Monte Alban Archeological Ruins (with Amber)

From Sunday, January 16, 2011

After church, Amber & I planned to go to Monte Alban archeological ruins. I had been there back in June, but I was excited to experience it again with someone who’d never seen it. I’d invited a couple of the other teachers from school. They did go with us, but they also brought 2 teens & hung out with them the whole afternoon. So, Amber & I explored together. Here are a couple of pictures of the views that day:

This is a picture from the ride up, looking to the left of the Oaxaca Valley.

This is a picture from the ride up, looking to the right of the Oaxaca Valley.

These are the steps I climbed.

This is me (my sneakers) sitting at the top of the steps & looking down.

The ride from Monte Alban back to downtown was quite interesting! The bus was so packed I had to stand in the middle aisle for 15 minutes, as it weaved its way back down the mountain.

A 9-Hour Tour of the Sights Of Oaxaca, Mexico

From Saturday, January 15, 2011
While Amber was visiting for 2 weeks, we decided to take a guided tour.  We each paid about $30 (I used some of my Christmas money) a week before & were really excited about the tour!  I took hundreds of pictures of the beauty of Oaxaca & I'm posting about 20 glimpses here for you:
Stop #1 ~ The Tule Tree (possibly the oldest & largest tree on Earth)  http://www.delange.org/Tule/Tule.htm

Stop #2 ~ Teoticualan ~ The Rug Making Village
www.oaxacaoaxaca.com/weaving.htm

Stop #3 ~ Hierve el Agua ~ Hotsprings & 1 of 2 Fossilized Waterfalls in the World
www.oaxacaoaxaca.com/hierve-de-agua.htm

Stop 4 = Mitla ~ Archeological Site of Ancient Zapotec Ruins
www.suite101.com/content/the-zapotec-ruin-of-mitla-oaxaca-a-primer-a179853

We got back downtown after dark. Although we were both exhausted, we decided to cross 2 more things off of our list.
We’d been wanting to go to Café Bruhala, a funky coffee shop that sells my friend’s baked goods.

Then, we went to see the famous Santo Domingo cathedral. 

After walking several blocks, we took a bus home.  It was a LONG, wonderful day!

A Sunday Afternoon Downtown

From Sunday, January 9, 2011

After church, one of the teachers I work with (Lorri) went downtown with Amber & me. Since we hadn’t figured out getting a tour yet, she was going to help us check around. She took us to a couple of different places, but we ended up buying from a place where she & her sister had purchased a tour. Amber & I paid about $30 each for full-day tour tickets for the following Saturday & $3 for ride tickets to Monte Alban archeological site that Sunday.
We visited 2 beautiful old cathedrals.

We also went out to eat at one of the restaurants on the zocalo.  (That is the city's central square.) 

Because I had told Amber that pizza here is SO different from home, she ordered a pizza.  She took one bite & that was more than enough for her.  She couldn't stand it...  I ordered the chile rellenos.