MEXICO – OAXACA – A break in Oaxaca, discovering the surroundings

by | 10 Apr 2017 | Mexico, On the Panamerican road | 0 comments

Date de dernière mise à jour : le 13 January 2023

We leave Mexico suburbs on a wednesday morning and drive to meet Camille and William from Cap’A in Santa Maria del Tule, in a campground that everyone were talking about, Overlander Oasis, few kilometers from Oaxaca.

 

 

Santa Maria del Tule

We arrive in Overlander Oasis without knowing exactly how long we will stay… We catch up Camille and William and we have a great welcome from the owners Leanne and Calvin. We start to discuss about our project of rebuilding the truck interior… first just the two of us then with Calvin who seems interested!

After our two evenings spent with our french friends, they take the road back and we start to work. You already know the final result but you did not see the pictures of the project when it was ongoing! And there is some work because we finally stay 4 weeks in Overlander Oasis…

 

During this month of hard work we at least enjoy some parts of the village (we now know each tool shop) and we are part of one of the yearly party celebrated on the main square. When Mexicans are partying, they love to burn one or two fireworks (even when they are not partying! During the night, for example…).

But fortunately, here, all is under control, inch by inch, safe distances respected and safety is the number 1 priority. No risk has been taken… or almost :

The surroundings of Santa Maria del Tule: Oaxaca and Monte Alban

Then we finish the truck. After 4 weeks we go out from our cave to visit the area.

Oaxaca

Oxaca is truely a beautiful city. We visit it on sunday and we discover the life inside, between the market and the street animations. We keep in mind that we want to discover it deeper on our way back from Panama.

 

 

A small grilled bug?

Monte Albán

We go out further than Oaxaca, and we visit an archeological site named Monte Alban. This is a zapotec site situated in the mountains overhanging Oaxaca. It seems it has been founded by olmecs but its climax is situaded between the 3rd and the 5th century BC, so during the zapotec era.

 

Teotitlan del Valle, Mitla and Hierve el Agua

Teotitlan del Valle

We take the road a tuesday morning. After a 4 weeks break. We say goodbye to Leanne and Calvin (we will probably see them again during our way back) and we go back inside Tikal. And it is so weird! We started to get new habits in Santa Maria del Tule but we are so pleased to see the landscapes again. And we were missing the topes…

First destination, Teotitlan del Valle, the whool and weavers village. The city center is calm, children are going out from school and the tourists are not arrived yet. We have lunch then we visit the small streets, we enter the patios. Whool, carpets, bags, and sellers who insure us that all their products are made with natural colors… We have some little doubts, we heard that everyone claim it is done the right way but the work with natural colorings is long and expensive. So not sure that each of the whool products is colored naturally. Maybe excepted this beautiful small carpet costing 4.000 pesos (200 euros). That we finally don’t buy (after 2 seconds of thinking)!

Mitla

Then we go to Mitla, an archeologic site around 30 kilometers away from Santa Maria del Tule. This is, like Monte Alban, a zapotec site but the different setting, in the middle of the city center, makes it specific. The site is surrounded by a church, houses, streets. Anyway, the old is in the present and both are mixing.

Hierve el Agua

We take the road to our night spot: Hierve el Agua. We avoid the toll road and go on a small gravel road in the mountains. A cross pass later, we finally arrive with the sunset on the site. We enjoy these blue pools during the end of the evening and the early morning.

It is now time to take the road back to Chiapas!

Share This