Exploring Oaxaca City, Monte Alban, Teotitlan del Valle, the Tule tree and Mitla
Posted by Zihrena

September 11, 2000 - Oaxaca and environs - Continued from the Emerald Coast to Oaxaca Entry.

We awoke to a cool morning in Oaxaca. Our hopes today were to visit the Monte Alban ruins and see as much of the towns surrounding Oaxaca City as we could. Leaving the hotel, we drove out of the city toward the Monte Alban hills, winding up a curvy, narrow road past garbage pickers with their pack mules and horse carts, arriving at the entrance to the archeological site early, but not before the arrival of a couple of tour buses that had already unloaded and were parked, awaiting their charges, in the cobblestone parking lot.

Paying our $30 pesos entrance fee at the gate, we walked up the grass-covered path toward the main mountaintop commanded by the remains of the ancient ceremonial and habitational center, Monte Alban.

This site, with its stunning views of the valleys on all sides below, is thought to have been founded 500 to 600 years B.C. A slow wander through its expanse will bring you past ball courts, wide plazas surrounded by impressive temples and shrines, pyramids rising to imposing heights above the valley and rest of the sturdy structures of the site, and a series of carved figures designated the "Dancer's Gallery". Being here this time in the rainy season was doubly interesting, giving us the chance to enjoy the archeological zone while covered in a carpet of soft green on every side.

At Monte Alban's entrance is a small museum housing some well preserved of the stone artifacts of the region. The most important and fabulous of the Monte Alban finds, though, are found in the Santo Domingo Cultural Center Museum in downtown Oaxaca (which we'll visit tomorrow).

Leaving Monte Alban around 11:30 am, when the sun was warming us well but still not overpowering, we went downtown. Oaxaca nowadays seems to be one of the most difficult places to find parking in. We spent quite a time trying to find public parking in the narrow streets, and were finally directed to an area where we were able to find a spot by a traffic policeman.

After a quick brunch in another of the outdoor restaurants lining the square, we wandered through the colonial Palacio de Gobierno (Government Palace) situated on one side of the square, where is to be seen the mural by Arturo Garcia Bustos called "Oaxaca in the History of Mexico".

From there we proceeded to the majestic Cathedral of Oaxaca, which, begun in 1526, received its designation as cathedral in 1535. Upon its completion in 1544 it was dedicated to St. Mary of the Assumption. Having sustained extensive damage and continued repair over the centuries because of the areas frequent earthquakes, the Cathedral was declared a historical monument in 1933.

Once we exited the Cathedral, we decided it was time to hit the road for the afternoon again, and visit some of the outlying areas of interest near Oaxaca.

We left the city via route 190, heading east toward Mitla, stopping first to admire the Tule Tree, a massive living monument 130 feet tall, 137 feet in diameter and approximately 2,000 years old.

Carrying on down highway 190, we then turned off a couple of kilometers to the village of Teotitlan del Valle, well noted for its production of woolen rugs made with natural dyes on large looms by seemingly almost every member of the population.

Beside the central artisan's market, there are numerous shops around the town where one can watch the artisan's at the loom and view the glorious variety of textiles produced and displayed for sale by the villagers.

Our next and final stop on this route was the archeological site at Mitla, some 43 kilometers to the east of Oaxaca City. The archeological site seems to surround the Church, although I suppose it's much more likely that the Church, in fact, is smothering the ruins.

The facades of many of the buildings in these ruins show series of geometric ornamentation carved in the stone. Mitla is comprised of five different sectors of construction, thought to have been erected in two distinct periods. Near what is called the Grupo de las Columnas (Group of the Columns) lies a the patio in which are two underground tombs in the shape of crosses, into which, if you're not claustrophobic, you can descend.

By this time late afternoon was approaching. Rain seemed to be on the horizon and we were ready to make our way back into the city. There was one more stop, though, that we wished to make: a Mescal factory. Mitla, in particular, was full of signs and shops proclaiming to offer the best of the best mescal, a liquor distilled from the maguey plant. So, before leaving the village, we stopped at the Pegaso Mescal factory.

We walked into the small shop on the edge of town and were confronted with an array of bottles of all shapes and sizes, holding clear and amber-colored mescal as well as a few green, orange and darker brown specimens. The young man at the counter quickly offered us small plastic glasses and provided us with tastes of the rawer mountain mescal, the finer, amber, aged mescal and sips of sweetened Cacao, Orange, Lemon and Peppermint Cream of Mescal. Let me say that all of them were pretty good, except, perhaps, the rawest mountain mescal, that was a bit too harsh for our tastes.

Our host then offered to show us the workings of the factory. He guided us through to the back of the building and carefully and thoroughly explained to us all of the steps involved in the process, right from how the maguey plants are cultivated, through their cutting, burning, cooling, grinding and juicing, fermenting and skimming, and ultimately to their double-distilling and bottling. He'd already taken us through the very final step of consumption. We left, needless to say, with a bottle of mescal under our arm, feeling that yes, we were now much more knowledgeable in the mysteries of mescal than we had been when we first walked in.

Back in town, we returned unerringly to the square for yet another meal -- this time excellent enchiladas verdes (green enchiladas) and tostadas de pierna y tinga (crispy tortillas topped with shredded, seasoned meats), a Oaxacan tamale and a bagful of crunchy, chapulines (toasted grasshoppers) doused in lime juice, prepared by a small, wizened women who assured us hers were the best, since she roasted hers slowly and carefully over a real fire. For those of you who've never tried them, it IS an enjoyable meal. Wrap them in a fresh, warm tortilla or mix them into some scrambled eggs with a little extra lemon and some salsa - they have a rich, nutty flavor that will quite surprise you!

Tomorrow we'll tour the Santo Domingo Church and Cultural Center, walk a few more streets in Oaxaca City, then head south to see some black pottery and weaving done on belt looms before going over the mountains to Puerto Angel on Oaxaca's Pacific coast.