May 30, 2011 - Teotitlan del Valle, Mitla & El Tule

Eine nette Einheimische stellte uns ihre private Teppichknuepferei vor...auch hier die Parallelen mit der Tuerkei, es fehlte bloss der Pfefferminzteee. Wir erfuhren interessante Details, wie zB ueber die Gewinnung der natuerlichen Farbstoffe. Fuer rot verwendet man die zerdrueckten, getrockneten Ueberreste einer kleinen Raupe. Als Webmotive dominieren indianische Goetterdarstellungen, die landesweit verehrte mexikanische Malerin Frida Kahlo, und... Lionel Messi. Weiter gings zur Zapotekenstaette Mitla, wo wir in den Grabkammern (die wir...

Feb 1, 2010 - A visit to the BIG Market

There are several markets to visit in Oaxaca de Juarez. The Mercado Benito Jaurez is located 2 blocks south of the Zocalo and takes up an entire block. It is geared to both local shoppers as well as tourist and contains all the commodities you will find in a local Mexican market from fruits & vegetables, meats, electronics, clothing , shoes, etc. etc., etc. You can easily spend an hour or two just wandering through it. Then there is the other market; the BIG one. Mercado de Abastos is a huge regional market and by huge I mean HUGE. It is a...

Jan 31, 2010 - Captivated by Oaxaca de Juarez

The city of Oaxaca, officially Oaxaca de Juarez, is a delightful and captivating place in many respects. Having been isolated for much of its history by the mountain ranges surrounding the city that form the y-shaped Oaxaca Valley, the art, crafts, customs, food, dress and even languages of 15 distinct ethnic groups with-in the state of Oaxaca are well represented here. I decided to stay a second full week in Oaxaca de Juarez since it provides both the opportunity to be fully immersed in my Spanish study and to explore all the nooks and...

Jan 29, 2010 - Peru floods: Helicopters at Machu Picchu

Although Peru is not part of my current trip, Janine and I were supposed to be there right now. Machu Pichu was high on our list and the original timeline I had laid out would have put us at Machu Pichu January 25th, which looks like the day the train tracks were washed out. Call it fate, luck or what-ever but I am glad we missed this. I scooped this artical and the attached pictures from the website www.dailymail.co.uk: Peru floods: Helicopters at Machu Picchu in battle to rescue tourists as new arrivals swell numbers By Travelmail...

Jan 26, 2010 - Day trip to Hievre El Agua, Oaxaca

This morning I got on the motorcycle and headed south-east along Oax 190 to explore Valle de Tlacolula. Janine and I had visited the many sites of interest along this valley during our last visit but ran out of time to get to Hievre El Agua, a mineral spring that has been spilling over a cliff creating a seemingly petrified waterfall located high in the mountains at the far end of the valley. I also wanted to revisit the Dominican church and convent San Geronimo, in the village of Tlacochahuaya. The church, one of the oldest in the valley,...

Mar 8, 2009 - Back to Mitla

We had a very lazy morning. We slept in, then I took my coffee outside and sat with a bunch of the men. Even made an omlet. Finally we headed back out to Mitla to buy some of the fabric clothing. Unfortunately, we found that many of the shops were closed. We did find a shirt for me, and had a good lunch at a hotel restaurant. Linda returned to the El Tule market hoping to find some fresh fruit and vegetables. She also attended mass, but I chose to stay home. It is really difficult to feel churched in a language you can't understand.