Mitla, Mezcale and thermal pools

A full day tour to Mitla, with a very crowded bus, full of backpackers, an interesting day was had by all visiting a very old tree, 2,000 yrs old with a trunk width of 14.6 metres. A swin in the thermal pools, rug weaving and Mezcale making, the local drink.

A plaque depicting information regarding the tree.

Entry fee was 10 pesos= $1 this money is used to preserve this ancient tree. The tree is surrounded by beautiful gardens..

The tree, noted to be 2,000 yrs old.

The Toparies in the surrounding gardens

After we visited this tree we drove onto a local village, where mats are made, along with other items for sale.

We were all taught about dyeing, using natural products and how many different shades of red that can be developed from a bug that inhabits the local cactus, just by mixing, water, lime juice and white oxide.

Demonstrating how the merino wool is spun, the wool used to weave the rugs.

A rug that caught my eye, of course was Frida, a little too high on the price tag for a rug that was less than 1 metre squared.  $1,500. Although show some interest and it quickly comes to.....how much do you want to pay and chase you out the door asking.....

Then after this visit on we travel to the Mezcale factory, I sampled a small amount, not to my liking, but all the backpackers were into sampling big time.

The agave plants are trimmed, these can weigh a lot, not sure about amount, but all the fronds are trimmed from the base and the stalk is left and chopped into quarters and placed near a pit to be smoked for 8 days. This apparently gives the Mezcale a smoky flavour.

DH had a go at the tequila with the worm, as my stomach is fragile, I did not do any taste testing other than the Mezcale.

The poor donkey pulling the wheel to grind the agave.

A great painting at the Mezcale factory.

After the tasting we travelled to a very dry and hot mountain where a thermal pool is located, believe me this was not pleasant, you had to walk a good 20 mins over a very dry limestone mountain to get to a small oasis on a cliff top, where there may have been a number of pools if it was the wet season, but only one was deep enough to swim. The park has an entry fee and only allows 400 people at one time, believe me I was not getting into this pool, stagnant water and loads of people.

The walk

The pool

After nearly everyone had a swim we ventured intoMitla to have lunch then visit the Mayan ruins.

Lunch DH and I decieded to take the plunge and try some grasshoppers, OK a little salty, I did not swallow.

Off to the ruins in Mitla.

Back to hotel 

Last day in Oaxaca, tomorrow we are off to Merida, Yucatan.

Oaxaca- Pronounced "Wah harka", Mont Alban

 Oaxaca!  what a delightful cultural city, so diverse from Mexico City. Our 4 days spent in Oaxaca were very busy with our tour to Mont Alban, city tour and a full day tour to Mitla. The population of Oaxaca is 500,000 and was discovered in 1539 by the spainards, when they arrived the mountains were all covered in trees, grass and dirt. The spainards did not like the mountains so settled in the small village of Oaxaca. It was not until 1932, that some exploration of the mountains took place by Al Afonso Caso and what was found under the dirt, grass and trees was the Zapotec civilisation and temples. In tomb number 7 is where loads of gold, precious stones, copper, jade and silver were found. The Zapotec has been dated back to the 7 th century. Only 5% of this civilisation has been uncovered, there are other mountains, which could hold more treasures, yet undiscovereed.

Mont Alban

Tomb No 7

Mont Alban and the surrounds

Other mountains that have yet to be explored

The explorer, Al Afonso Casa

There is a small museum attached to the ruins in Mont Alban, all the treasures found in tomb 7 are in the fabulous museum in Santa Domingo, well worth a visit.

The next day we had a walking city tour and covered a very large radius, incorporating the main church, Santa Domingo, the museum, botanical gardens and of course a chocolate shop, on the way was an opportunity to visit some great arty farty shops, so a few purchases was made as well.

Santa Domingo, the main Cathederal in Oaxaca

Some shots of the highly decorated ceilings in the Cathederal.

This alter is new, constructed in 2009, the original had wood rot, all 24 carat gold leaf. 80% of the Mexican people are poor, and their faith so strong, the cathedrals are so ornate....go figure.

 Grandulupee ( Mary) appears to be a bigger spiritual icon than Christ 

The museum is attached to this Cathederal, and I feel that you needed a good day to explore it, we only had an hour, but managed to cover quite a lot.

The entry to the museum, attached to the museum is an amazing library with very old books dating back 100's of years.

Some of the precious stones found in tomb 7, earnings, rings necklaces and carvings. Jade.

Gold

I had to take a photo of this symbol as he is the god for the day of the dead, celebrated every year on the 2nd November. We were lucky enough to partake in this event when we were in San Antonio 2 years ago, this day symbolises all that have died in the past and it is a mass celebration to celebrate their lives after death, with parades and shrines.

The botanical gardens attached to the museum

We ended the tour with a visit to the chocolate shop, that ends our tour for today.