Oaxaca

Oaxaca was such a charming and relaxed place to arrive after the slight anxiousness we felt in Mexico City. We stayed in a lovely quiet little guesthouse (with a very good Mexican breakfast each morning), just outside the historic center.

In our 3 days here, we spent one day mooching around the historic center with a walking tour followed by visits to some of the key museums - Santo Domingo center, the contemporary art museum (which was actually pretty awful, except for the lovely building it was housed in). Our walking tour included Mezcal tasting - a local firewater made from Agave (same as tequila), but has a really smoky flavor. Caroline´s dad loved the stuff so we bought a couple of bottles to drink later.

We did a day trip out to Mitla (another Mayan site) and best of all the ¨petrified¨ waterfall - which is actually calcium and other mineral deposits, but looks amazing.

Our final day, we visited the Mayan site of Monte Alban, a complex built on a levelled hill near the city. It was a good introduction to Mayan architectural styles, including the function of the ball court used for games in which either the winner of loser is sacrificed to the gods, good thing they only played every 52 years.