I found it completely impossible to pronounce the name ‘Oaxaca’ for the entire duration of our stay in the pretty little town. The problem is that in Mexican Spanish the ‘o’ becomes a ‘w’ and the ‘x’ approximates to an ‘h’… completely defeating my attempts, and making Gary’s version sound like ‘Wa-ha-ka’. Hmm. In any case, Oaxaca (however you pronounce it) is a really lovely place to visit – an exceptionally pretty colonial town, littered with pretty plazas, marble-white churches, colourful old buildings and lively cobbled streets. Just perfect for passing a lazy afternoon in a curb-side café sipping espresso and watching people wander past.
Another nice thing about the town is that it is surrounded by a number of curious places which make great day trips when you’re tired of all that exhausting lounging around in cafes over lunch. Perhaps the most random is the tiny village of El Tule – which is easily reached by collectivo as it’s only 10km from Oaxaca (and has almost been absorbed as a suburb of the town). The village itself is pleasant but unremarkable save for the churchyard. Here the pretty little white church is completely dwarfed by a massive tree which is claimed to be the largest in the world! I’ve no idea if this is true – at 49m high it certainly isn’t the tallest, but the trunk may be the widest with a massive diameter of 12m. It’s certainly an impressive plant – an ahuehuete (Montezuma cypress) estimated to be over 1500 years old it was growing when the powerful ancient civilisations of this region were thriving and constructing equally impressive cities…
Which brings me to Monte Alban, our other excursion from Oaxaca. Monte Alban is an ancient and extensive mountain-top city constructed by the Zapotecs several from hundred years AD. There are no huge pyramids here as there were in Teotihuacán near Mexico City, but an impressive range of palaces, temples courtyards and tombs, all perched on top of a vast flattened mountain top with spectacular views down over the surrounding valleys. It is a really large and impressive site which took us a few hours to explore. To be honest at this point we’re beginning to wonder just how many fantastic archaeological sites there are in Mexico from one civilisation or another as we haven’t even got close to the more famous ones yet!
Anyway, despite being a lovely relaxing little town we couldn’t stay long in Oaxaca as we are now into the last month of our trip – and there’s a lot to see in our route across Mexico. We’ve just arrived at our next stop, San Cristobal, after a tiring overnight bus journey, and will recover here in the icy high altitude climate for a day or two before hitting Palenque and the lands of the Mayas.
Another nice thing about the town is that it is surrounded by a number of curious places which make great day trips when you’re tired of all that exhausting lounging around in cafes over lunch. Perhaps the most random is the tiny village of El Tule – which is easily reached by collectivo as it’s only 10km from Oaxaca (and has almost been absorbed as a suburb of the town). The village itself is pleasant but unremarkable save for the churchyard. Here the pretty little white church is completely dwarfed by a massive tree which is claimed to be the largest in the world! I’ve no idea if this is true – at 49m high it certainly isn’t the tallest, but the trunk may be the widest with a massive diameter of 12m. It’s certainly an impressive plant – an ahuehuete (Montezuma cypress) estimated to be over 1500 years old it was growing when the powerful ancient civilisations of this region were thriving and constructing equally impressive cities…
Which brings me to Monte Alban, our other excursion from Oaxaca. Monte Alban is an ancient and extensive mountain-top city constructed by the Zapotecs several from hundred years AD. There are no huge pyramids here as there were in Teotihuacán near Mexico City, but an impressive range of palaces, temples courtyards and tombs, all perched on top of a vast flattened mountain top with spectacular views down over the surrounding valleys. It is a really large and impressive site which took us a few hours to explore. To be honest at this point we’re beginning to wonder just how many fantastic archaeological sites there are in Mexico from one civilisation or another as we haven’t even got close to the more famous ones yet!
Anyway, despite being a lovely relaxing little town we couldn’t stay long in Oaxaca as we are now into the last month of our trip – and there’s a lot to see in our route across Mexico. We’ve just arrived at our next stop, San Cristobal, after a tiring overnight bus journey, and will recover here in the icy high altitude climate for a day or two before hitting Palenque and the lands of the Mayas.
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