Cycling the countryside

Today we were picked up at 7:30 a.m. and were taken out of Oaxaca by Erik (with Diego and Israel) to a small village called Santa Maria del Tule where we had breakfast in a local market before setting off to see the famous Tule tree.

I had awoken to a very wobbly digestive system so breakfast in a market I felt was going to be a 'tall order'. 

We started with hot chocolate which was delicious. They store it in chunks in a jar and just add it to the hot water; it must froth apparently. I ordered quesadilla con flor de calabaza (soft tortilla folded with cheese and squash blossom flower) - nice but filling! My Friend had empanada de amarillo (oval tortilla folded over shredded chicken and yellow mole sauce). We also shared tortillas that were spread with a brown bean sauce and one had queso fresco and the other had a stretchy cheese like mozarella (queso Oaxaca). Erik was keen that we sample these. We also had a hot chocolate and corn drink at the finish. So much food! No wonder so many of them are fat!

We finally stopped eating and got going on the bikes. The tree was right near the market - El Árbol de Tule. It is a Montezuma Cypress or ahuehuete and is between 1400 and 1600 years old; it is the stoutest tree in the world (42 m circumference / 14 m diameter in 2005).

From here we rode along a mix of dirt and sealed roads through the countryside and passing through small villages. Erik is passionate about promoting tourism in this area, collaborating with locals to bring his clients to them so they can benefit economically.

At San Francisco Lachigolo was a pretty church. 

 

At San Jerónimo was a very big church with beautiful painted walls and ceilings which made a pleasant change from the over-the-top ornate gold of other churches.

These little darlings were tucked away at the back of the church and used for festivities -

 

 

We stopped here at a market where we had delicious bananas and shared a corn and coco drink (tejate) mixed with water (hmm, I hope the water is OK?!). 

 

These villages have only about 2000 inhabitants. 

It was getting pretty hot by now; we cycled on dirt roads which got pretty rough towards the end and made for some tricky riding. We arrived at the Dainzú archaeological site of some Zapotec ruins (which is situated in the valley below Monte Albán which we visited yesterday atop the mountain area overlooking Oaxaca city); this place was first occupied about 700-600 BC. It is noted for its ball court and sculptures of ball players. There are many small sites scattered around the area, mostly unexcavated. 

 

A snack of grapefruit and chili!

 

We had a nice downhill run, then a tiring hot and dusty flat ride through mostly unremarkable country for about 10 kms to the village of San Mateo Macuilxochitl and then onto Teotitlan del Valle, a village established in 1465 by the Zapotecs. 

We had lunch here in a local 'restaurant'. We are certainly eating local!! We had home-made lemonade which was very nice and very welcome. Our table faced out to the street (on earthen floors) and we were grateful for the pleasant breeze that came in. 

For lunch we had delicious guacamole and heaps of crispy tortillas. I ordered tostada (a toasted crispy tortilla) with cheese, tomato, lettuce and avocado on top. My Friend had a huarache (a big thick soft tortilla) filled with shredded meat, mole sauce, lettuce, tomato and queso  Oaxaca. Very tasty. Mind you, it was getting hard to stay awake - we were in need of a siesta!

This village is noted for its hand-made textiles, especially rugs which are woven on hand-operated looms using wool from local sheep - and dyed with natural, local dyes. They use historical Zapotec designs sometimes combined with contemporary designs. 

We rode to one of the weaving workshops which in fact was a very nice place with a central courtyard with water running in a channel through the middle of the floor and tropical plants. There were beautiful rugs on display and the master weaver in charge (Bulmaro Pérez Mendoza) is one of the premier weavers in the area. We were shown how the cochineal is produced by a scale insect on the cactus and is mixed with lime to produce the well-known carmine dye. One of the weavers did a demo on the loom. We bought a nice alpaca woven shawl/blanket to support the local economy (!) but also as a momento. 

 

We were nearly done by now, but not before a visit to the local church.

I had requested a visit to a mezcal distillery which Erik was happy to oblige. The bikes were now in the van and we drove to a nearby distillery which we found very interesting to see how the mezcal is produced. Mezcal is produced from the heart of the agave plant, the piña (Tequila is made specifically from the blue agave plant whereas Mezcal can be made from 30 different species of agave). We were given an introduction to the process of making it and tasted a few different ones at the end.

It had certainly been a long day! We nodded on and off on the drive back to our hotel arriving about 5:30 p.m. and passed on dinner. We have an early pickup tomorrow at 6:00 a.m.