|travel| :: MEXICO ~ part 2 ~ OAXACA ::

During our time in Mexico we managed to visit five different regions. Oaxaca was definitely one of my favourite ones. In this post I`ve combined photos from Oaxaca city, Hierve el agua, Mitla, Monte Alban and Puerto Escondido (the Pacific Coast).

I decided to go with my travel journal writting in this post, but not everything of course, cuz it would be way too much.

We arrived in Oaxaca late afternoon, unpacked our bags and went for a stroll. We were lucky because there was so much going on that weekend. First there was a Marathon (If I`d knew, I`m sure that I would want to participate) + there was a festival going on for the whole weekend (lots of music, food, dancing..).

The city has a really nice friendly vibe, I really felt good there. Everyone were smiling, being happy and nice. Sounds surprising? Well, for me it was as well, but it`s true that I was smiling all the time as well. :)

We decided to have a dinner near the Zocalo (main square), not to miss all the fun, cuz we didn`t know how long it will last. The food was great + a good price (since we were next to the square), but of course, there was at least 10 people trying to sell us something (little kids with candies, indigenous women selling clothes, a guy playing on a guitar, another guy playing on a guitar, someone selling roses, next one jewelery...). Ahh, I got tough skin by now, but kids and older people still get to me, especially kids (5/6 years old), cuz they just stand there and stare at the food. How am I supose to eat and ignore them?

There was one little girl (cutie pie with big black eyes and two ponytails) asking me if I want a chocolate. I said no and than she just stood there and stared at my plate, to the only taco still left on it. She looked at me, looked at taco and asked: "Are you going to eat that taco?". It didn`t matter, I gave her that taco and I think I made her day. She was so happy and that made me happy. *This happened in Mexico City tough.*

Anyhow, we explored the center a bit, saw a few street shows and went to sleep, cuz we were exhausted from the trip. Next day we visited the ancient Zapotec capital of Monte Alban (White Mountain). It suposed to be one of the most impressive ancient sites in Mexico, with spectacular 360-degree views. It was quite cool, cuz it was almost empty (low-season). I think we were only about 10 people wandering around. On the way up we met Guillaume, a funny French guy that speaks great spanish and has a good sense of humor and he was the reason, we started talking with Claudia y Poncho, our amigos de Oaxaca ("mucha vročina"). It was a hot and wonderful day, definitely one to remember. We spend whole day together walking around, untill the late afternoon, when we took the bus back to the city. Claudia and Poncho took us to a local place where we had typical comida (lunch), which was really good. Claudia helped in the kitchen and served us food, cuz she was a friend of the cook. For me, it was a really nice experience, cuz basically two strangers took us for a lunch and I kind of had a feeling, they are taking care of us. It`s hard to explain, but they were really nice and kind, people with big hearts and great soul. I`m really happy I had a chance to spend a day with them...all of them! Hah, the ride home was interesting, heavy rain and a van with a crazy driver with tires that have no profile left + on the right side there was a clif that was too close most of the time. I was really scared, even though I like a bit of adrenalin.

Next day we went for a day trip to visit the village El Tule that lies 10km east of Oaxaca and the reason for the visit is "El Arbol del Tule" which is claimed to be the largest tree in the world. It is huge indeed and that`s why I have no photo of it, cuz it was impossible to make a decent photo with the whole tree on it. :)

Next was Teotitlan del Valle the famous weaving village, about 25km from Oaxaca, where we saw how the blankets and rugs are made (9th photo) and next stop was Mezcaleria, where they showed us the process of producing Mezcal, where in the end, of course, we had a bit of tasting. ;)

After that, finally it was time to visit Hierve el Agua (the water boils), which was one of the best thing in the whole trip. I loved it there. It was magnificant + it was a first chance to swim and refresh ourselves. The views there are spectacular, I mean, really amazing! We had like 2h I think and on the way back the storm started to approach and that was something I never saw before. In front of us it was completely dark, like night has fallen way too quickly and behind us, there was sun shining like it`s his last day to shine (photos 15-18).

The last but not least is Puerto Escondido, the Pacific Coast. We stayed there three nights as well and the ride to get there was hot and seven hours long with Collectivo (small van) on a very curvy road. :) Puerto Escondido is really known for Zicatela, the beach known for it`s legendary Mexican Pipeline. Nobody swims there, because it`s too dangerous (strong currents) and only pro`s are surfing at that spot. We just had a walk by, but our cameras were sadly in the hostels, so no photos of the great waves, sorry. :) Overall, It was nice and we were delighted to finally see the ocean, but it was hot and humidity was killing us. Jaka was sick with fever already, so he was struggling even more, but anyway he went for a bit of surfing at Carrilazillo beach which is great for beginners and swimmers. :)

We enjoyed coconuts, sunsets, the sound of the ocean, but we were happy to move on to San Cristobal de Las Casas and fresh mountain air. More about that in the next post... stay tuned. ;)

P.s. There is no food included in this post, because I decided I`ll make on extra that will include just photos of food and explanations. That will make you hungry, be prepared. ;)