Oaxaca

Arrived in Oaxaca around 10:30 am, relieved to find it warmer and at a lower elevation. The hotel had lost our room booking so I shared with two instead of the usual one. We all did our own thing the first day and I took it easy, exploring the downtown Central Park (zocalo) area.

The following day I went to Monte Alban - an Olmec/Toltec/Zapotec ruins built on the mountain above Oaxaca around 1,000 BC. We had another wonderful guide descended from the Olmec (the oldest group), whose distinctive facial features are quite difference from the Maya and Zapotec. "Like this..." Our grinning guide pointed to his wide flat nose and some 2,000 year-old Olmec carvings. Sure enough, they looked the same :-) He had a super thick accent and it was as if he communicated through his graceful and patient soul. He also told us the Olmecs weren't into human sacrifice and instead liked to sing and dance and that's what they did during their religious ceremonies.



The ruins weren't discovered by the Spanish so things remained relatively intact. Lots of carvings still exist there and the jewels are in a museum nearby. The location of the site is stunning, on top of a mountain with a 360 degree vista and nothing but blue sky above. The city of Oaxaca in the valley below was a lake at the time and their abundant source of water, so they had a pretty nice life.

The ruins have five layers, built one on top of the other by different groups. The first layer was built by the Olmec, then 4 more civilizations layered bigger pyramids over top. The site was used as a medical training ground and our guide showed us carvings of various medical conditions used for educational purposes. These were originally thought to be dancers and some people even thought torture victims writhing in agony! There was a hunchback, a breach birth, and other physical conditions. They documented the Caesarian section long before the Romans, and probably also performed brain surgery. They were incredibly advanced and we were blown away by the humble man who explained these marvellous things.

The site had a temple of the Sun and Moon, an astronomical observatory that showed the equinoxes and solstices for agricultural purposes (when to plant and harvest), another ball court, etc.

There were also carvings of other races who had arrived in the area long before Columbus. Our guide showed us carvings of Phoenecian, Viking, Jewish, Japanese and Africans. It certainly looked like it to us. He also pointed out the Olmec writing, which is pictographic and written vertically. It looks (at least to our unpracticed eye) astonishingly similar to Asian characters.

We took his word for it because after all, his family has lived there for hundreds, if not thousands of years, and sometimes what we see with our own eyes and intuition may just be more accurate.

At the last minute that evening we found out we were heading to our next location (Puebla) late...again. Matt had left buying bus tickets till the last minute and naturally the buses were full. We would arrive at dark, again. That would leave partying with the group on New Year's Eve then heading to Mexico City the next morning.

My flight was booked a day earlier than the end of the tour so I was scheduled to leave Jan. 1st. When I booked it I had mistakenly thought we would be in Mexico City on the 31st. But in fact we would be a couple of hours away. I had asked our guide early on the trip to help me figure out how to make my flight, and if there was a way I could get to Mexico City early so I could possibly see the great site, Teotihuacan...He said, no worries, he would. That night reality hit and I realized not only had he not helped me but he wasn't around and I had to make some quick decisions. Luckily one of my roommates had left her guide book in our room so I was able to do some quick calculations and read some maps. There was another Gap guide at the hotel - another bit of luck. I finally tracked her down and she was a real help. She told me to ask Matt to book me into the Gap hotel and get a bus ticket to Mexico City for early tomorrow morning.

When Matt finally showed up he was none too happy to hear my change of plans. He did agree to phone the hotel for me. I picked up the bus ticket - a small fortune - and basically had dinner with about half the  group then said goodbye! I got mostly packed, showered and then my two roomies and I hung out in our room, chatting and doing Tarot readings. It was a lovely way to end the trip with them.