavor, but I was quite mistaken. Carlos, being a Mexican, already knew how good it was going to be. Our guide was an American that gave up everything in the US and moved with his wife and young son, Nathan, to Oaxaca. Carlos and him hit it off right away. His young son was quite an expert already at five years old. He asked everyone if we wanted maguey. Quieres maguey? Mescal is distilled from the fermented juice of the maguey (century) plant, originated in Oaxaca, where the best mescals are still made. Quality mescal come 76 proof
(38 percent alcohol) and up. A small white worm, endemic to the maguey plant is often added to each bottle of factory mescal for authenticity. Once the process was explained we went inside and for about an hour tasted every type of Mescal that had available at the fabrica. Carlos was the only one that actually tasted everything that was offered. I was right there behind him though. If you taste mescal right and it is quality, you will enjoy the experience as we did. We bought two small bottles as well which we will share with the family here in Chilpo.
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