Visiting Oaxaca Part 1

After visiting Puebla, we headed to Oaxaca city which is about 4 hours south-west of Puebla and is a favorite place of many Mexicans because it is full of art, life and culture. It was a lot of fun to explore such a rich city with my parents and everyone was right when they said we were going to love it! We stayed in an adorable hotel which had 3 courtyards with very lush gardens filled with flowers and tropical plants. The first night we were there we found a delicious restaurant that had a rooftop terrace overlooking the city and we eat a great dinner of traditional oaxacan food. The next day we headed to Monte Alban, which an incredible archaeological site that was built by the Zapotec civilization on the top of a mountain. Our guide was great and explained to us about their way of counting time, the symbolism and usage of their buildings and temples and information about the local flora. Not only were their ruins impressive, but also the view of the city below. In the afternoon, we visited the village nearby where many artisans create the famous "alebrijes" which are carved animals painted in bright colors and are absolutely gorgeous and we got to see some people painting and carving them which was very interesting. We also saw a demonstration of how artisans still make the famous black pottery without a potters wheel and how they shine it with a rock to make the ceramics gleam. The next day we visited the city's botanic garden which shows off all different species of plants native to Oaxaca, including many different types of Agave and cactus. We also went to an ex-convent that has been turned into a history museum where we saw the treasures of a Meztec tomb that include gold necklaces, turquoise earnings, and incredible carvings. That night we witnessed the procession of silence in the city for good friday in which all of the statues of Jesus and Mary are taken out of the churches, decorated with flowers and paraded though the streets very soberly. It was strange and beautiful and a very different experience of Easter than the eggs and bunnies that we have in the US.
To Be Continued.....