Travel by TAXI!

I am so glad I gave up on the idea of renting a car. A little more luxurious than our normal way to travel, but Omar, our taxista from yesterday, said he would be glad to drive us around. We felt so pampered — left off right at the entrance, picked up whenever we appeared, it was great! We liked it so much, we are going to do it again tomorrow, I’m embarrassed to say. He came up with a great itinerary today and promises more of the same tomorrow.

The highlight of the day was our first stop, Mitla, another Zapoteca city, which was the religious capital of the Zapotecas after Monte Albán started its decline. It survived until the Spanish conquest, and as frequently happened, much of the site was destroyed and repurposed to build the church. Luckily, the Spaniards must not have wanted geometric designs in their churches, because there are many untouched friezes of unique geometric mosaics, rows and rows ringing the tops of the now roof-less buildings.

The rest of the day was a bit of this and a bit of that — we went to Hierve el Agua, beautiful mineral springs where the water bubbles up from underground and its minerals are deposited as the water flows down the cliffs to the pools, making stalagtites (though they call them “petrified waterfalls” here). Spectacular setting overlooking a valley and a ring of mountains, and the water is bright blue-green. We didn’t have our suits, but got our legs wet.

Then to a family mezcal-making place, using donkeys, old barrels, lots of manual labor. The young father leaves his 15 year old in charge of the production, while he spends his time caring for the plants. He talked almost lovingly about the different kinds of agave and how he brings them to maturity. But what a life — very little production must translate into very little income.

We spent some time in one of those chokingly crowded Sunday markets, in Tlacolula. I love walking through and gawking, but the thought of actually buying something there is of absolutely no interest. I am just a bad shopper. At Omar´s suggestion, we had some plates of roasted goat and lamb, slow-cooked by the vendors and served with, of course, homemade tortillas. Then another Zapoteca site, Yagul, with its perfectly untouched ball court.

We ended the day with a trip to a friend of Omar’s whose family makes weavings with organic dyes and hand looms. The whole town, whose name I can’t remember, seems to be a textile/rug mecca. Oh yes, one last stop at the Tule tree, a Montezuma cypress (whatever that is) reported to have the largest tree trunk in Latin America. I am glad that Joe resisted the urge to challenge Omar when he made the claim, but he couldn’t avoid an eye roll. One really interesting tidbit, at least for those who love local government like I do, was the fact that this town is one of “usos y costumbres.” No political parties, ruling by consensus and unwritten norms, sort of sounds like a New England Town Hall. I would love to know more.

We have had a sensory overload of the best type and will settle for sandwiches from the very excellent bakery down the street, Boulenc. The lines start at 8:15 in the morning and seem to be a permanent feature. Getting takeout requires less of a wait.Read more