Monte Alban

Ruins and existence of pre-hispanic cultures was one of the reasons for the choice of Oaxaca for spring break, so today we went to the nearby Zapotec (one of ancient indigenous cultures in the state of Oaxaca) ruins of Monte Alban. This ancient city was one of the first major cities in Mesoamerica and the capital of the Zapotec empire. Even though I consider myself being able to handle any kind of winding mountaneous road after my adventures in the Andes last summer, the ride to the ruins today made me a little nervous since the driver was going fast on the narrow curvy road without honking the horn as he approached the curves. Oh well, we got there safely and had about 3 hours to roam around the ruins and visit an adjacent museum.

I had thought that after seeing the grandeur of Macchu Picchu in Peru, no ruins will really ever surprise me. Well, I was proved wrong by what opened to me eyes as I passed by the initial ruins to the main plaza of Monte Alban. It was a rather well-preserved town, very different looking from the Incan Macchu Picchu. It was located on top of the mountain (hence the name, White Mountain), but unlike Macchu Picchu which was all hills, the Plaza here was on a flat plateu with parallel buildings going on each side and a platform with more building at each end. The type of architecture and remaining stone caligraphy was very different from the Incan style since this culture used mortar to seal the stones together. The ancient city had many stairs which led to platforms for temples which unfortunately had been destroyed.It appeared as if the Zapotec culture was a warrior culture ruled by a priestly class of nobility.

While roaming through the ruins, we turned into two red lobsters, ie got sunburned. Meg is part italian, which means she is not supposed to burn at all..alas, she is pinker than me, and we haven't even got to the beach yet. After an amazing nap, we saw the inside of one of the main churches, Iglesia de Santo Domingo, and were going to visit a museum of Oaxacan history, but of course it was closed despite what the Lonely Planet guidebook said.

Meg is at the Mass right now being a good Catholic and after the service is done, we are going to walk towars the Zocalo (main plaza), try to see the inside of the main Cathedral, eat some more delicios tacos and finish up with a chocolate-covered banana. We did try Mole today, which is a typical Oaxacan dish made with cacao powder and served with a tortilla and delicious string cheese.Yeah, food has become a major part of our trip.

Off to the beach tomorrow morning!