Monday November 1, 2010
Sunny and Hot
Oaxaca, Mexico
On Halloween Day, we woke up well rested due to an extra hour of sleep because of daylight savings time and hungry as had wine only for dinner the night before. Sandra went for an early morning run while I worked on my blog. It takes FOREVER to load the photos so blog posting is taking much longer than usual. But so excited about today as we are exploring one of the valleys outside of the city of Oaxaca.
Breakfast: a yummy Oaxacan tamale filled with chicken mole negro
We hired a private driver who happens to be the brother in law on Jon who owns our B&B with his wife Judith. Cesar is his name and wow, what a nice guy. He also is a professional cellist. Our itinerary today was PACKED but manageable as we were going to explore the Tlacolula Valley.
Our first stop was Mitla. The ruins of Mitla are a must see for those willing to venture out to the valleys of Oaxaca. Mitla was established around 1300 AD by the Zapotecs. However, as the Mixtecs arrived from the North due to pressure from the Aztecs , Mitla supposedly became a blended thriving community of Zapotecs and Mixtecs.
I found it just amazing that 1000s of years ago there was a civilization that could create such an intricate set of buildings. The carvings in the buildings were exquisite and some of the intricate etched paintings are still visible. It is very said though to see the church the Spaniards built with the stones from the Mitla buildings. It was also interesting to learn that Cesar thinks himself as a Mixtec and not of Spanish descent. He is very proud of the Mixtec heritage.
Huaxyacac: The name of the tree that Oaxaca is named after.
The beautiful ruins of MItla
If you look closely, you can see the faded red paint and etchings from 1000s of years ago.
The Spanish Conquerors used the stones fom Mitla to build this church
The intricate designs found in Mitla. The design below depicts the jaguar. Notice the symmetry.
The Courtyard where sacrifices were made.
The infamous colums of Mitla. How did they create these 1000s of years ago???
After a wonderful tour of the ruins, we walked through the market and then Cesar took us to an infamous Sunday market called Tlacalula located in a town with the same name and the name of the Valley. Now Sandra and I thought we broke the record for intense shopping when we shopped in 100 degree 80% humidity in Cambodia in cramped corners but this definitely beat it! We and it seemed the whole population of Mexico were at the market. We found out that it is one of the busiest days of the season because of Day of the Dead. Wow, you had to be there to believe it. It basically was like being in a jam packed Tokyo subway but in a market, where we had to squeeze our way through the aisles to get through. And the tiny Zapotec women with their cute braids and aprons - very tough and PUSHY. When it came to get their shopping done, they were determined! I loved the aprons they were wearing so we did buy a few aprons and I also found a great spice shop that had 2 tablespoons of gorgeous red saffron for only 1$. The market was crowded because it is THE market to go to for Day of the Dead as it is a Zapotec market. Day of the Dead or Dia de Los Muertos, is a Zapotec tradition. So all the women were out doing their Day of the Dead shopping from all over Oaxaca. After squeezing our way out of the market, we took a quick tour of the church which was again very ornate and typical of Spanish colonial architecture and then headed for our next stop – Mescal making.
The Hubbub starts outside the market with vendors selling flowers for Day of the Dead.
Scenes from the market.
Poor chicken!
How do these women carry things on their head?
Special bread for Day of the Dead
Candies for the Day of the Dead altars
The crowd trying to get out of the market. It was INTENSE!!
Cesar took us to Zapata Restaurant which makes their own Mescal. He explained how it is made which is quite simple. The maguey(a local version of agave) plant is cooked in an outdoor oven for a few days, then cooled and husked. The plant is then fermented in pine barrels and finished off in oak barrels. We did a tasting but chickened out on eating the worms. I did get a few bottles as gifts but one thing is for sure – Oaxacan’s love their Mezcal.
The Mescal oven
Our very friendly "tasting" host
Demonstraiting how to eat the worm - YUK!
Our next stop was Teotilan del Valle which is a town infamous for textiles, mainly rugs. Families of the town have been making rugs for generations. Cesar took us to the most famous weaver Isaac Vasquez of a Bug in a Carpet. He is a75 year old man and the 15th generation of weavers. He explained to us over hot chocolate and Day of the Dead bread, how they get the yarn from the sheep and how they dye the yarn. I found it very interesting in that every culture has weaving and use plants and minerals to make the basic colors but what they use are very different. For yellow, Isaac uses Marigold and salt to finish the color. For blue, an indigo plant that looks very different from the indigo plants you get in Asia. For black, the mesquite wood is used. And for red, the female bug that lives on cactus is used. Just amazing. We even got to try some spinning ourselves. Isaac Vasquez is the most generous and talented weaver I’ve ever met. We found out later that his works are in the Museum of Natural History and the Metropolitan Museum of Art. His studio got the name a Bug in a Carpet from an author of National Geographic who wrote an article about him and his work.
We did go to another shop, but after seeing Isaac’s work, everything else looked blah. Oh, to buy or not to buy. We have another chance to go down there on Wednesday, so will have to make a decision by then.
Isaac Vasquez, a national treasure of Oaxaca and a VERY nice man
Materials needed to dye the wool
These female bugs from cacti are used to make red dye
When crushed they are red
Add lemon (acid) and they become a bright red.
And when adding salt (basic) becomes purple
Isaac weaving
Showing me one of my favorite pieces.
And another. Love them
After the weaving, we went to El Tule, the oldest tree in Latin America. It’s a Cypress tree. We debated whether we wanted to see it or not, after all its just a big tree but we were very glad we saw it. It is one of the most magnificent trees I’ve ever seen. It’s over 2000 years old and it quite mighty.
After enjoying and respecting the tree, we headed back where Cesar dropped us off at Marco Polo, a fantastico seafood restaurant filled with families enjoying a meal. We rolled back to our B&B for a short nap so that we could get ready for Day of the Dead festivities that start tonite and go into tomorrow night.
One of the best shrimp cocktails I've ever had
The Red Snapper special.
Comments