Oaxaca

This past weekend we took a trip to the city of Oaxaca. We left ridiculously early in the morning, at 4 am, and got to our hostel there at 7:30. We dropped our stuff off and right away went over to the Oaxaca Temple. It was so great to be there--even though it was a new temple, it felt so familiar. We got there just as a youth group was getting ready to head in for baptisms, so we joined their group. I was surprised at how many youth there were, and especially how many boys. We had a very nice time there.

After PB&J sandwiches at the hostel, we went to this really old tree, Tule. I think it said it was 2,000 years old. The bird's flying around in there and singing away made it really peaceful. There were little boys who would give you tours of the tree--use little mirrors to show you cool things, but we didn't get one for ourselves. We wouldn't have really understood much.

Next, we got on an overcrowded bus where we all had to stand in the aisle, holding on for the bumpy ride to Mitla. Mitla is a cute little town on the side of the mountain with ruins scattered throughout it. There were these funny little taxis that were more like 4-wheelers with a canvas roof over the top, driven by kids that looked too young to drive. I really wanted to take one up to the top of the city, but I couldn't get anyone else to join my cause.

Back in Oaxaca, we went to a famous market, called 20 de Noviembre. Lots of the markets in Mexico are named with dates, and I'm not sure why. I shared the famous dish, Tlayuda, with Jacque and drank Horchata and Sidral Apple Soda. Back in the hostel, we took warm showers, relaxed, ate a delicious mango, took pictures with Nacho Libre masks, and tried to post pictures on this blog...but as you can see, it didn't work. Another time, perhaps.

Sunday, the hostel had breakfast for us, and it was delicious. Mexican eggs, but not too Mexican, and pinto beans. The "orange juice", however, tasted more like water and made me crave my grandpa's fresh squeezed deliciousness that I had been spoiled with before coming to Mexico. We all headed to church after breakfast. The ward there was having a special goodbye meeting for 10 missionaries that were going home the next day. There just happened to be 10 of us girls there, too... No, it was a cool meeting to attend as they all shared their testimonies.

The main event of the day however was Monte Alban. We took a caravan of taxis up a windy road through rundown villages, looking out over the crowded valley. At the top of the mountain, there is a museum and this huge ruin site. It was really spectacular. Pyramids, altars, water reservoirs, residential areas everywhere you looked, and all on the very top of this mountain. We only spent 2 hours there, but we could have used a lot more. We climbed lots of huge steps, took lots of pictures, and bought lots of jewelry from the vendors outside the museum. It was probably the coolest thing I´ve seen yet, but it's only been three weeks!