With the time change, which is observed a week earlier in Mexico, and no “medical episode”, we made great time and arrived back in Oaxaca around 6 am Sunday morning. We went to our hostel to drop our bags off, and then went out into the city to find something to eat. Not many places were open, but we managed to find a little breakfast/lunch restaurant where I had some tasty pancakes and a strawberry-banana smoothie. For Day of the Dead, the streets of Oaxaca were lined with giant skulls that were painted and decorated by various artists. Also, in the Zocalo, there were large displays of sand skeletons and designs to admire. It was nice to be able to take photos early in the morning with few people out and about. We walked around the city for a bit longer, and then returned to the hostel to shower and get ready.
We decided to go on a tour to Monte Albán, which was the ancient capital of the Zapotecs and one of the first cities in Mesoamerica. I had not heard of Monte Albán until I arrived in Mexico, but it was quite impressive and much larger than I had expected. We were able to see several pyramids, the ball court, and great views of the city of Oaxaca. We spent a couple of hours walking around the area, and then took the bus back to the city. We ate lunch, and then met up with Lily, before wandering the city in search of cemeteries. We were not successful in our search of cemeteries, but did stumble upon the plaza of the dances, next to the famous Soledad church. In this area, there were thousands of marigolds, the flower of Day of the Dead, and candles displayed, and we were told that at 8 pm that night there would be a large dance ceremony in the plaza.
So, we went back to the hostel to relax for a bit, and then around 7:30, we headed back to this dance plaza. We found great seats and had wonderful views of the performances. Five different groups performed, each with a different story and significance. The last of the five groups, featured men and young boys dressed as devils and cracking whips. They had a 10+ minute dance performance, and then they chose a few people from the audience to dance with them. And who exactly was chosen? Me! When you are sitting there watching the dance, the rhythms and patterns seem quite simple, but when you actually have to do them, it isn’t quite as easy. Even if I looked like a nut, I had fun and it was an amazing honor to witness and be part of such a cultural event. After the dance ceremony, we were all hungry and not much was open, so we decided to go to Domino’s, which turned out to be delicious. As our day had started at 6 am, we were all pretty tired and ended up going back to the hostel around 11:30, talking with other guests for a bit, and calling it a night.
Monday morning I got up around 8:30, beat the rush to the shower, and spent a little time on the computer trying to figure out my schedule at Adrian for the spring semester. We had a decent breakfast at the hostel, and then headed out to wander the city once again. We went on a tour of the Ethnobotanical Garden, which was very pretty and interesting, but I probably could have done without the guided tour that lasted an hour and a half. However, I think one of the highlights of my trip happened on this tour…There was a little pool/fountain area in one of the pathways and apparently this outwardly gay Frenchman didn’t realize quite how close he was, and took a little dip into the pool. Being as how I can’t quite keep myself together when people fall or are scared, both of which this gentleman was, I had to walk away from the group with tears streaming down my face from laughter. After this little episode, we finished up the tour and walked to a restaurant and I had a great batch of quesillo fundido. We went back to the Zocalo area to do a little shopping, and I enjoyed a much-awaited cinnabon. Then, we headed back to the hostel to drop off our purchases and relax for a bit.
Around 8 that night, we walked to San Miguel Cemetery, which is one of the main and largest cemeteries in Oaxaca. Outside of the cemetery there were all sorts of food and treat stands and a carnival type area complete with rides and creepy carnies. Before entering the cemetery, we bought a bouquet of the traditional Day of the Dead flowers, marigolds and celosias, so we could later lay it on a grave. When you first enter the cemetery, there is a large square shaped area that has candles lighting up niches, and huge and detailed ofrendas, or altars. In Mexico, Day of the Dead is celebrated to pray for, remember, and reconnect with friends and family members who have died. To do so, Mexicans often build ofrendas that contain the favorite items of the deceased, such as food, drinks, clothes, toys for children, etc. The ofrendas in San Miguel were enormous, and it was impossible to capture an entire altar in a picture. Once we had made the complete trip around this portion of the cemetery, we entered the endless mass of graves and tombstones. The majority of grave areas were decorated with flowers and mini-ofrendas, and many families were gathered around the graves of loved-ones eating, talking, singing, and celebrating. It was quite a sight to see, and another cultural event that I was glad to experience. We walked through a good portion of the cemetery, spooking ourselves every once in a while, and then decided we had had enough for the night. Although parties and celebrations would continue inside and outside the cemeteries throughout the city into the wee hours of the morning, we were tired and just decided around midnight to go back to the hostel and get some sleep.
Bryce and I had originally planned to return back to Puebla at 8:30 Tuesday night, but we didn’t want to arrive back after midnight, so we changed our tickets to 4:30 that afternoon, which still gave us time to enjoy another day in Oaxaca. We decided to go on another tour, and the first stop was in a town called Tule, which hosts the world’s widest tree. It was indeed quite wide. Then, we drove to the town of Teotitlan, where we went to a rug making house/factory and learned all about the Zapotec rug-making process. The making and combining of colors, the weaving process, and the time that can be spent on a single rug depending on the complexity of the design were all fascinating. I really would have liked to buy a rug, but one they were expensive, and two, I don’t know how exactly I would have gotten it back home. But, one day, when I marry my rich husband, we will have these beautiful rugs shipped in from Teotitlan.
Next, we went to a Mezcal factory and learned all about the making of this famous alcohol, which is different from tequila in that Mezcal is obtained from a variety of agave (cacti), and tequila only uses the blue agave. Additionally, the process of production and the final tastes are distinct as well. The tour finished up with a sampling of the four types of mezcal (from the oldest and smoothest to the youngest and strongest) and mezcal creams. I bought the famous mezcal with the worm in the bottom, and a passion fruit and piña colada cream. However, only the worm and passion fruit cream will accompany me back to Michigan, as the piña colada cream fell on the bus trip back to Puebla, which created a very sticky and embarrassing mess, especially when I walked off the bus smelling like an alcoholic and with alcohol dripping from my bag. Oh well.
After the Mezcal factory, we drove to Mitla, where we saw another set of ruins. They did not cover as much area as other ruins we have seen, but there were two tomb areas that we were able to walk down and into, which was kind of cool. We spent an hour or so in Mitla before the tour driver took us back to our hostel so we could pick up our bags and take a cab to the bus station. We had just enough time to grab a sandwich and chips for the road, and then loaded onto the bus for an uneventful ride back. We arrived in Puebla around 9:30 that night, and I took a cab back home.
It was an exhausting weekend, but worth every second of it! And, I was already looking forward to the next adventure in Mexico City on Friday! : )
Pictures from Oaxaca:
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