From the category archives:

Oaxaca 2009

Day 10 – in which there are pots and metal creatures

2 November 2009

Most of the day was spent in San Bartolo Coyotepec.
Our first stop was at the workshop of the family of potter Dona Rosa. The Dona Rosa invented the burnishing technique that produces the glossy black pottery that the village has become known for. Her son don Valente continues the tradition.
Here are three pots that sit [...]

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Day 9, in which there is a lot of thread(s)

31 October 2009

Today is the Halloween for most of you all. Here in Mexico it is the day before Muertos. There’s lots of getting ready and cleaning and arranging going on.
We were out and about doing tourista things this morning. Our destination was Teotitlan de Valle, home to the most famous of the Zapotec weavers.
We started in [...]

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Day 8, in which there was one very big tree and a lot of little stones.

30 October 2009

Today is Friday, we must be headed for Mitla and ‘the tree’!. Our first stop is in Santa Maria del Tule, to see a huge, several thousand year old tree. In the center of the town. Pretty amazing. The redwoods are taller, but this honker is huge at the trunk!
Playing ‘name that creature’ is an [...]

Tagged as: mitla, mosaic, tule

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Day 7, in which we watched a man pull a rabbit out of a tree trunk.

29 October 2009

To day it was south and a little west of town to the Zaachila valley. Traffic has been terrible this week so our guide Nico took us down a super-secret short-cut. Like going down the rabbit hole.
Speaking of rabbits. Our first stop was the wood carving village of Arrozola. Arsenio Moreles took a machete to [...]

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Day 6, in which we went to the market

28 October 2009

Today began with a trip to the Abastos market, near the south edge of the central district of oaxaca. Today was the opening of the special ‘Muertos’ section of the market, full of special flowers, candles, trinkets and food for the “dia de los muertos” celebrations. We bought flowers, candles, little skeleton figurines, copal incense, [...]

Tagged as: Abastos market, San Martin Tilcajete, wood carvings

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Day 5, in which Jim visits Monte Alban

27 October 2009

Today, the ‘tour’ was scheduled to go up to Monte Alban, a pre-columbian archeological site just west of Oaxaca. My lovely bride has seen it once, that was enough for her, so the tour departed slightly down on troop strength.
It was a beautiful day, some cloud cover so it didn’t get too hot, but [...]

Tagged as: monte alban

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Day 4, in which we visit many things that Rudolfo Morelos loved

27 October 2009

Day 4 (which was actually yesterday) we went to Ocotlan. Birthplace of the painter Rudolfo Morelos.
But before we got out of town I saw this set of signs and thought you all needed to see them as well.
Ocotlan is south of the city of Oaxaca. The biggest building in town is the church. Unlike many [...]

Tagged as: churches, josefina aguilar, ocotolan, pottery, Rudolfo Morelos, sculpture, wood carving

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Day 3, in which we passed through 3300 years of history

25 October 2009

Today was our first day of being official “tourists”. We went out with Jane and Nico, our guides, and five other people who are staying here at Casa Colonial. Today’s journey was to the north into the valley of Etla.
Sections of adobe wall are every where.
First we went to San Jose de Mogote to see [...]

Tagged as: hacienda, mermaid, pottery, ruins, san augustine etla, san jose de mogote

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Day 2, in which we visit 3 churchs and 1 bar.

24 October 2009

Today we took a little walking tour with our host Jane and a couple of other guests.
A block away from the Casa there is a little alley on the back side of the local market. It’s a good place to stop for a soda in the shade.
The Virgin of Soledad is the patron of the [...]

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Oaxaca 2009 (No Clever Title Yet)

23 October 2009

First day confusion. Imagine our surprise to arrive in the Zocolo this morning and discover that the Carrera Panamericana was finishing it’s first stage in our front yard. So to speak.
Lots of classic cars (with classic drivers) rallying across Mexico. You can find the whole story of a race that was revived on the official [...]

Tagged as: carrera panamericana, race cars

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