Pancakes! We ate them with gusto in large quantities. Most of the remainder of the morning was spent scouring the internet for good tours of the nearby crafts villages. Typically, a given village specializes in one type of craft and the artisans bring their work to the large markets in Oaxaca City (which is the capital of the state of Oaxaca). We also reserved seats on a 50 peso/person shuttle to Monte Alban, a large Zapotec ruin less than 30 minutes from town. Unfortunately, the shuttle pick-up for the Mezkalito was soon canceled, so we sought out the shuttle at the source, the Hotel Rivera del Angel. They had departures every half hour. Our driver was 20 minutes late, but he drove quickly through the serpentine mountain roads. About 20 minutes of nausea inducing driving later, we arrived at the site with the other passengers - a young French couple and two older Mexican men. Having passed through the throngs of trinket and textile vendors at the top of the hill, we payed the 48 peso/person entry fee and entered the park.
Monte Alban is much smaller than Teotihuacan and contains more vegetation. Being on the summit of a mountain, the views were spectacular. Some similarities between the masony and architecture here and at Teotihuacan were evident. Unfortunately, the famous tombs (especially tomb VII) appeared to be closed to the public. Following about an hour and a half of exploration, we meandered to the cafe, populated solely by non-Mexican tourists. One plate of "papas a la Francesca" and four tacos later, we quickly took in the artifacts in the small site museum and the books in the gift shop.
Our ride arrived right on time (precisely 3 hours after the drop-off), but the two Mexican men did not show up, so we drove off, leaving them for the next shuttle. The ride down was easier for some reason (i.e. Lauren didn't almost get sick). After getting cleaned up back at the hostel, we visited the Mercado de las Artesanias to buy a green table runner (190 pesos) and a set of six napkins and six placemats (140 pesos). Next we walked to a chinese fast food place we had noticed earlier, but the food looked mildly gross. So we decided to try (Mexican) Japanese food at Sushi Itto in the Zocalo. It was adequate; not great.
Lauren wanted to see a ballet performance at the Juarez Theater. The closest thing on our map was the Casa de Juarez. We asked a tourist info person on the street about this; in response she gave us five maps and pamphlets and pointed us toward Casa de Juarez, though she was unsure of herself and strangely seemed not to be from Oaxaca. Too bad she pointed us in the opposite direction from Casa de Juarez. So, we turned around and searched Vigil for the elusive theater (stopping in some sweet crafts stores), but we found nothing but endless food and vendor stalls. Having thrown in the towel, Lauren dug deep and found the courage to order some food from a stall on vigil - a quesadilla with squash flowers, beans, and quesillo (Oaxacan string cheese).
Pancakes! We ate them with gusto in large quantities. Most of the remainder of the morning was spent scouring the internet for good tours of the nearby crafts villages. Typically, a given village specializes in one type of craft and the artisans bring their work to the large markets in Oaxaca City (which is the capital of the state of Oaxaca). We also reserved seats on a 50 peso/person shuttle to Monte Alban, a large Zapotec ruin less than 30 minutes from town. Unfortunately, the shuttle pick-up for the Mezkalito was soon canceled, so we sought out the shuttle at the source, the Hotel Rivera del Angel. They had departures every half hour. Our driver was 20 minutes late, but he drove quickly through the serpentine mountain roads. About 20 minutes of nausea inducing driving later, we arrived at the site with the other passengers - a young French couple and two older Mexican men. Having passed through the throngs of trinket and textile vendors at the top of the hill, we payed the 48 peso/person entry fee and entered the park.
