This giant tree is claimed locally to be the largest in the world - well, at 48m high it certainly isn't the tallest, but with a trunk diameter of 12m it may be the widest! Have a look a the picture with Gary below. The tree is in a village next to Oaxaca called El Tule, where it dwarfs the little white church.
This is the fantastic ancient hilltop city of Monte Albin - only 6km from Oaxaca the views over town are stunning. This citadel was constructed over hundreds of years by the Zapotecs - it's huge (as you can see from the tiny image of me at the back of these steps... And it has lots of lovely palaces, temples, huge plazas and courtyards.... all immaculately restored. Great ruins. We particularly liked some of the stone carvings scattered around the place. Apparently the various tribes of ancient Mexico were pretty bloodthirsty - lots of sacrifices, beheadings etc. The speciality of the Zapotecs was to perform a malignant form of castration first - they would cut off the genitalia of the tribe leaders they conquered. And then they would carve the images of these figures into their walls - complete with gushing blood in the region of the genitals! Have a look at this specimin to see what we mean... 
A nice overview of a corner of the Monte Albin Complex - a few pyramids, a small Gary, and lovely views over the surrounding valleys in the background.
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