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This tour is offered by Alvin through Casa Machaya Oaxaca Bed & Breakfast, and may be booked by emailing oaxacadrea@hotmail.com. However, please note that it is only a suggested route, and is subject to revision, additions and deletions depending on the specific interests of the client. It has been designed to maximize the diversity of your cultural experience while economizing your time, with virtually no traversing of highways we’ve already been on to get to another site. Certainly we can change the itinerary, but often this entails some backtracking.
1) Santa María el Tule, home of the famous 2,000 year old Tule or ahuehuete tree, the largest tree in the world…beautifully kept grounds, with a lovely church alongside the tree. We can try to “hire” a local child to take you on a tour around the tree, using a mirror to point out images in the trunk and branches.
2) The 16th century Dominican church at Tlacochuhuaya noted for its original fresco painting on the ceiling and walls by Zapotec artists, the surrounding courtyard chapels, its exterior carved figures including the sculpture of Saint Jerome, and the 17th century German organ on the second floor. A sundial still stands outside the church;
3) The rug village of Teotitlán del Valle – visit one or more of the multitude of rug workshops where you can select any of a vast number of sizes, designs and colors (if you are so inclined) and see how the rugs are produced from the carding of wool of different colors, followed by its spinning, then the use of purely natural dyes of plant, fruit and vegetable sources as well as the cochineal, and finally the hand weaving on traditional large looms. Learn how to detect rugs which are made using synthetic dyes for coloration.
4) If you’ve every been on a California or Niagara wine tour, or traveled to Scotland to sample the finest of single malt whiskies, you’ll be struck by the contrast in production techniques used in making Oaxaca’s state drink, mezcal. This lesser known cousin to tequila is made from a much purer and ancient technique using only the agave plant without any fermenting agents whatsoever, a deep in-ground pit for baking over firewood, crushing by a multi-ton stone pulled by horse, pine fermentation barrels and brick oven with a copper serpentine still…all natural and aged in oak barrels up to 8 years, with or without “the worm.” Perhaps more your style and taste are the sweet mezcal liqueurs mixed with local exotic fruits. Taste all varieties. (NOTE: Full day tours high up into the mountains to see and sample from a selection of the smallest mom and pop production facilities are also available, with lunch at a quaint roadside eatery.)
5) On Sundays, the marketplace at Tlacolula, the largest of the regional markets apart from the Abastos (downtown Oaxaca) market.
6) The ruin at Mitla known for the Spanish destruction of pre-conquest edifices and the conquerors’ use of the stone in the construction of the church, the existing original painted codices on parts of what remains, the intricate stone designs forming the walls of the ruin buildings with no mortar used in construction, and the tombs. Also a large open handicraft marketplace known for diversity of product and great prices.
OPTIONAL:
**Hierve el Agua, the natural bubbling springs, with two large poolings of water on the precipice of a cliff with spectacular vistas, suitable for swimming. Hike to the large “waterfall” of accumulated mineral deposits.
**The ruins at Lambityeco, Dainzú and / or Yagul. Yagul is noted for four things: the largest ballcourt in the region and second largest in Mesoamerica, its tombs, the labyrinth structure, and the fortress high up the mountain from which one cannot help but be impressed by the gorgeous views of the surrounding mountains and valley.
**For those with a bit more agility and daring, there are pictographs (paintings on rock walls inside shallow caves) at XAAGA, outside of Mitla en route to Hierve el Agua, dating from anywhere between 3,000 to 10,000 years ago … hike cross-country to the site, from where you can see and photograph the cave paintings, and then consider climbing right up to them.
**Effective June ’08, we’ll be beginning to offer a full breakfast near the beginning of the day, or cena at the end of the day / early evening, at Casa Santiago (rug workshop in the town of Teotitlán del Valle), prepared (with your assistance --- quasi-cooking class) by one of the daughters-in-law, Rocio. Dishes include tamales de amarillo, chilaquiles, huevos (with beefsteak---tasajo), empanadas, moles, soups, snacks, drinks, desserts, etc. The additional cost above the normal touring cost (see below) is 250 pesos per person, with the entire proceeds going to the family. The feasibility of this option depends on the number of other stops we’ll be making throughout the day depending on client interest, etc. Please discuss with me for my opinion as to whether or not such a stop would fit into your day. The genesis of / idea for this option arose as a result of Rocio and other members of her family demonstrating cooking techniques for a documentary film production with which I was involved in March ’08, about sustainable living in Oaxaca, for the series Under the Sun. Essentially, the meal and its preparation coincide with the rug-making demonstration and walking about the workshop and showroom looking at the products made by the family … all very informal. |
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