Los Arquitos and Hierve el Agua

We had a relatively quiet day on Thursday. After a leisurely start to our morning, we went to Los Arquitos, a neighborhood in Oaxaca. Los Arquitos, the little arches, are part of the city’s 16th century aqueduct. The neighborhood is truly charming, with front doors to homes and businesses tucked under the arches.

After a brief walk, we headed south to Casa de Juarez, Benito Juarez’s home for 10 years while he lived in Oaxaca. Benito Juarez, who was president from 1858 until his death in 1872, is quite beloved throughout Mexico, and particularly in Oaxaca, where he was born. Juarez was born in the mountains and at age three, both his parents died. When he was 12, Juarez made his way to the city of Oaxaca where his older sister was working. He was illiterate and spoke only Zapotec, but caught the eye of Antonio Salanueva, his sister’s employer. Salanueva provided for Juarez and arranged for his placement in the seminary. Juarez went on to many, many great things, but he never forgot where he came from.

We stopped into the Templo de el Carmen Alta, which was right across the street, and then went to lunch. We had a delicious three course lunch: soup, entrée (Selso and I each had chicken with mole and rice) and a yummy lemon dessert. Orange juice was included. We ordered four “menus” (Rafael and Isa split theirs) and Selso ordered a couple of beers. Including tip, we paid about $27 -- quite a splurge for lunch! We stopped by a park we found on the way back to the house, and spent the rest of the day reading, relaxing and fighting over the computer!

We were definitely ready for a change of pace yesterday, so we drove over an hour east to hike and swim at Hierve el Agua, a state park. Hierve el Agua, which means “where the water boils,” is most notable for its rock formations, which look like waterfalls.

There are four springs throughout the park which bubble up and run over the rocks. The water evaporates, but leaves behind minerals, mostly calcium carbonate. We went for a nice hike in the park and then had lunch.

A couple of the springs have been dammed to create pools, and after lunch we enjoyed swimming (although the minerals do make it slippery).The water in the springs, incidentally, is not hot! Not at all. It was a warm day, though, so it felt good to cool off, and even better to lie in the sun and warm up afterwards.

After an enjoyable day, we headed home. Rafael napped but I read a story to the girls and the drive back passed quickly. We arrived in Oaxaca around 5 p.m. and decided to head to the zocalo for dinner. We wandered around a bit first, and listened to an orchestra playing music on a stage set up under the Catedral. After a nice dinner (pizza!), we returned to the stage, where a Ballet Folklorico performance was taking place. We stood (well, the kids made there way up front and sat) and watched for over an hour. They were really quite talented (not as good as Mexico City of course, but definitely better than the group we saw last weekend). It was a great ending to a wonderful day.

Archeological Ruins

We had a rough start to our day yesterday. I think the uninterrupted family togetherness is getting to all of us. Rafael, who hasn’t been homesick, has finally decided he’s ready to go home. Thankfully, my parents are flying to Oaxaca tomorrow and I’m sure they will provide some much needed distraction (and hopefully babysitting!) for all of us.

We drove east to view three separate archeological ruins, all of them much smaller in scope than Monte Alban. Our first stop was Yagul. Yagul was another Zapotec city, which was populated for about a thousand years.

The picture above is taken from inside a T-shaped tomb. You can see Rafael on the stairs and Isa peering into one part of the T; the other parts are on my left and behind me. As in other ancient cultures, death was quite ritualized and people were buried with items they’d need in the afterlife. Unfortunately, the tombs at Yagul were looted before the Spanish conquest.

Yagul is home to the Oaxaca’s Valley’s largest ball court and the second largest in Mesoamerica (after Chichen Izta on Mexico’s Yucatan peninsula, which Selso and I visited on our honeymoon). The ball courts in Oaxaca are all in the shape on an I. The slanted walls are part of the court, not a seating area. The game is thought to have religious importance. Although there is speculation that some tribes decapitated the loser (most notably the Aztecs) in the Oaxaca Valley there is no evidence of this. For more information on pre-Hispanic ballgames, check out this link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mesoamerican_ballgame (thanks, L!).

Yagul is also noted for its Palace of Six Patios, which are actually three separate complexes of two patios each. This part of the ruins is like a maze, and the kids had a fabulous time running around them.

We had a cheap and delicious lunch of tacos in Tlacolula before going to Lambityeco. This site is only about 100 yards in area and right off the highway. There are many mounds in the area which are suspected to be additional ruins, however they haven’t been excavated yet. Lambityeco was home to the Yegui people who made salt.

The site is home to the Valley’s earliest known temazcal, an ancient steam bath. It also contains a number of fascinating sculptures, most of them decorating tombs.

Our last stop of the day was Dainzu, home to yet another ball court, as well as over 30 bas-reliefs of ball players (above). Today was much warmer than our visit to Monte Alban, so we were ready to find some shade.

In the evening we all took much needed showers. This is notable only because we’ve had problems with our water since we arrived here. It stunk terribly! We tried to live with it at first however, after showering we’d stink worse than before! Even washing dishes left an odor in the kitchen. The water for the property is held in large cisterns and when the water runs out, a large truck comes up and refills them. The care taker was finally able to switch our water to the second cistern and we are so thankful! Sorry – no pictures of anyone bathing!

Fat Tuesday

Since yesterday was Fat Tuesday, the culmination of Carnaval, we decided to look for something fun to do here in the city. Selso discovered that Mercado Juarez, which we visited last week, hosted festivities so we planned to go there.

Our first stop was the zocalo for some much needed coffee and hot chocolate.

On our walk to the Mercado, we stopped by the Templo la Compania de Jesus/Iglesia de la Inmaculada. It had a lovely golden altar.

I mentioned a few days ago that there are a large number of churches in Oaxaca (over two dozen in the Centro alone). The churches are all Catholic, and many are the Dominican order (although the one above is Jesuit). The Dominicans were the first order to arrive in Oaxaca after the Spanish conquest, and had the duty to convert and minister to the indigenous peoples here. Many churches include convents where the Dominicans lived, although few of the convents are still in use.

At Mercado Juarez, Selso bought a beautiful pair of leather sandals and we chatted with the vendor. He told us that typically events are held to celebrate Carnaval, but this year they were canceled because there wasn’t enough money, due to fewer tourists this year.

Our next stop was the Mercado 20 Noviembre to have lunch. Selso and I each had a delicious tlayuda, a large, crispy tortilla covered with beans, meat, cheese, avocado and tomato. A couple from Belgium sat down next to us and we enjoyed visiting with them. We also passed on Peace Bear! They were happy to take Peace Bear back to Belgium and pass her along there. The picture above shows Peace Bear in front of the Catedral, on the zocalo, which we've passed by numerous times, but haven't been in yet.

After lunch we returned to the house where I had a nap and the kids played. In the late afternoon we went to a park we’ve driven by every day – El Llano. It’s a beautiful park, with fountains and a statue of Benito Juarez, a Zapotec Indian from Oaxaca who went on to become President of Mexico.

The kids played tag for a bit and then we checked out the Templo de la Virgen de Guadalupe.

This church has beautiful stained glass windows conveying the story of the Virgen of Guadalupe, the patron saint of Mexico.

We were ready for dinner, and found a restaurant on the south side of the park to eat, and then home.

San Martin Tilcajete and San Bartolo Coyotepec

The Valley of Oaxaca is a haven for all types of art and craft forms. On Monday we visited a couple of villages, each specializing in their own craft. Our first stop was San Martin Tilcajete, south of the city.

As we got out of our car, we heard clanking bells and then saw several groups of young men with body paint and masks running around and yelling. They approached the school we were parked next to – kids were outside apparently during recess – tried to scare them. The kids loved it! My kids were intrigued, except Rafael, who was afraid. The men were celebrating Carnaval.

San Martine Tilcajete is home to a number of wood carvers. Although wood carving has a long tradition in Oaxaca, the recent popularity of the carvings has affected the folk art form. These days everything from fanciful creatures, to life-like animals, to frames, boxes and miniature tables and chairs are carved.

Synthetic paints are frequently used, and the carvings, also known as alebrijes, are very bright and fun. We entered several different workshops along the street and talked to a few artisans.

Typically, wood from the copal tree, which is readily found in Oaxaca, is used for carvings although some carvers are branching out.

The carving is done while the branches are still green, and then left to dry for months until it’s time to paint. We enjoyed our tour of the workshops and bought a few alebrijes to bring home.

Our next stop was San Bartolo Coyotepec, famed for its black pottery. We had lunch and then let the kids play on a one of the only playgrounds we’ve seen during our trip. They really enjoyed it!

Next we walked around the little town, which is decorated with enormous black pots. The church, above, was closed (much to the kids’ relief!). The pottery is all hand made – no wheels or modern tools are used. We enjoyed our visit here, but were disappointed that the village’s craft museum was closed.

Monte Alban

Yesterday we went to Monte Alban, the archeological ruins of a large Zapotec city. Monte Alban is just a few miles from Oaxaca, up on a mountain top, which the Zapotec leveled to build their religious and economic center.

We first toured the small museum at the site, which holds artifacts and stone carvings found throughout Monte Alban. Many of the artifacts were found in tombs. Other artifacts found here are housed in Mexico City’s Museo Nacional de Antropogolia, which we visited, and in Oaxaca’s Museo Regional, which we plan to tour next week.

Monte Alban is one of the earliest cities in Mesoamerica and was the center of Zapotec power for approximately 1200 years. The earliest buildings date from 500 BC. The city reached the height of its power in AD 300 to AD 800, with a population of as many as 40,000. In addition to the hilltop were the ruins are situated, the Zapotec lived in the valleys below where they farmed the land.

Above is the ball court.

These are the Danzantes (Dancers), so known for their poses. Theories as to who the dancers are have varied through the years. These days they are considered to be prisoners captured by Monte Alban's army. The prisoners are believed to be nobility due to their headresses and jewelry. The Danzantes are some of the oldest carvings at Monte Alban.

The main plaza is situated exactly along a north-south axis, however the building above is the only one on the site at a southwest angle. It is also unique in that it is the only building with a point. It is thought to be an astronomical observatory.

Unfortunately, we weren’t prepared for the weather. It’s been quite warm here and we’d read that Monte Alban offers little protection from the sun. We all had on shorts and the girls and I were wearing tank tops. Wouldn’t you know, it was cloudy and 20 degrees cooler than it has been. The wind whipped through the site and we were quite cool. When we felt a few rain drops, we wrapped up our visit to this fascinating place.

Basilica de la Soledad and Ballet Folklorico

Poor Isa was sick yesterday so we got a slow start to our morning. I know it sounds like all we are doing is sight-seeing and eating wonderful food, but we do have some errands that need taking care of from time to time, and yesterday, among other things, was errand day. We dropped our laundry off at a laundry mat where they wash, dry and fold your clothes for you. The clothes are ready by evening and a good-sized bag cost a bit less than $10 to have cleaned. I would do our own laundry, but we have no washing machine, and I am not interested in spending my vacation hand-washing our clothes!

Selso also stopped by the grocery store to pick up supplies. Soriana, the store not far from our house, is kind of like a Fred Meyer – it is huge and sells all kinds of things.

Yesterday after dropping off our laundry, we spent too much time looking for parking and then lunch. But we finally found a little restaurant which served delicious sandwiches and espresso too! It was right across the street from the spectacular Basilica de la Soledad. We have visited a lot of churches, as faithful readers know, but here in Oaxaca there seems to be a church on every third block, and of course every little village has a church (or two) as well. And amazingly, every church we see seems more beautiful than the last. Maybe it’s just me – what I’m looking at at the moment is what I like the most.

This Basilica was built in the 17th century and is dedicated to la Virgen de la Soledad (Virgin of Solitude), the patron saint of Oaxaca. We’ve seen images of Soledad throughout Oaxaca, in other churches, of course, but also in stores and restaurants. She captured our attention with her beautiful black robes and splendid crown even before we visited her at the Basilica. The statue of her in the Basilica is just phenomenal – it contains 600 diamonds, a four pound gold crown and pearls in her vestments.

In addition to the statue, the wood confessional includes wonderful relief carvings of the Virgen.

The church also houses a gorgeous organ. We briefly toured a little museum behind the church, which is also an ex-convent, which contained a number of pieces, including more images of Soledad.

Isa was feeling quite ill again by this time, and unfortunately threw up on our drive home. We cleaned her up and put her to bed, where she had a much needed three-hour nap. I made dinner and then we headed out again to a performance of Oaxaca’s Ballet Folklorico. The show was held in the lovely Teatro Macedonia Alcala, a theatre in the Centro area.

We enjoyed the performance, but it really didn’t hold a candle to the Ballet Folklorico we saw in Mexico City our first week here. Thankfully, our tickets were much less expensive for this show – less than $20 for all of us.

We took a brief walk of the pedestrian walkway – at 9:30 pm on a Saturday night, the place was hopping. Then we headed home to bed. By the way, Isa is feeling all better this morning.

Ocotlan

Today we drove to the village of Ocotlan, about 30 miles from where we are staying. Unlike the area we live in, where all the cities bleed into each other, once you leave Oaxaca, there are very few buildings or homes around, just rolling hills. The villages are separated by miles of nothing but land.

Our first stop in Ocotlan was their big Friday market. Unlike some of the markets in Oaxaca city, in the villages only one day a week is market day, and families come from the countryside to sell and buy just about anything under the sun. The vendors take over the zocalo and streets, and string up tarps and set up tables. There are so many vendors that we frequently had to walk single file through the market.

I was overwhelmed by the quantity of just about everything: rows and rows of gorgeous red plum tomatoes (which sold for 5 pesos – about $0.35 – for a bag of eight tomatoes); truckloads full of oranges; stall after stall of white, sweet-smelling onions; tables piled high with mangoes. I can’t imagine that everything gets sold.

In addition to fruits and vegetables, there were animals. We saw goats, cows, bulls, fish, chickens and turkeys. One woman, with a baby in a sling on her back, bought four turkeys, and casually lifted them up by their tied legs and walked off.

Just look at this bread! Selso is buying pan dulce for breakfast tomorrow morning.

And of course there were clothes, crafts, tools, shoes... There were hundreds of pairs of shoes all displayed on their boxes – and keep in mind this is a temporary display. The vendors arrived early in the morning to set up and had to take everything down by the end of the day.

We were ready to check out the village’s church, but had no idea where it was. We asked an old man walking by and he kindly walked us to the church.

The 16th century ex-convent and Dominican temple was gorgeously restored with the financial help of Rodolfo Morales. Morales, a native of Ocotlan, was an internationally known artist who died in 2001. He created a foundation which has done a lot of restoration work and helped his community in other ways as well. Incidentally, one of the books we bought earlier this week for the kids was illustrated by Rodolfo Morales. It is called Angel's Kite and was written by Alberto Blanco.

Stunning, isn't it?

After a tour of the beautiful church, we returned to the market, where we bought lunch. We decided to head back to the car to return to Oaxaca, but unfortunately, we were lost! The sprawling market took over blocks of the village, and so much of it looked the same! We kept winding our way through only to end up on a street we didn’t recognize. Finally we made our way back to our car and Oaxaca.

We spent the afternoon reading, playing games, and watching TV (Rafael doesn’t mind that all the cartoons are in Spanish!).