The meaning is "among the huaje trees" We have "huaje" trees in Texas too. This is a huaje tree.
Oaxaca sits in a valley wrapping around the mountains. Since I visited during rainy season, everything was green and in bloom.
Oaxaca is known for it's variety of plants. I am told that something is always in bloom year around and I did notice the tall skinny cacti that are only found in Arizona in the US.
They even have chocolate plants with their own special variety of hot chocolate. Which brings us to something else Oaxaca is known for... It's special food varieties, including a type of string cheese which we call Oaxaca cheese. The cheese is one of the most popular items and can be purchased at any grocery store across Mexico.
Also, they sell really large tortillas.
Then there are the "aguas refrescas" or juices which are specially mixed. This one is a plain strawberry and cream one.
And yes, I did try the grasshoppers!
All of these food items can be purchased at the HUGE Benito Juarez Market.
The market is locate near the central plaza along with other main city sites.
I went to the large museum of Pre-hispanic art. At this point I have been to so many museums the thing that impressed me the most was the building design.
The main cathedral near the plaza had some amazing frosted windows.
One of the days we spent at the plaza, there was a military band playing. I am not sure what the occasion was, but maybe they have started celebrating their day of independence.
That was definitely the case when we went to the nearby town of Tule.
Oaxaca sits in a valley wrapping around the mountains. Since I visited during rainy season, everything was green and in bloom.
Oaxaca is known for it's variety of plants. I am told that something is always in bloom year around and I did notice the tall skinny cacti that are only found in Arizona in the US.
They even have chocolate plants with their own special variety of hot chocolate. Which brings us to something else Oaxaca is known for... It's special food varieties, including a type of string cheese which we call Oaxaca cheese. The cheese is one of the most popular items and can be purchased at any grocery store across Mexico.
Also, they sell really large tortillas.
Then there are the "aguas refrescas" or juices which are specially mixed. This one is a plain strawberry and cream one.
And yes, I did try the grasshoppers!
All of these food items can be purchased at the HUGE Benito Juarez Market.
The market is locate near the central plaza along with other main city sites.
I went to the large museum of Pre-hispanic art. At this point I have been to so many museums the thing that impressed me the most was the building design.
The main cathedral near the plaza had some amazing frosted windows.
One of the days we spent at the plaza, there was a military band playing. I am not sure what the occasion was, but maybe they have started celebrating their day of independence.
That was definitely the case when we went to the nearby town of Tule.
Tule is the name of a tree, also known as the tree of life.It says here the tree is over 2,000 years old.
This is how large a 2,000 year old tree is. Yes that is all one tree and yes that is a large building beside it.
The branches are low making it impossible to get a clear view of the entire trunk from this angle, but you can tell it is pretty thick.
Here is what it looks like under its branches.
They have a strict no climbing policy and here the sign reads "I am a living being, do not cut my branches. Take care of me."
A little farther down the highway, you can take a road that winds up and over a mountain pass ending at Hieva De Agua (boiling water). These natural springs have formed pools, waterfalls, and a natural beauty.
Here is what it looks like from the bottom, up.
Here is a smaller spring boiling over.
This is what the larger springs look like.
The springs are located near the tiny town of Mitla, where some ruins are located. The city cathedral is located right in the middle of the ruins. As shown here the ruins are on the right and the cathedral is on the left.
From the back it becomes apparent that they used some of the old temple ruins in the structure of the church.
On the other side of the temple they are building on apartments...
Here is a tomb that we were able to crawl into.
I love all the zig-zag patterns they placed in their brick decorations.
On the other side of Oaxaca is Monte Alban, one of the larger archeological sites of Mexico.
Only government officials and priests lived on site. This is a tomb located in one of the houses. This definitely changes the meaning of "He died and went downstairs."
It wasn't all work and no play, because they had onsite tournaments. Here's the directions of how to play.
Here's the field. They still do not know how the winner was determined. In other places it is believed that they sacrificed the winners, but there is no evidence that anyone was sacrificed at this location.
Here is a lager view of the main courtyard of the site. In the middle is an observatory thought to be constructed around the birth of Christ. I wonder what stars might have interested them.
On the opposite end is a smaller courtyard.
Here is a medical facility. The stones have carvings of people to explain/describe different diseases and operations such as Cesarian sections.
It was fun to go and spend sometime learning more about Mexico and it's beauty. I also got to spend some time with a like minded friend whom I met in language school. She did a great job being a tour guide and I feel I now know Oaxaca and it's surrounding area.