Day Twenty-Two - Monte Alban and the ride to Veracruz

Today was the end of our time in the city and state of Oaxaca. I will truly miss Oaxaca, but will definitely return here one day…it was one of my favorites so far. Our farewell to Oaxaca was quite memorable…

We visited the site of Monte Alban, an ancient Zapotecan site built atop one of the highest mountains on the outskirts of Oaxaca. The view from the highest point overlooking the city was AMAZING, and is so renowned that it is pictured on the back of a 20-peso bill. Here's that view:

                                      

At the beginning of our visit, Jacques hired a guide to give us a tour of the archaeological site and wow, was this guy thorough! If he ever wanted a second job, he’d make a great teacher. He picked up a stick and drew timelines and pictures in the dirt floor of the site.

He also took out pieces of obsidian and Formica to demonstrate things the Zapotecs used (obsidian is a black glass-like substance that was used to make tools, and the glittery dust of Formica was used to decorate pottery). We visited the typical parts of the ruins…the courtyard, the top of the highest pyramid, the tombs. It was cool that we were able to go underground and sit in one of the ancient tombs…not for the claustrophobic though!  Here I am inside of one tomb:

Here's a group picture from today's adventure:

As luck would have it, our bus ride from Oaxaca to Veracruz was exceptionally long (arriving at 10pm, it took us about 7 hours). Veracruz is the first place that Hernan Cortes stepped onto land before his experiences with the Aztecs. Being that Veracruz is right on the water, it is also the largest and most important sea port in all of Mexico. Our hotel balcony has a view of the seaport, which reminds me a lot of being near the water in Campeche (also one of my favorites). This is the first time Jacques is taking a group to Veracruz, but he seems to have some pretty cool things planned. There’s a good chance that I’ll be swimming with sharks in the aquarium tomorrow…wayyy cool!