Oaxaca

Last weekend we went to Oaxaca with 5 others from class. We left on Thursday afternoon on the bus. The ride was about 5 hours long, and I slept most of the time. We arrived at our hostel at about 8:30 and promptly left in search of food. We walked to the centro and ate at a cafe located in the zocalo. We ordered some wine between the 7 of us, and the waiter brought out different size glasses, larger ones for the boys and small ones for the ladies. Talk about machismo. Haha.
The next day we got up to have our free breakfast in the Hostel. We had omelets with quesillo (the famous cheese of Oaxaca) cilantro and ham with black beans and bread. Pretty good deal for a hostel that only cost about 10 dollars a night. After breakfast we hailed taxis to visit Monte Alban, the pyramids located on the hills above Oaxaca. From the top of Monte Alban you can see the entire Oaxaca valley. The pyramids were incredible, and we couldn’t have picked a nicer sunny day to be out walking around. I took tons of photos of the pyramids because every angle provided another amazing picture. After the pyramids we went out to lunch and I had tostadas with quesillo, yum. We went back to our hostel to rest for a little bit before heading to the centro to walk around and explore. Later that night I went we went out salsa dancing which was a lot of fun!
Saturday morning we got up and had yummy omelets again and then headed out to see the oldest tree in the world! About 15 minutes outside of the center of Oaxaca is Tule, the largest tree by circumference and disputably the oldest tree in the world. Although not very impressive for its height, the trunk of Tule is amazing. The whole tree was alive with birds chirping and flying in and out of its massive branches. It was a bit comical to see because it is literally located in the center of a little town, right in front of the church. Its not out in the middle of a forest like one might expect. It is located right in the middle of everything. We walked around the little town and through the artisan markets. We tasted samples of Mezcal (famous alcoholic beverage made in Oaxaca similar to Tequila) in an array of interesting flavors. It has a very powerful flavor and it doesn't take much to feel its affects. Afterward we caught a bus to take us to a buffet restaurant that someone had recommended to us. It took a few stops for directions and a long walk along a dirt road that appeared to be heading nowhere in particular, but we finally found it. It turned out to be well worth the walk. It was the most amazing buffet I have ever had in my life (not that I have really been to a lot of buffets). Every type of traditional Mexican food imaginable was available. They had at least 5 types of mole, an array of rice dishes and salsas as well as at least 10 types of fresh salads. It was all so delicious it was hard to decide what to eat. They gave us samples of Mezcal mixed with grapefruit and pomegranate juice with chili powder around the rim. Then as if there wasn't enough food already they had a table with at least 30 different desert choices including rice pudding and a amazing array of various pastries and cakes. I ate entirely too much, but it was just so delicious I couldn't help it. After about 2 hours of stuffing our faces we packed all 7 of us into a taxi to get back to our hostel. We decided to walk around some more so we headed down to the centro to walk off the monstrous meal we had just consumed. We went to the marketplace and weaved in and out of the stalls selling fresh vegetables, dried chilies, Mezcal and quesillo. We bought some very cheap wine and spent the rest of the evening back in our hostel hanging out with some other of the guests that we met from various parts of the world.
The next morning we got up early to catch a 9 am bus back to Puebla. I slept most of the time on the way back, but I was awake just long enough to see the beautiful cactus covered hills on either side of the winding road leading out of Oaxaca.