Oaxaca City, Oaxaca, Mexico

We are in Oaxaca City, Mexico, for a eight day vacation. Great gastronomical delights, great crafts, great archeological sites, amazing weather! Staying at Casa De Las Bugambilias B&B. Just six blocks from the Zocalo. The area seems quite upscaled and is getting more so all the time. We have been to Monte Alban the sacred mountain overlooking Oaxaca. Monte Alban was an elaborate site of sacred ritual since 500 years before the common era until about 850 AD. The scope of this site dwarfs the Temple Mount in Jerusalem. Above, Naomi and our Guide stand amidst the ruins giving some idea of the scope of the site!

Our guide (with good English) introduced us the the sacred meanings of the buildings and ball playing field as they are currently understood. If you win the ball game, you have won the prize of being sacrificed to the Gods! In the picture at the left, you can see a portion of the ball court with a worker doing some restoration giving some reference to the size of the court. Below is a photo of one of the many figures at the site.




There are a number of excellent restaurants in the central city featuring the local cuisine. I have been focusing on the Moles that the area is noted for. There must be scores of them. So far I haven't missed. Naomi is enamored of the grasshoppers - Chapulines. There is a saying that once you have eaten the grasshoppers, you will never leave. I think Naomi is going to be here for a long time. She will become a 'hopper' which is a nickname for locals. The picture on the right is of Naomi at a vendor's stall of various sized 'hoppers'.

We are getting along quite well without knowing a word of Spanish. The people are generous and friendly and very helpful. The street life is incredibly busy late into the evening. A great sense of pageantry is present. It seems like any excuse for a parade is taken, and street vendors and onlookers are willing and enthusiastic. We see and hear bands marching about all times of the day, but especially in the evening. Around the Zocalo there are almost always street musicians, clowns, jugglers, vendors of balloons, shawls, etc. It is very colorful and fun.

The crafts are beautiful - rugs, elaborately embroidered blouses and dresses, pottery, carved and painted animals, jewelry. Much of it is of very high quality. The average is very good and the really good is really good.

There are several excellent museums of archaeology and culture. One of the best is the Santa Domingo Museum Oaxaca where they have an English language audio guide. Also, there is an amazing botanical garden. The architecture of the churches and the elaborate Catholic Icons inside are both something we don't see very much in New England and upstate New York.

Last night we attended a concert by the Oaxaca Sinfonia featuring Mozart and Dvorak. It was in a courtyard of a church under big trees and walled off from the street. It was a quiet intimate thing and free. There seems to be an amazing level of government support for the arts. Although, it seems we shouldn't underestimate the enthusiasm of the artists who, I think work for very little. One of our guides who is originally from Canada, said that most professionals, like lawyers and doctors, have to work two jobs just to make ends meet. Many of them may run a small retail establishment on the side as a supplement to their income. So it is hard to imagine that the musicians we heard get paid very much. Everyone we see seems to be working very hard, but is of good cheer.