We stayed in one place today, for the first time in nearly a week. Oaxaca has a lot to see, and there are some temples nearby that we wanted to visit. Jamie was here too, so we had a day off driving. After our first proper lie in for a while, we got up to hunt for breakfast. I say a proper lie in, it was really just that we went to bed really early and got twelve hours' sleep, the party animals that we are. After dropping off our laundry and visiting the nearest internet café, we left with Jamie to look for some breakfast. Before we actually got to breakfast we had visited a modern art gallery and a cathedral (which was closed), but we eventually settled on a buffet, where we all ate about three times our body weight.
After rolling out of the restaurant, we went back to the hotel for the car, and drove to Monte Albán, where the temples are. It was an interesting drive, since we had very little fuel left from yesterday, and didn't realise how far it was. We made it though, and Nicky and I went to have a look while Jamie sat drawing a birthday card; he'd been before. The temples were absolutely incredible. Not only the fact that they were built with sheer manual labour on top of a huge hill, but that the nearest source of running water was over four hours away, so throughout their lifespan there was a constant stream of slaves bringing water to the temples. I never quite got over that building a city so far from water seems quite stupid, but perhaps when you have an army of slaves that's not a problem.
After spending a couple of hours there climbing pyramids and taking photos, we left to find Jamie (still drawing). I could have spent all day there taking pictures though, and even in a couple of hours managed to get 4 or 5 really good ones. We tried to coast down the hill, which would have been fine, but the power steering doesn't work without the engine in gear, and the foot brake isn't perfect either. We had picked up someone Jamie knew on the way down, and whilst Jamie went to the police to report something that had been stolen from him, she, Nicky and I went to the market.
The market itself was pretty unremarkable after having experienced the giant that is San Juan del Dios in Guadalajara, but we stumbled upon some ice cream stands. Oaxaca is famous for its ice cream, and its chocolate, so we decided to give it a try. There were some unusual flavours, including 'burnt milk', tequila, mezcal, cactus, cheese and chile, and most of them, I won't lie, were absolutely disgusting. I'm glad I ate them anyway though, because now I can say that I've had cheese ice cream, and ice cream that tastes of smoke. After this we wandered up and saw the now open Cathedral, and then went back to the hotel. Oaxaca is a great city, and I'm glad we stayed for an extra day.
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Oaxaca and Monte Albán
We stayed in one place today, for the first time in nearly a week. Oaxaca has a lot to see, and there are some temples nearby that we wanted to visit. Jamie was here too, so we had a day off driving. After our first proper lie in for a while, we got up to hunt for breakfast. I say a proper lie in, it was really just that we went to bed really early and got twelve hours' sleep, the party animals that we are. After dropping off our laundry and visiting the nearest internet café, we left with Jamie to look for some breakfast. Before we actually got to breakfast we had visited a modern art gallery and a cathedral (which was closed), but we eventually settled on a buffet, where we all ate about three times our body weight.
After rolling out of the restaurant, we went back to the hotel for the car, and drove to Monte Albán, where the temples are. It was an interesting drive, since we had very little fuel left from yesterday, and didn't realise how far it was. We made it though, and Nicky and I went to have a look while Jamie sat drawing a birthday card; he'd been before. The temples were absolutely incredible. Not only the fact that they were built with sheer manual labour on top of a huge hill, but that the nearest source of running water was over four hours away, so throughout their lifespan there was a constant stream of slaves bringing water to the temples. I never quite got over that building a city so far from water seems quite stupid, but perhaps when you have an army of slaves that's not a problem.
After spending a couple of hours there climbing pyramids and taking photos, we left to find Jamie (still drawing). I could have spent all day there taking pictures though, and even in a couple of hours managed to get 4 or 5 really good ones. We tried to coast down the hill, which would have been fine, but the power steering doesn't work without the engine in gear, and the foot brake isn't perfect either. We had picked up someone Jamie knew on the way down, and whilst Jamie went to the police to report something that had been stolen from him, she, Nicky and I went to the market.
The market itself was pretty unremarkable after having experienced the giant that is San Juan del Dios in Guadalajara, but we stumbled upon some ice cream stands. Oaxaca is famous for its ice cream, and its chocolate, so we decided to give it a try. There were some unusual flavours, including 'burnt milk', tequila, mezcal, cactus, cheese and chile, and most of them, I won't lie, were absolutely disgusting. I'm glad I ate them anyway though, because now I can say that I've had cheese ice cream, and ice cream that tastes of smoke. After this we wandered up and saw the now open Cathedral, and then went back to the hotel. Oaxaca is a great city, and I'm glad we stayed for an extra day.
Related posts: