We departed Acapulco in February 13th for an overnight run to Huatulco, a good stopping point to wait for good weather in the Gulf of Tehuantepec. The weather in ths area is affected by high pressure sytems in the Gulf of Mexico. The narrow isthmus at the head of the T-Pek funnels wind from the Gulf of Mexico. It is very much like the Columbia Gorge between Washington and Oregon. Offshore north wind comes up quickly and often is in the 35 to 50 kt/hr range.
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| Serena Ray nearing Huatulco |
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| Crossing the 7,000 nm mark on our trek south!! |
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| Shrimp boats are common along the coastal waters |
We generally drag a couple of fishing lines while we cruise. This day we hooked a few sailfish...not good eating but fun to reel in!!
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| Fish On...sailfish!! |
After an overnight run we arrived in Hautulco, Marina Chahue (chow-way). Several cruising friends were there...a good time for a dock party!
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| Dock Party at Marina Chahue |
Huatulco is a very friendly and scenic city. We enjoyed exploring the central part of town, lined with shops and restaurants.
Inside the central church, across from the town square.
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| Ceiling of the church next to the main square |
We found a wool rug artisan Hautulco. Weaving wool is a significant part of the culture of the region.
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| Making lambs wool yarn |
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| Master artisan of wool weaving |
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| Palapa restaurant in Santa Cruz Bay |
Marina Chahue is not a large marina and has a narrow entrance, but two mega-yachts make this home.
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| Our neighbor departing the marina |
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| Along for a ride |
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| Serena Ray's home in Marina Chahue |
Our good friend Linda Winn met us in Huatulco. She joined us for the trip to Oaxaca and will crew with us to El Salvador, Bahia del Sol
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| New crew, Linda Winn, arrives in Huatulco |
The following day, we boarded a bus for a 9 hour ride through twistie mountain roads to Oaxaca.
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| Lunch stop enroute to Oaxaca |
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| Bus Stop and restaurant in a very remote area enrote to Oaxaca... |
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| Beautiful grounds at the lunch stop |
We arrived in Oaxaca around 6:30 pm and taxied to our small hotel in central part of the city.
We stayed at a quaint hotel in Oaxaca, Hotel Las Mariposas. The rooms were nice with quaint courtyards to have breakfast and evening rests.
We had hired a tour guide before we arrived for 2 days while in Oaxaca, her name is Sylvia. Her professional expertise archeology/anthropology, she does tour guiding as an extra for enjoyment. She was also the Director of the archaeological sites in the state of Oaxaca, so we had the local expert showing us around. In the 4 days we were there we explored many interesting areas.
One of our first stops was the Fabrica de Mezcal. We saw the process of making Mezcal which is quite similar to making Tequila. There was a tasting room of course! One drinks Mezcal by first taking a shot, followed by an orange wedge dipped in chili powder. If you are really brave, you follow the shot and orange with a worm (actually a larva). Several varieties of Mezcal in the tasting room contained the worm in the bottle. Even being told that the worm is an aphrodisiac none of us wanted a to try them. Mezcal is also used to make many types of liquors, such as coconut, banana, mango and passion fruit.
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| Mezcal Distillery outside Oaxaca |
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| Tasting Room |
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| Agave after roasting |
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| A little Mezcal tasting |
We also visited a weaving factory and studio, another long time family business, rich in Oaxaca tradition. The Oaxaca area is known for its wool rug weaving, pottery and wood carving. We experienced carding the wool and then tried spinning the wool (harder than it looked). These artisans only use natural colors to dye the wool. First they use the natural color of the sheep (white, tan and gray and then add color using dyes from a variety of roots, plants, and even parasites. The most interesting color that we saw demonstrated was the red. They use a parasite that is found on the Nopal cactus (white cotton looking parasite). When you mash it in your hand and it becomes red, you add a little lemon juice to it and it becomes orange, you then add baking soda and the color becomes purple. The rugs are beautiful and time consuming to make. A 4’x5’ rug may take 2 to 3 months to make, depending on the complexity of the design. Of course we then had to see the gallery and shop which included buying.........
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| Carding (aligning) the wool so it can be spun into yarn |
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| This was more difficult than it looked!! |
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| Gallery of finished rugs and hangings |
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| Turning sheeps wool into beuatiful works of art |
Our first archaeological site was known as Yagul, called locally Pueblo Viejo. This city was dated to have thrived 750-950 AD and was started by those leaving the city of Monte Alban for a better and more defensible location. It sits on a steep terraced hill and provided the Zapotec and Mixtecs occupants a defensible fortress with agricultural lands at the base which provided food and other resources. The Zapotec were primarily agricultural people. The Mixtecs came to Yagul from the high country to the North and brought astronomy, and governing system attributes that the Zapotec’s did not have. The average life span at this time was only 30 years.
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| Archaeological site outside Oaxaca |
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| Thought to be a "game" court |
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| Looking down on the site |
Mitla
The second archeological site we visited is known as Mitla, 40 km’s outside Oaxaca, which was active 950AD through the 16th century. This became the residence of the Zapotec high priest and the elite ruling class that moved from Yagul. When the Spaniards came onto the scene (in the 15th century) they convinced the Zapotec’s to design and build palace like structures and also a large church. They were unfamiliar with churches and their design but wanted to appease the Spaniards and so constructed a variety of structures for them.
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| Main Church |
Santa Maria del Tule
This is the location of one of oldest Cypress tree in the world...over 2,000 years!!!
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| Cypress tree "Abul de Tule" over 2,000 years old |
Dining in Oacaca was a grand experince!!
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| Oaxaca Mole' |
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| Grasshoppers... not bad with tortillias |
The largest and most ancient archeological site we visited is known as Monte Alban, the most important cultural center in the region in its time (beginning around 800 BC and eventually becoming a city of 25,000 covering 6.5 sq.km.). This was a city of and for the ruling class and priests, with the so-called “simple people” living in the surrounding valleys supporting Monte Alban with food, water and resources. At this time, there were no cattle, sheep or horses in Mexico, as they were actually brought by the Spaniards sometime later. Meat protein came from monkey, jaguar, small rodents and insects. Hundreds of tombs from different periods have been found at this site, including one of the richest tombs ever found on the American continent. Though eventually falling into decline, the Mixtecs occupied the city during the 14th century. Monte Alban was felt to an indefensible location, an element that became more important as time passed and, as a result, eventually went into decline as the elites moved on to more defensible locations at Yagul and then Mitla. They have, to date, only excavated 25% of the area occupied by this city.
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| Monte Alban |
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| Walls mark the sites of dwellings, most on top of the pyrimids. |
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| Many artifacts were found at this location..many disappeared!! |
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| Entering the Gran Plaza |
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| Ancient sun dial at Monte Alban |
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| Gran Plaza |
Cullipan de Guerrero (Convent)
Once a convent, it was built with an "Open Air" area for worship
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| Cullipan de Guerrero (Convent) |
Lunch is one of the biggest meals of the day in Mexico. It is common to have large buffets with 15 to 20 different moles (beef, chicken, pork, potato.....). The food was excellent..."all you can eat" for about $10.
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| Lunch stop...mole's |
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| Fresh tortillas in the making |
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| Mole buffet.... |
Short stop at the local Mercado!!
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| Pulic Mercado |
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| Really fresh turkeys and chickens for sale |
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| Oaxaca fresh vegetables... |
We also visited a unique and famous pottery shop, named Dona Rosa's (she and her husband were well known artisan potters). The pottery is made from a special black clay that is only found in this area. It shines and sounds like metal, when tapped. This look and sound comes from extended time in the oven. Of course, we also had to buy some souvenirs here too…
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| Black clay pottery |
The third day we self-toured Oaxaca, visiting street markets, churches, the central square and museums, another full day. It is a very interesting city and also very pedestrian friendly. The food in Oaxaca is excellent and unique in several ways. The specialty foods are moles (dark chocolate based sauces), various types of chilies, and also Chilippians (grasshoppers). And yes, we ordered and ate grasshoppers!
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| Downtown Oaxaca |
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| Market in the square...fresh fish!! |
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| Fresh pork rinds!! |
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| Local Fruit is plentaful in this area |
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| Fresh cut beef and pork |
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| Paseo Juarez El Lland ...Town Square |
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Sliced pork stacked and cooked on metal rod... we saw similar cooking in Greece
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The main city church....Santo Domingo de Guzman
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| Santo Domingo de Guzman (Church and Museum) |
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| Inside Santo Domingo |
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| Once a monestary, internal courtyard |
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| Botanical garden surrounds the monestary |
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| Zocalo Square |
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| La Compania de Jesus accorss from the Square |
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| Zocalo Main Square |
We decided that a 9 hour bus ride back to Serena Ray didn't sound much fun. I found a small Mexican airline...AeroTucan. What took us 9 hrs by bus...took only 30 minutes by air!!
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| 30 minute flight back from Oaxaca |
We depart Huatulco this evening for a 250 km run across the T-Pek. Our next stop will be Puerto Madero (Chiapas) where we will fuel and check out of Mexico. The next stop will be Bahia del Sol, El Salvador. Until the next update...hope you are all well...
2 comments:
Great blog and beautiful pics, Rosie!
Wonderful blog Rosie
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