March 5: The morning began with the weekly walk up the Cerro de Fortin hill above town. Several hours later, we traveled just 10 miles outside Oaxaca to the famous ruins of Monte Alban. At one time, perhaps 30,000 Zapotecs lived here, second only to the Aztecs in Mexico. We had an reserved but very informed guide, who kept re-iterating that the Zapotecs lived in harmony with their local environment, had an excellent calendar (though not apparently based on 365 days) and an astronomical observatory that lined up with the longest and shortest days of the year. Also, one of the famous Mexican "ball courts," where the natives played a game with a rubber ball on a sunken rectangular court.

Cristina, Jackie, John, Roy atop Cerro de Fortin.

March 4: Today we took an open air trolley bus ride around Oaxaca. Other than the surprising fact that it mostly followed our 6K road race course,
and took us to many parts of town that we already knew well, it was, uh, a bit amusing. The driver spoke extremely fast, in Spanish of course, and stopped midway to try to sell us videos, music, and coffee cups. I think we actually bought one of his music CDs.

At nightfall, we did the traditional Saturday thing: We sat outside the Santo Domingo church to watch weddings and quincineras (I'm sure I misspelled that.) Basically, girls celebrating big 15th birthdays.

The always spectacular Santo Domingo church in typical Oaxacan brilliant afternoon light.

March 3: Roy and I walked over to the sports complex so I could show him the track.

One of two "hills" on the 1 K jogging trail that winds around the 400 meter track.

Ad for an upcoming race: Run like a Super Hero.

Runners on 1K jogging trail beside cactus.

The track is popular with morning runners and walkers. They are very courteous about the lanes they use.

Roy, Nancy, Cristina

March 2: With Roy and Nancy, we toured the Cultural Museum adjacent to the Santo Domingo church. It was quite a revelation. At first, didn't look like much. But then it turned out that there were dozens of exhibit rooms off these incredibly long, domed hallways. We didn't go in all, but many were fascinating.

View to the Alcala, the main pedestrian road in downtown.

Gigantes puppets used in weddings and other celebrations, life size vs Cristina size.

Cactus in the adjacent Botanical Garden

March 1: In contrast to the previous night's meal--$5 each--we splurged tonight at Casa Oaxaca, one of the highest end eateries in the city. The place occupies a rooftop terrace beside the Santo Domingo church. I felt a bit as if I were sitting next to the Roman Colisseum. It was a warm, clear night, moon rising, gorgeous for outdoor rooftop dining.
Jackie said she eats here just once a year, as she prefers more typical places, as we all do, but this was a splendid night. Jackie and I had huge flasks of juice--jacaranda and tamarindo--and I talked her into ordering mescal to mix in our juices. Everyone else had wine or beer. The restaurant plied us with some complementary cheese tacos, then brought on the various entrees. Half the table ordered a fish plate, and all said it was delicious. My organic turkey was a bit tough, but the mole (the reason for the order) was great.
This time we paid about $17/person, and it was well worth it.

Nancy, John, and Cristina. Rooftop lights behind.

Feb. 28: With Gary set to leave early the next morning, we let him choose where we would have dinner tonight. He picked Tacos Alvaro, a real neighborhood joint, where we had eaten about a week ago. They recognized us, greeted us warmly, and we all had a great meal. When we tallied the cost for 7, it came to $5 each, including beers.

Feb. 27: Nancy and Roy Reisinger arrived in late evening. Before that, we wandered around a fair amount. Saw an art exhibit of hanging tortillas cut into various designs. No trip to Mexico would be complete without Gary falling in love with one or two dogs. A young Mexican girl gets photographed for her quincenera party--I have no idea how to spell that word, but the event is a big deal here.