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.

Feb. 26: We took a bus to the famous Sunday market out in Tlacolula. The ride out was smooth. On the ride back, we wanted to stop in Tule to show Gary the "world's biggest/at least widest tree." We asked lots of people on the return bus, including gringoes and locals, where we should get off. Everyone pitched in to help. When we got off, we found out we had passed five miles beyond Tule. This was one of those plans that didn't come together. However, the market was colorful, real, good fun. Can't find my photos right now. Later saw a wedding back in Oaxaca and some local guys painted in black to get ready for Mardi Gras in three days.

Feb. 25: Cristina has really hit it off with the gym owner, Maria, who also organized the 6K race that we ran. Her gym is a strong reflection of Maria's personality, right down to the flourescent lime-green colored equipment. Cristina is loving Maria's pilates class, which apparently is completely different every day.
Meanwhile, I'm doing--what else--a lot of reading on a recumbent bike. I especially like the February Valentine's Wall which says, "Love. Friendship." and "Be sure to make your payments on time."

Feb. 24. It's Gary's birthday. To celebrate, we made him go to a nice rooftop restaurant--a little fancier than his typical selection. But we had a good evening and got some great photos.

Gary seems to be enjoying his birthday Pina Colada.

Feb. 23: Cristina and I had a quiet dinner at Las Quince Letras. Count the letters. There are 15. Quince. They have one of my favorite mole dishes. And a nice courtyard lined by tall, thin cactus plants.

Feb. 21: Gary played bridge this afternoon at the Library. He had enough fun that he's thinking of joining the "duplicate" bridge get-together Friday afternoon at another location. That's his birthday--maybe he'll be lucky!

Gary doesn't know that Cristina snuck up behind him to get this photo.

Feb 20: Cristina keeps going to the Yarn Ladies shop to sit, crochet, and mainly to listen to their Spanish while practicing her own. She particularly likes the lunch, from next door, that arrives punctually at 3 pm every afternoon.

This young girl is a special favorite.

Feb. 19: A big day, time for the 6.1 K De Corazon A Corazon road race downtown, with the start and finish just three blocks from our hotel. It was super well organized, with a ton of police, including enough to shut down a major, three-lane thoroughfare that we crossed twice. The course was fine until we hit a 1.5-mile hill. That took the steam out of us.
     "Us" included Amby, Cristina, Gary, Jackie Hastings, and Jim Austin, the guy who gave us the tour of the Eco Conservation reserve a week earlier. We called ourselves "Team Oaxaca Gringos." Not that there was a team prize or anything. Indeed, the oldest award category was 50+, so us old guys got skunked. Great fun nonetheless. The race was won by--who else?--a Kenyan.

Feb. 18: Walking around in the evening, trying to decide where to eat, we happened on a large concert outside the Santo Domingo church. It was a very professional group of guitar players, maybe 10 or so, with various lead singers and instrumentalists. They had both a stage and an audience of several hundred, on hastily arranged folding chairs, enjoying the music. We stood at the perimeter, and definitely enjoyed the spectacle.

Feb. 16: A word or several photos, actually, about our gym. It's where we registered today for the Sunday morning 6.1 K road race. Also where Cristina takes Pilates classes, and Amby rides a recumbent bike while reading (what else?)
It's a bit of a strange place, for sure. We think it's a converted garage. Most of all it reflects the personality of the duena (owner) Maria Aurora Zemora Martinez, she of the different-pair-of-colorful-tights every day.
The equipment inside is lime-green colored instead of the traditional gym all-black. And the cement entranceway includes this interpretation of the evolution of man.

Feb. 16: We headed over to the massive and impenetrable Abastos Market in the morning before it got too hot and busy. Tacos for breakfast, then Jackie bought the two things she came off--a sleep-inducing herb, or so it is said, for her husband who has been having trouble sleeping. And a mini pestle to take home to grind her avocadoes into guacamole in Durham CT.
Cristina was impressed by the way the honey guy could pour an exact pint of honey into a jar without spilling a drop anywhere. (And also his "Patriots" shirt.) That is a skill that is apparently lacking in her husband. She bought a pint; it had a dead bee in it. Must be good luck or something.

Feb. 14. Switching to dates. Have completely lost track of days in Oaxaca. I think that's a good thing. I hope that's a good thing.
Cristina came back from her morning run with a huge, helium-filled Valentine's Day balloon for me. Quite the surprise! I had planned to buy her something nice, but the damn jeweler was closed on Valentine's Day. What kind of a jeweler is closed on Valentine's Day?
He has remained closed the next 3-4 days, so I'm trailing far behind Cristina in the gift-giving department.
My brother Gary arrived in mid afternoon, and we took him to an outdoor, balcony restaurant overlooking the Zocolo, with nice views of an orchestra and some dancers below.