Monday, February 06, 2023

A visit to Oaxaca, Mexico

At the end of January Leslie and I, along with our friends Jim and Mark, spent three and a half days in the city of Oaxaca, Mexico.  We toured.  We shopped.  We ate.  We took pictures.  I myself took over 1500 pictures and most of them are here in this post. 

After the initial cityscapes and landscapes, feel free to keep scrolling.  Farther down you'll see pictures of:

  • Monte Albán, 
  • Murals & Graffiti, 
  • Templo de Santo Domingo de Guzmán, 
  • Museo de las Culturas de Oaxaca, 
  • El Árbol del Tule, 
  • the organ (1735) of San Jerónimo Tlacochahuaya, 
  • Mitla, 
  • Iztaccíhuatl and Popocatépetl 


Click on any picture to see an enlargement.
Hover over pictures for a bit more information.
Many of the headers have links to relevant websites.

Oaxaca, Mexico from far above

Oaxaca from rooftop of our hotel

Oaxaca Mexico - Casa Antigua Hotel

Oaxaca Mexico street scene

Landscapes

Oaxaca, Mexico - agave fields and mountains

Oaxaca, Mexico - mountains

Oaxaca, Mexico - mountains

Oaxaca, Mexico - mountains

Oaxaca, Mexico - mountains


Monte Albán - view from entrance

Monte Albán - view from South platform

Monte Albán - north platform

Monte Albán - view of Gran Plaza

Monte Albán - view of Gran Plaza

Monte Albán - Gran Plaza

Monte Albán - stairs to south platform

Monte Albán - Building J (The Observatory)

Monte Albán - view from South Platform

Monte Albán - System M

Monte Albán - System M

Monte Albán -

Monte Albán - original wall below, reconstructed above
Original Wall at the bottom,
reconstructed wall (with small stones) above

Monte Albán - wall carving on The Observatory
Wall Carving on the Observatory.  Our guide told
us that these carvings are cited by Erick von Daniken
as evidence of alien visitations. 

Murals and Grafitti 

Oaxaca, Mexico - David selfie with mural

Oaxaca, Mexico - mural near Mitla

Oaxaca, Mexico - grafitti

Oaxaca, Mexico - grafitti

Oaxaca, Mexico - grafitti

Oaxaca, Mexico - grafitti

Oaxaca, Mexico - grafitti

Oaxaca, Mexico - Hotel sign, typographical ligature of T & E

  
Oaxaca, Mexico - Templo de Santo Domingo de Guzmán


Oaxaca, Mexico - Templo de Santo Domingo de Guzmán (view of the adjacent botanical garden)

Oaxaca, Mexico - Templo de Santo Domingo de Guzmán (David Selfie)

Oaxaca, Mexico - Templo de Santo Domingo de Guzmán (gargoyle rain spout)

Oaxaca, Mexico - Templo de Santo Domingo de Guzmán (gilded staircase)

Oaxaca, Mexico - Templo de Santo Domingo de Guzmán (gilded staircase ceiling)

Oaxaca, Mexico - Templo de Santo Domingo de Guzmán (gilded staircaseThomas Aquinas)

Oaxaca, Mexico - Templo de Santo Domingo de Guzmán (gilded staircase, sun with 16 arms)

Oaxaca, Mexico - Templo de Santo Domingo de Guzmán (Leslie photographs the gilded staircase)

Museo de las Culturas de Oaxaca

an ancient face from Museo de las Culturas de Oaxaca

an ancient face from Museo de las Culturas de Oaxaca

an ancient face from Museo de las Culturas de Oaxaca

an ancient face from Museo de las Culturas de Oaxaca

an ancient face from Museo de las Culturas de Oaxaca

ancient faces from Museo de las Culturas de Oaxaca

ancient faces from Museo de las Culturas de Oaxaca

ancient faces from Museo de las Culturas de Oaxaca

El Árbol del Tule 

El Arbol del Tule - Oaxaca, Mexico (largest tree trunk)

El Arbol del Tule - Oaxaca, Mexico (largest tree trunk)

El Arbol del Tule - Oaxaca, Mexico (largest tree trunk)

Organ of San Jerónimo Tlacochahuaya 

Organ (1735) of San Jerónimo Tlacochahuaya, Oaxaca Mexico

Organ (1735) of San Jerónimo Tlacochahuaya, Oaxaca Mexico

Organ (1735) of San Jerónimo Tlacochahuaya, Oaxaca Mexico

Organ (1735) of San Jerónimo Tlacochahuaya, Oaxaca Mexico

Organ (1735) of San Jerónimo Tlacochahuaya, Oaxaca Mexico

Organ (1735) of San Jerónimo Tlacochahuaya, Oaxaca Mexico

Mitla 

Mitla, ancient site, Oaxaca, Mexico

Mitla, ancient site, Oaxaca, Mexico

Mitla, ancient site, Oaxaca, Mexico

Mitla, ancient site, Oaxaca, Mexico



Besides all the touring, we shopped and ate our way around the city of Oaxaca.  We returned with mezcal (I liked the 8-year old barrel aged), beautiful handwoven rugs using only natural dyes, and a passel of alebijes, colorful, fantastical folk sculptures.  
An example of an Oaxacan alebrije for sale at Taller David Hernández

The food was excellent, including my first ever taste of a grasshopper quesadilla.  Alas, we didn't get to eat at Pollo Estilo Kentucky, but they seem to be doing great business.  Maybe I'll get a chance to try it on a future trip.












No comments :