Feb 18, 2005 - Oaxaca City

I arrived at the very busy bus terminal at 6:30am... very tired and confused. After a few failed attempts, I found a taxi and headed for the hostel. I arrived to find a sign saying, no occupancy until 8am. So I headed up the road to another hostel and discovered the same problem. I decided that I would make the best of it and head downtown (with all of my luggage) for some coffee. Not one restaurant was open anywhere that I went. As my tired frustration continued to build I tripped over some metal on the sidewalk and wounded my foot. With a...

Jan 4, 2005 - continuing the trip to Mitla Archaeological site

The Archaeological site of Mitla: When we arrived in the village of Mitla it was a bustling area. Every thing was built up around the edges of the site. In fact the site was almost swallowed up by the village. Sort of like Izamal was. You had to look real close to find it. To one side was a huge Church and next to that was a market place with vendors with crafts and food. The bus stopped there and the escorted us into the site. It was so ancient, predating other places by centuries. Inside one of the temple rooms the guide pointed out the...

Dec 27, 2004 - Oaxaca, Mexico

We landed in Oaxaca! We are staying at the Magic hostel. which is as magical as it sounds. we get to sleep in a big room with lots of people who never shut up. crazy hippies... street food is quite delicious, especially the crickets aka chapulinas. amit doesnt like chapulinas. they make him want to throw up. amit does like cats however, which is probably why one decided to get in bed with him at the hostel in the middle of the night. there is a spectacular church that is all gold inside. we went to see some zapotec ruins at Monte Alban....

Sep 20, 2004 - Oaxaca

We liked Oaxaca a lot more than Puebla, there is a nice leafy zocalo (square) for drinking beer and people watching, loads of nice colonial buildings, not to mention some spectacular churches. There are also loads of things to see around the city so Jerry and I hopped on a tour to fit in as much as possible in one day. First there was "Hierve el Agua"- "The water boils". Actually the water´s jolly cold but the way it bubbles from the ground it looks as though it´s boiling. And then as it runs over the edge of the cliff most of it...

Aug 31, 2004 - Mexico: Oaxaca

Our bus pulled in the terminal at midnight and after some time we found a decent place to crash with a beautiful, jungle-like inner courtyard inhabited by a dozen parrots. Next morning Marcus had a nasty realization: His camera was gone. Someone must have taken it out of his daypack on the bus from Mexico City..a great shame as all our photos up until this point were lost. I will always remember my time in Oaxaca as Marcus trying to find an adequate, cheap replacement camera, dealing with our bus company about the loss of his camera,...

May 20, 2004 - Oaxaca

This is a very well known city for its chocolate. Well I tried it and it was disgusting- don`t try it!!! Even the sweet tooth that I am had to throw it all away. Still the city is rather formal but very pretty in the centre where all the tourists are likely to go. The colonial architecture is quite striking with all the bright and pastel colours that the Mexicans are want to paint their houses. What I wanted to see however, was the big tree and the ruins at Mitla in their original red colourings and with their geometric patternings. I did...

May 14, 2004 - Oaxaca, Mexico

When Zoe and I were about to leave Puerto Escondido, I suddenly became extremely ill and wasn't able to leave the bathroom. It was terrible. We had to spend another night at Hotel Rockaway, this one sleepless because I could not stop being sick. I'm still not nore what made me so ill - too much sun or the food I'd eaten for dinner. Luckily, we were able to get our bus tickets refunded and were on another bus the next morning. The drive to Oaxaca (pronounced 'Wa-ha-ka' City was long and windy so it was impossible to catch up on lost sleep....

Dec 17, 2003 - Oaxaca - Bugs & Rugs

Jan still hadn't taken a vacation longer than a day or two this year, so we packed up the camioneta and drove five hours south of the city, to another world, Oaxaca. This mountainous state is located at about the heel, if Mexico were a boot. It is home to Zapotecs, Mixtecs, and the fourteen other ethnic groups, still speaking their native languages. There is a tremendous variety of, well, of everything here. Silks brought through Mexico from the Orient, hundreds of years ago, inspire the dress in one village. Others wear clothing that made...