Days 3-4 Hierve el Agua and alibrije shopping
Tuesday
We had an early start, meeting with Tanya and Ralph of GoWell Tours, who were taking us on a hike to Hierve El Agua, a petrified waterfall located in the beautiful mountains about 20k east of Oaxaca. They were a lovely couple and the drive there was spent learning about the area and their lives moving from Canada to Oaxaca.
The rock formation is basically a massive outdoor stalactite, created by 1000's of years of water dripping through the limestone rocks. Our walk started from the top of the “waterfall” rock formations, hiking down a steep ascent with many stops on the way to take in the stunning views and learn about how the waterfall was formed and about the fauna and flora of the area. Some of the walk was a little treacherous, way beyond my comfort zone, but Ralph took great care to help me through and ensure I didn't stumble.
At the base of the fall there was a narrow path which took you into the rock formations itself, very scary being at the edge of the precipice but an incredible experience.
We then reascended back, slowly, to the mineral ponds at the summit of the falls. A bit of a climb but not as tough as I was expecting and we had plenty of stops to rest, *ahem* take in the scenery, on the way up.
The ponds have been artificially blocked off at the edge to create infinity pools for swimming. We got changed into our cossies and into the water - Tanya said we could spend as long as we wanted in the water, unaware I might just take that literally and stay there! The water was beautiful, around 20c and just slightly salty. It really was difficult to drag myself out!.
They then took us to a quiet spot just above the waters where they prepared a delicious salad picnic, making the best of local ingredients and accompanied by home made bread. We got drinks from the local vendors, Rob had a coconut and I had the weirdest sweet acidic drink poured into a carved out pineapple, garnished with the pineapple pieces and sounded in chamoy sauce and chilli powder. (I was later to learn that chamoy is very very popular in Mexico!)
yes, this is actually a drink!
A stop to a historic site on the way back was included in our trip and we opted for Mitla, a major Zapotec archaeological site, which at its time was the main religious centre for the area and dedicated to the dead.
into the very claustrophobic crypt!
Ralph took us around the site and then for ice cream after - I opted for tuna again but this time accompanied by a scoop of basil flavour, amazing and remains the best ice cream of the entire holiday!
They dropped us back at the hotel and as per what had become our usual routine, I had a quick swim and a chat with fellow guests, then we went out again in the evening to find Dia de Los Muertos events. Ended up at the Plaza de la Danza, where there was a classical music concert, some play about the devil (a female one, no idea what was going on though!) and a multi media presentation projected on the walls of the historic convent which edged the square.
In addition to Comparsas, the traffic was occasionally stopped at random for Muerteasas - these consist of a dance-off between two districts/villages, who meet up at a junction all dressed up, with banners, mannequins and a brass band each and then just dance in the middle of the street until one side gives up! traffic at a standstill, its impossible to get anywhere quickly, but nobody seemed to care.
After such a big lunch, we didn't fancy much for dinner, so we opted for tacos. As our first taco experience, they were a bit disappointing, basically a small amount of kebab meat rolled into tortillas. But it was cheap, filled a gap and didn't make us ill! Finished the night with cocktails at a bar on the way back to our hotel.
Wednesday
We had the day free, only needing to get back in time for our cemetery tours in the evening, so I managed to persuade Rob that we could brave the local buses to go to San Martin Tilcajete, a town out to the west which specialised in making alebrijes and were holding a couple of festivals this week. It was a bit of a challenge working out their bus system. We made our way to the market area, where most buses departed from and we were helpfully directed to a number of depots until we finally got to the right one, with a bus sitting there ready to depart.
passed the Childrens Parade in the Zocalo on our way to the buses
We we're dropped off at the edge of town and a tuk-tuk took us the rest of the way for a mere 5 pesos.
In the Zocalo a small festival was taking place, where all the makers of the town had stalls set up to display their wares and in the center, the local children were having an altar making competition. Surprisingly, there were very few tourists there, as most tours just take people to a few workshops, so it was lovely for us to get a chance to chat to the local craftspeople directly (via my poor Spanish!)
the detail of artwork was just incredible
I had already purchased an alibrije at Monte Alban but soon realised I paid a lot more there than I would have here; even works by the most talented artists were ridiculously affordable as long as we didn't covet anything too large. So I bought quite a few. :-) I fell in love with one more pricey piece, a stunningly detailed coyote but had run out of cash (even this piece was still under £50 though) but the lady signalled that I could pay by card and asked me to follow her - I went by myself, expecting that maybe there was some central admin point dealing with card payments but instead we hopped into a tuk-tuk across town to her studio! On reflection, probably wasn't wise to go alone, leaving Rob waiting at the stall with no way to contact me, but there was no danger at all. However Rob missed out on seeing the most incredible studio, where everything had been hand carved from wood. The main Craftsman offered me a tour but I figured I'd better get back to Rob!
Shopped out, we walked through town back to the bus-stop,
At the main road junction was a restaurant Azucena Zapoteca run by one of the local alibrijes workshops, holding a Shi Naa Lasn festival (folk art festival). Unfortunately there wasn’t much going on when we got there - probably because it was November 1st and the community were starting their own personal Muertos celebrations - but we had a meal in their beautiful restaurant, before browsing their stalls and dashing for the bus back to Oaxaca as it pulled up outside.
our evening trip to to the cemeteries will continue on the next post, due to so many photos selected here!
the full gallery for Tuesday at Hierve el Agua and Mitla is here
the full gallery for Wednesday at San Martin Tilcajete is here
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