Running in Oaxaca

After struggling trying to bend the internet to my will during the trip and as well as when I returned home, I finally posted a little bit about my experience in Oaxaca.
I ran a half marathon in Seattle last Saturday. During the trip I would wake up early, right when the sun had just risen and run through the streets of Oaxaca city. When I ran on Saturday, I thought about runs I had in Mexico as well as the trip in general. It was through those Oaxacan runs I really felt like I got a feel of the everyday lives of the people. Parents were walking their children to school. Church bells clanged in the early morning sun. People were opening up their stores. The city was just waking up. I also stumbled upon a graduation ceremony, practically every single morning. 
The images, the smells, the places we went to still vividly are present in my head. Like a catchy song, that you can't stop singing.
Here is my advice for falling in with Oaxaca:

-          Approximately squeeze two pieces of lime on all food

-          Visit a local shaman and hang in a temazcal. Afterward fall asleep while eating delicious food. 

-          Climb among mountains and feel like John Muir

-          Look at the art, the things people make, and see the hands that actually made them

-          Become small in the presence of expansive archeological sites and ones yet to be known by present humans

-          Look in wonder at 1200 old cave art

-          Be welcomed into incredibly sacred places

-          Have rooster calls echo off valleys below

-          Feel the sun and waves beat upon you

-          Dress for a Vela and make Cinderella jealous

-          Fall asleep on windy mountain roads (and feel queasy)

-          Listen and fully hear to people’s stories of migration and place
 

Not Your Average Wednesday: Traveling Back 12,000 Years

Wednesday May 27th

Today we traveled back through time. Traveling over the state of Oaxaca, we have visited many archaeological sites dating back thousands of years. However, never has it been more clear that what we are experiencing is ancient than it was today. We began the day with a short hike through agave fields on the edge of a small field toward a mountain side. This mountain was home to some outstanding pictographs, cave paintings. They were phenomenal! Different colors of red and white, these drawings were in near perfect condition. I couldn't believe that they had withstood the elements and still remained so intact. This was only the first stop in our long day of travels and I didn't think it could get much better.

After a short snack and some breathtaking photos, we made the trek back down to the village. Its crazy to think about how this small town is unassumingly nestled next to these 12,000 year old cave drawings. That is how most of what I've experienced in Mexico is however; people going about their daily lives right by beautiful old monuments. Back in the town, we visited a local's house. Like most of the buildings seen so far, this one too is very unassuming from the street but much larger after walking through the door. The house was designed with no clinging therefore having everything open in a plaza like style. After meeting the wonderful hosts, we then helped with making homemade tortillas in the open kitchen upstairs. While the experience of dining at a local family's house was incredible in its own right, the textiles that their family made were the crowning jewel. There were two huge looms standing in corners of the plaza area threaded and in the middle of a new creation. The family also showed us a large collection of the rugs they have made. They went into detail of how all the colors were made and that the fabric was hand-dyed. Every piece had a story. Some of the pieces had Zapotec designs on them that were found in the temple in the town while others represented the paintings found on the mountain walls.

Before eating lunch, we visited another yet another of the great churches in Oaxaca. Each one has been unique in different ways. This one was built on top of an old Zapotec temple there when the Spaniards. This example of a old mixing with "new" was incredible. On the back side of the church was a maze of rooms all restored but still amazing. The most breathtaking part were a series of rooms where the friars would sleep that had mosaics covering the walls. These mosaics were detailed bits of stone patterns repeated through entire rooms. They were precise and near perfect. It was amazing to think of how these were created so long ago and the artistry of it all. This day was an incredible one just like all the other days of this trip.