Hotel Marques Del Valle Oaxaca

... the ruins of Monte Alban, which date back to 100 BC.  They were really well preserved and beautiful.  Not to mention the amazing positive energy that reverberated through the area.

The next day we drove out of town to another market that was also substantial, but nothing compared to the Saturday market.  We made our first purchase for Wesley, a beautiful, hand-woven rug of reds and oranges.  Devin has been wanting a rug for awhile (we looked a lot in the ...

... primarily of calcium carbonate, are left behind. This is much the same process as forms stalactites and stalagmites in caves, but in this case takes place on the side of a mountain). Awesome. Then we carried on to a Spanish church built on the site of an Ancient Mayan Temple (a common place for them to build their churches, it turns out) but we skipped it and went to the quaint markets surrounding it. This is where we started out gift ...

... going to wait outside for me... Anyways, you probably know where this is going, I decided to hike back into the corner of the restaurant, where the bathrooms naturally are. I found them, but they were missing something... a special little something that helps n00bs like me out. Needless to say, I wasn't sure which one I was, so I had to walk all the way ...

... left, a hunger strike, including people nailed to a cross, plus speeches and performances to protest against some injustice/commemorate an unlawful killing or diasappearance.

The posadas, put on by local families and institutions, to celebrate Xmas, as well as having a nativity parade calling at various houses in the neighbourhood and being refused a room, finished with food drink and the kids smashing a pinata.

These and other events, including weddings ...

... icomexico.com/ where we will take classes! Since we will be getting only two meals daily at our new home, we stopped for coffee and cake at a local café and then on to a shop to buy something to drink at home tonight. Instead, the owner of the shop invited us to sit down in the back of his shop and we talked together for about 30 minutes. We had a lovely time and are looking forward to exploring further tomorrow.

... that this spot was perfect and built temples, buried lots of dead people in them and left in time for the aztecs to discover it..or something like that. And that is how Mormons began. Who knew. Earl then took it upon himself to chastise me, saying (imagine in strongish texan accent) ´´Rebecca, you know, over by the food there are some things called napkins. Maybe next time you eat you should use some.´´ So, parents, you should be proud to know that your daughter obviously ...

... potholes, mudslides, herds of livestock and their shepherds, and of course, stunning views...over 6 hours on the bike averaging about a 25mph slog. Believe it or not, it never rained, but we had black clouds hovering over us like the little stink-cloud that follows Pig Pen from the Charlie Brown Gang. I did not want to get caught at 6000 feet in the heart of Mexico's Sierra Madre in a torrential downpour! We made our way with a little haste through ...

... back to San Bartlo to do some shopping tomorrow. Swimming was nice, I'm going to try to use that pull as often as I can. No one said anything to me today about going in there so maybe they don't care. I'm supposed to meet the guys from school at 9:30 but I really don't feel like it anymore, but don't have a choice since there are no phones. So maybe I'll just go out for a little bit. Oh yea I almost forgot today my tourist ...

... two of the local and very large cemeteries on Easter Sunday. As many of you well know, this is a city that celebrates the dead unlike any other, and I was looking forward to an opportunity to view this exceptional cultural aspect of the area. The day did not disappoint. Because it was a holiday, the cemeteries were open and there were flower vendors out front in full force. And, as always, there ...

... re everywhere here. I don't mind, really. What I cannot stand, however, is the fact that the vast majority of those I have encountered (even though they live right next door to Mexico and have thousands of opportunities to learn the language of the country) seem to presume that saying "HOW MUCH IS IT?" or "I WANT SOMETHING DIFFERENT!", for instance, in louder and louder tones will help them to convey their point and/or desires. Uno, dos ...