We have been in Oaxaca for about 5 days now. We spent the first three sleeping. This is a small exaggeration; we seemed to consistantly make it into the (fading) sunlight around three o’clock or so. Finally, we either managed to catch up on our sleep or we just got sick of spooning, and managed to explore the markets and plazas to some extent.
For some reason - probably the amount of places to spend your money - Oaxaca is a major attraction for travelers, and so we have seen more white people in the last few days than in the entire 5 weeks we’ve been in Mexico. That part has been a little weird. But like I said, there is a LOT of shopping here, including several major art and textile markets, and an art district with shops like you would find in say, Santa Fe. Seriously good art and amazing jewelry. FYI, in Mexico, most of the jewelry is import quality; it’s not really artesian work and you quickly realize that you’ve seen the same stuff everywhere else you’ve been, So it was fun to browse the art district and see some really original stuff.
Today we went to Monte Alban, which is this flipping HUGE ruin complex, complete with temples and sacrificial alters.
I got seriously burnt, but I think I managed to escape blister level. I therefore am not too worried. Here are some pictures of me and some of my new purchases in front of ancient stone temples and a sweet vista of Oaxaca City.
Here we have:
- Drop crotch blue pants from Guatemala. I AM IN LOVE. Behold the different ways one can wear these pants.
- Silver and bejeweled belt salvaged from trashcan at Monte Alban
- Leather sandals from the market
- Crazy rainbow patchwork bag from the market (there is an amazing selection of these type of bags; most of them have beautiful embroidery and they come in every color imaginable)
- Assorted jewelry: coral bracelet from Veracruz, pearls from Catemaco, ring from Morelia, bottlecap earrings from Oaxaca.
I have been meaning to take some closeups of the jewelry, especially of these adorable wooden bracelets I got in Veracruz, but our camera has pretty much crapped out. Meaning the only button that works is the on button, and we can’t use the macro setting or even view the pictures we just took. Maybe we will get a new camera one of these days.
Hasta Luego!
No Comments, Comment or Ping