A Day Trip Out of Oaxaca City

While in Oaxaca City, Stacie, Amanda and I took a day trip to some impressive sites outside of the city. We visited the Tule Tree, the Zapotec rug weavers of the Teotitlan Valley, Mitla archaeological site, Hierve el Agua petrified waterfall and El Rey de Mezcal distillery. 

Tule Tree

Our first stop of the morning was the 2,000 year old Tule tree. This tree is one of the widest in the world, measuring 42 meters in circumference. They didn’t let us try, but our guide told us that 30 people can hug it all the way around. 

Next to the tree there is an old church painted white with blue and red trim. There is a beautiful well-kept garden around the church and plaza area. With so many visitors each day, there are multiple photo opts around the site.

Zapotec Rug Weavers in the Teotitlan Valley

Next we visited a gallery that produces naturally dyed woven carpets and other textiles. In keeping with the Zapotec traditions, this knowledge of natural dyes, weaving techniques and producing art work has been in this family for more than five generations. 

Our local expert walked us through the process of creating the rugs from shearing the sheep, spinning the yard, dying the threads and weaving on the loom.

He only uses 100% sheep wool. Straight from the animal, the wool is dirty and he cleans it with amole, a root that foams and functions as a natural soap. Next, he softens and aligns the fibers with brushes. Then he uses a spinning wheel to pull the wool into yarn. He makes it look easy. The spinning wheel wasn’t a traditional Zapotec tool; the invention came with the arrival of the Spanish colonizers. 

Natural Dyes

The most fascinating part was learning about how different colors are created with the natural dyes. To create the deep red color, they use cochinilla, an insect that grows on the nopal cactus. Then, by adding a natural acid, such as lime, the color turns orange. With baking soda, it changes to purple. By watering down the dyes, he makes fushia and magenta. 

The shades of blue come from indigo plant. He grinds it into a powder. With lime, he turns it green. His table is filled with natural materials to produce every color in the rainbow. Nut shells make brown; dried marigold gives a yellow. Dark greens come from alfalfa and aloe. Coffee provides dark black. He demonstrates how the pomegranate seeds look red but are actually nearly transparent. Then, he adds baking soda and they turn violet. 

Rug Weaving

Each bundle of yard is boiled in the dye and then the color is sealed in with cold water. Next, the spools of yarn are strung into a massive loom. The threads shift up and down with the foot pedals. Artists either count lines or use patterns to create the carpet designs. Depending on the size, a carpet takes between a week and two month to complete.

Lastly, we head into the gallery to see the finished rugs. They have an impressive selection of unique pieces of art. While some show contemporary motifs, many of the carpets contain traditional Zapotec symbols. Several pieces incorporate a step design illustrating the four phases of life; birth, growing up; adulthood; old age. The steps continue and spiral into the next life. Each carpet in the gallery was an incredible work of art.

Mitla Archeology Site

Hundreds of years ago, Mitla was a spiritual site, known as the entrance to the Underworld. When the Spanish arrived in 1521, a half million Zapotecs were living in the area. The Spanish built a church right on top of the prehispanic ruins. Today the town is a designated UNESCO World Heritage site and a Pueblo Mágico, a recognition from the Mexican government. 

The ruins include an open patio, a series of rooms and two underground tombs. Each building is constructed like pieces of a puzzle; no mortar. Oaxaca is an earthquake zone so the miniscule spaces between the stones allow them to shift slightly instead of breaking. 

The structures contain fifteen unique intricate patterns in the stones. Each set of lightning, waves and spirals holds a symbolic meaning for the indiginous cultures. Outside, long ago, the priests held sacrificial rituals, of humans and the xoloscuintle, a prehispanic breed of dogs. 

The main open area contains nine steps up to the chamber area which symbolize the nine steep steps to the Underworld. Above there are six large columns, each made with only one piece of stone. Inside, there are four chambers, representing the cardinal directions.  

After visiting archeological site in Mitla, we went to El Famoso for an enormous buffet lunch. It was delicious and perfect for sampling a bit of each type of Oaxacan mole. 

Hierve el Agua – Petrified Waterfall

Late in the afternoon, we drove up the narrow, winding road into the mountains, about 2,000 meters above sea level, to the village of San Lorenzo Albarradas. This impressive site was caused by a natural spring high in the mountains. The water contains so many minerals that it solidifies as it pours over the mountainside and appears like a frozen cascade. 

We arrived late in the afternoon and took an hour to enjoy the natural wonder. While most of the group stayed at the upper pools, a volunteer guide from the township took the three of us on a hike down to the base of the waterfall. He knew every turn of the path, a few shortcuts and all the best angles to photograph Hierve el Agua scenery. 

Our guide, Antonio, returned to the village two months ago after living and working in México City for thirty years. He said this area has changed a lot since he left. The tourism brought in more money to the community but overall Oaxaca remains one of the poorest states in México. Overall, he says he’s happy to be home and pleased to see that more people in his village have jobs now due to the tourism.

Throughout the hike, we were racing the sun. There were so many impressive viewpoints along the way. We descended to the foot of the waterfall, circled around the bottom and scrambled up the other side. The pools formed by the salt and minerals held turquoise blue water in unique squiggly shaped puddles.

It wasn’t long before the sun set and we drove back down the curvy mountain road. Next stop, mezcal. 

El Rey de Mezcal Distillery

Our last stop of the evening was an artisanal mezcal distillery. While some companies accelerate the process with chemicals and faster growing plants, El Rey keeps mezcal traditional. 

Our mezcal expert provided a brief educational tour about the process. He pointed out the agave plants, the flower that indicates they’re ready to harvest and the inside core that becomes the mezcal. We saw the pit where the agave is cooked, the trapiche where the horses grind the roasted core from the plant, the containers where it ferments and the tanks where it’s distilled.

Each round of distillation produces a lower percentage of alcohol. The second round is ideal, not too strong, not too weak. Just like tequila, mezcal is labeled based on the age and storage. A clear, young batch is called joven. A reposado has been “resting” for six months. Some of these contain the traditional worm giving it an extra earthy flavor. Lastly, añejo is aged at least a year in a wooden barrel. 

We try all the mezcals; joven, reposado and añejo. We also sample the flavored and creamy mezcals with our favorites being passionfruit and chocomint. One mezcal was aged in clay pots, instead of the barrels. After each taste, we cleansed our palates with orange slices and red worm salt; this was an educational experience after all. 

Oaxaca City and the outlying areas are filled with natural beauty, a long interesting history and unique cultural experiences. These few days were busy so next it was off to Puerto Escondido and a few days relaxing at the beach.