Hola!
We actually made it to Monte Alban today! It was amazing – but I now have way over 10,000 steps and something like 13 floors climbed – and from a first-hand experience, it definitely feels like a lot MORE than that! [Amen! – R]
Up around 6:30 am after a fairly restful night’s sleep. We headed down for breakfast about 8:00, which was served in the outdoor courtyard downstairs. The “basic” breakfast was coffee/hot chocolate with a variety of breads and a fruit plate. Everything was good, but I could tell even then that it wasn’t going to be enough to keep me going all day! (We were definitely spoiled by those Hilton breakfasts, I must admit – they could keep us both going until dinnertime, which was nice, as we didn’t have to stop in the middle of the day at all!) Tomorrow I’m planning on ordering a cooked breakfast, although not sure what I will be getting! It will just have to be another adventure in eating!
View from our window! 
Very interesting breads! 
Guest check-in chairs in the lobby!
Down again at 9 am to pick up our cab and driver, Julio. He took us up to Monte Alban and dropped us off in the carpark, and then waited for us down the hill. We met back up with him right at noon. His cab was clean and well kept, and he arrived to pick us up exactly on time, which was convenient because we were both feeling exhausted!
Monte Alban is a HUGE site – and there are pyramidal buildings everywhere! Fortunately for us, many of them were blocked up and couldn’t be climbed … because, being the kind of girl that I am, if there is a big pyramid to be climbed … well, I just tend to climb them! We were fortunate to arrive early – I think they opened at 9:30 am and we were just a few minutes later. At any rate, the sky was cloudy, and even though I had brought my hat, I really didn’t need it at all. Also, as it had rained the day before (boy, how it rained!) the ground was wet in places and there was dew all over the grass. That’s when I found out that my great Skechers tennis shoes, which are MESH, quite literally have holes all over! As a result, I ended up with some pretty damp footies, although it wasn’t really uncomfortable at all. I had to laugh, as some years ago on a business trip to Washington, DC, when they had a blizzard, I learned the hard way that the holes on top of the tennis shoes definitely let in moisture – that is truly the case when they’re nothing but mesh! Oh well! Live (and get feet!) and learn!
Monte Alban was initially occupied from 500 B.C. making it one of Mexico’s earliest cities. For over 2,000 years Monte Alban was the political, religious and cultural capital of the Zapotecs. The city is strategically located about 5,000 feet above sea level, on a system of three hills which were subsequently modified and terraced to provide both housing as well as areas for planting. The basic layout is designed around square courtyards, usually sunken, surrounded by structures that are connected to each other to form a pattern. The foundations are truly massive, with broad (and TRULY difficult to climb!) staircases* bounded by wide struts at the sides. There were several ball courts for Pelota on the site, although it was difficult to really imagine how anyone could play anything in the narrow enclosed areas! Additionally, there were various stele as well as carved stones still left in position that were absolutely fascinating! I’m sure any and all readers will get tired of looking at the photos, because I’m sure we took a lot of photos of them all!
Two areas in particular stand out. The first is the “dancers.” This was the name they were given by archaeologists when the site was first excavated, but whether these are warriors practicing personal “blood letting” (and boy, doesn’t that sound like fun?) or whether these were condemned and sacrificed warriors from other tribes is open to question. The second set of carvings were in one of the astronomical buildings, and apparently include the names of captured towns and cities, along with the occasional “upside down head” – which apparently is what happened to the chief of whatever captured tribe it may be… Apparently for the Zapotecs, the ritual of death was very important, and therefore tombs are very abundant everywhere in Monte Alban. In fact, this is yet another ancient culture that tended to bury their dead underneath the floors of their residences. Once Monte Alban began to decline in population (another instance where no one knows exactly why) it continued to be used as a site to bring treasured ancestors back to rest.
The only real disappointment was that the site museum was closed “temporarily.” Not sure whether this was because of Covid or if they were doing work there. There is signage saying that they are limiting the number of people there to 400 per day, and I wanted to be very sure that we were among the first 400! We were! But as to whether they are holding to that number is anybody’s guess. There were signs all over saying that masks were required, but honestly – as we were definitely in the great outdoors, nobody was wearing them after they got past the museum and entrance.
It took a good half an hour to get back to NaNa Vida – the traffic lights here are SOOOOOO long – most of them well over a minute each! Fascinating! We were more than a bit tired, so decided that a bit of a rest would be appropriate. However, we were also both hungry and wanted to get to the Museo Regional de Oaxaca before they closed at 3 pm.
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| Waiting for lunch! |
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| It was excellent! |
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| Street wall decoration |
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| Church/museo |
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| Liked the ladies on the corner! |
So…out again, and we came upon a very small but spotlessly clean café a block or two away. We each ordered their baguette with Serrano ham and two cheeses, along with bottles of sparkling water. The sandwiches turned out to be toasted, and were absolutely delicious! The problem was that they were served with large bowls of salad – beautifully presented with lots of ingredients – but decided we’d give those a pass, just to be on the safe side. From there, it was about another five minutes to the museo. However, even though it was only 2:15 pm, they had decided to cut off entrance right about then so we (as well as a few other folks) couldn’t get in! Surprising, we thought, but as this is Mexico, we have to play by their rules!
So, back to the hotel for well-deserved naps. We’re now beginning to stir again. I’ve decided that after our dusty day at the ruins, I am in need of a shower, which will happen before we head out for dinner tonight to Zandunga, which comes highly recommended! So, hopefully more after dinner – unless I decide to post all the Monte Alban photos now and will do dinner later!
Much love,
m
xxx
*Two things about the ancient Mesoamerican cultures. First, for people who had no beasts of burden and did not use wheeled carts, they sure moved a lot of stone. Second, their design for stairs usually means a riser of 12 to 14 inches and a tread of only about 6 inches. That makes for a very steep staircase!
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