Saturday, May 31

Today was a full day of excursions!  I'm just going to attach a ton of photos and let them speak mostly for themselves!

Destination 1: Monte Alban- ancient ruins and now archaeological site from the Zapotec and Mixtec Cultures.

All these stones have carvings in them to depict different part of the ancient routine of life.
This stone is depicting a woman in labor.

Look at this BEAUTIFUL view!

 Destination 2: Wood Carving- the men were outside carving figures out of wood and the women were sitting inside painting the figures.  Inside the shop I bought a porcupine figurine to give to my sister when I returned home.

Some of the wooden animals that are ready and waiting to be painted.

 Destination 3: Traditional Buffet- I am still intimidated by the new foods around me.  But the other tourists that were with Rocky and I convinced me to try some new foods.  I'm starting to realize that everything you eat in Oaxaca is served with tortillas.

There was a woman continuously smoking meats and another cooking fresh corn tortillas.

 Destination 4: An Old Church-  I honestly don't remember the names or the dates, but this was my FAVORITE destination of my entire trip to Mexico.  I want to get married here!  It's absolutely gorgeous!  Inside there are many gardens and small rooms with delicate and beautiful paintings on the walls.  I wanted to spend a few more hours here... It was such a calm and elegantly beautiful old church.

From the roof top!

Rapunzel, Rapunzel, Let down your long hair!

 Destination 5: Bakery- We took a quick stop down a little side road in a tiny town and got to pick out whatever typed of baked goods we wanted to eat.  There were a ton of options.  I chose a chocolate filled croissant and a corn muffin.

Rocky and I chowing down on our freshly baked treats on the way to our final destination.

 Destination 6: Barro Negro- which means Black Clay.  This is a very popular craft to purchase in Oaxaca.  We learned how it was made and then got to shop around for souvenirs.  I purchased a beautiful Clay Boot which I mailed to my dad for Father's Day (unfortunately it arrived crumbled to pieces because I didn't use FedEx, I used EstaFeta... if you send ANYTHING HOME, use FedEx or DHL if you want to get it there in one piece).

This was a full day of excursions and a great way to learn about the state of Oaxaca.  When Rocky and I got home we met our new roommate, Crystal.  We quickly changed and then headed out to meet everyone from Solexico for a fun night out.  This was also Crystal's first time meeting everyone.

Clay Skulls are a surprisingly popular design,

Maria Katerina