A blog so big it should have been made into 3

I went on more tours around Oaxaca today. It started with visiting a HUGE Tule tree which happens to not really be a Tule tree because those don't exist. The tree is over 2000 years old and was named by the Aztecs who conquered the area. It is over 50m in diameter.

Montezuma Cypress

 We then took a very long drive to the Hierve el Agua. I snapped a few pictures from the van along the way.

Hierve el agua is a natural calcium and sulfur spring. The water is not really boiling, nor is it hot. The way in which it comes out of the ground makes it appear as if it is boiling so that is where the name comes from.

A spring at Hierve el agua

A pool created by the spring

The calcium in the water stains the rocks white. This makes it took like a water fall (when really it isn't). 

Las cascadas

Sitting at the edge of the world

Enjoying the cool water on a hot day

After Hierve el agua we went to another ancient city called Mitla. The city was taken over by the Spanish and destroyed save but one section of a palace. This was to remind the people that their gods were not as strong as the Spanish god. 

The remaining section of the palace

 This is an original building. No acts of preservation were done by the people prior to the 20th century but the building remained intact due to the construction. There are a lot of tremors in the area and the Zapotecs developed a way of dry construction (without mortar) that made the buildings flexible. What they did was place the stones so that there were still small holes between them and when there was a tremor the rocks were able to move freely. 

The original building had red painting on it. The rocks are still stained a light pink from where the were decorated. The red in the picture is from recent restoration to show what it may have looked like.

From the front

Courtyard of the palace

The dry construction

Inside the palace

 The Spanish built a church on top of one of the destroyed sections of the palace. This was to show their dominance over the Zapotec gods. 

After Mitla we went to a textile place where they made rugs. The family that ran the place was of Zapotec origin and still spoke the native tongue (as well as Spanish and English). They talked to us how they cleaned the wool, prepared it, spun it, and dyed it.

The tools of the trade

 They then showed us their method of weaving rugs and several completed rugs. 

The tree of life

After returning back to town I wandered around the Zocalo looking for food and water. I also ran into a clown, fireworks, and a parade. It was pretty awesome! The parade was a demonstration for the Guelaguetza which is a big celebration held at the end of July every year in honor of Benito Juarez. The celebration starts on Monday with two more festivals on the following Saturdays. The name, guelaguetza, comes from a Zapotec work meaning "mutual offering." The celebration focuses on tradition dances, dress, and customs from the different regions of Oaxaca. This year marks the 80 year anniversary of the festival.  

Posing with parade dancers

Posing with a parade dancer