Mexico: Day 3

by Kathy 8. May 2009 14:39

<< Days 1 and 2: Finding Our Groove in the City of Oaxaca | Day 4: Oaxaca; San Martin Tilcajete >>

Oaxaca; Monte Alban in the Heat

We had a late breakfast this morning and then walked to the Hertz rental car office to pick up a car that we had reserved two months ago. We had heard quite a few horror stories about renting a car in Mexico (hidden costs, charges for almost invisible chips in the windshield that probably existed before the rental, higher prices than quoted, only "expensive" cars left to rent, etc.). Although we hoped that the rental would go smoothly, we were not surprised when we were told that despite our reservation, there was no car for us. Our minds were zooming into "Plan B" mode, when the man behind the counter said that the office was holding a car for another client; since we wanted a nine-day rental, and the other client only wanted the car for one day, he would let us have the car.

The rental car arrived (a nice little compact), and we checked it over carefully, noting every little ding or scratch on the body and windshield. Then off we drove to see the Monte Alban, which was the Zapotec capital for over 1000 years before it was abandoned in the 8th century.

But first, we had to get out of the city. We drove around, making turns to avoid roads that were either closed due to construction or blocked by crowds of people in Good Friday processions. Here you can see a procession blocking off the road ahead.

After 10 minutes, we ended up at the same exact place that we started! After a good laugh, we consulted a map and came up with a different route.

We arrived at Monte Alban and discovered it was a very popular place today. The traffic police directed us to park on the side of the road, about a mile away from the entrance.

We walked up the hill; it was a hot day (April is the hottest month in Oaxaca, with temperatures in the ‘90’s). By the time we arrived at the entrance gates, Sebastian was a bit overheated and tired. We bought more water and sun hats from the vendors.

We cooled down with a light lunch in the museum restaurant and then went to explore the ruins.

The ruins covered a large area.

The children were searching for tombs and found some shady spots to rest.

Why take the stairs when you can climb rocks?

Ben and I:

We had a great view of the Oaxaca valley.

While Ben and I were admiring the view, we watched several groups of people walk over to a low rock between pillars, stand on the rock, stretch out their hands and pose for a photo. Hmmm . . . we didn’t have a guide book; maybe this was a special ritual that brings good luck to those who pose like that . . . or maybe not. In any event, I had to experience it for myself; I felt a little silly, but bring on that good luck!

Here are Sebastian and Ben before they walked the length of that long field behind them . . .

. . . and climbed the tallest pyramid structure:

The children keep daily journals when we travel. Sebastian’s entry for today read: "Today we went to Monte Alban. It was built by the Zapotec 500 B.C. It was very, very, very, very, very hot. I climbed the pyramid and went back." The heat was overwhelming. Ben and Sebastian decided that they were finished exploring. Genevieve and I hung in there for another 10 minutes and then joined them for a rest in the shade. Here is Genevieve at the top of the pyramid:

We stopped briefly in the museum to see some of the stone carvings. Here is a figure that early archeologists initially called a "dancer"; however, some now believe that the body was placed in a distorted position to show that it was tortured, and that the carving served as a warning to enemies. We may never know for certain . . . "dancing" or "torture" . . . .

When we finally reached our car, we noticed that the front tires (which were curbed due to the hill) were completely bald, with wires from the steel belt poking through on the outside edges. Yikes! Unfortunately, the spare tire was in the same condition. We carefully drove back to the hotel, and then Ben continued on to the Hertz office to try and get the tires replaced. (Hertz ended up providing us with another car the next day.)

The kids and I enjoyed the hotel pool for about 20 minutes, until the thunder started booming and the showers came. Then we stood on our patio and watched the raindrops make beautiful circular patterns on the pool water. Oh, the simple pleasures in life.

After a brief siesta, we headed back out:

Today was Good Friday, and we planned to watch the Procession of Silence, which is an annual holy parade in which various religious groups carry figures/statues of Jesus and other religious items through the streets in silence. The procession was supposed to start any time between 6 and 7 p.m. We found really good viewing spots directly across from the Santo Domingo church.

Soon, these hooded men came out of the church, along with the wounded Jesus figure in the background.

Having been born and raised in the South, I was a bit shocked at first when I saw the pointy hoods—but then I recalled that they have historically been used by the Spanish in religious ceremonies.

This woman was promoting a restaurant that offered traditional Mexican dances for entertainment.

Here are some pictures of the procession:

We ate at a restaurant, La Biznaga, that came highly recommended—lively atmosphere with an innovative chef . . . we admired the creative combination of flavors, even if some of them were too unusual for our tastes.

After dinner, we saw some of the procession participants heading home. Genevieve was excited to discover that this group of purple-hooded people, carrying the heavy display, consisted of women.