I shudder at the taste of mole. Pronounced as moh-ley, it is a typical Oaxacan dish and I was fascinated with this sauce ever since I saw it in a cooking program on TV…the host dumped one whole block of dark chocolate into the pot and stirred it in lovingly. How can one ever imagined that such a delicacy seen on TV to taste anything but like what your tastebuds had anticipated and predicted? I tried it twice to make sure my tastebuds hadn’t suddenly withered on me in the last 4 months but…I still shuddered at the taste of it. My main purpose of coming to Oaxaca is to learn how to make the famed mole sauce(7 types in total) and after my 2nd mole meal, I walked away heavy-hearted knowing I will never want to learn how to make this ever in my whole life.
Totally uncharmed by this colonial city after the mole episode, I walked around aimlessly past the vanguard arts and handicrafts shops and galleries. Listless after my culinary disappointment, I scarcely paid much attention to the Monte Alban ruins I visited. Bare as can be, there were a few trees still with white flowers in bloom. I can only imagine that this ruin site situated atop a hill overlooking the Oaxaca City must be breathtakingly beautiful in springtime when the flowers bloom…afterall, Monte Alban is known to be the White Mountain. Monte Alban is afterall my 8th major ruins over a span of 5months and I am totally ruins-OUT! So forgive me if I lost all enthusiasm for a famed archeological site. It must be beautiful in spring.
Out of Oaxaca City is a little more exciting. I visited the unremarkable village of El Tule to see the El Arbol del Tule - claimed to be the single biggest biomass in the world. If you see the photo I took with the tree, you can imagine it overshadowing the church next to it. It is that big. This tree is officially reckoned to be between 2000 to 3000 years old.
At Teotitlan weaving village, we saw firsthand the ancient practices preserved by the modern Mexicans on the art of weaving and using only nartural dyes. Red color is achieved by crushing this white parasite found in the cactus and one can create many different variations of colours by simply mixing in some water or other natural plants or ingredients. Now i understand why these hand woven rugs cost a bomb.
One of the highlights in Oaxaca state for me is to visit the dusty Zapotec town Mitla to witness the stone mozaics of ancient Mitla ruins. I had seen some amazing black and white photographs in Mexico City of the Mitla ruins and though it is smaller and less significant compared to Monte Alban, I knew i had to visit this site. I loved it for its very intact mozaic stone walls where its geomettric designs sent me reeling in awe and amazement at how the human hands could create such beauty in the early ages.
To pick my spirits up a little, I decided to take a detour to the Pacific Coast of Mexico and soak up some much-needed Vitamin D. Whenever one is down, you should always head to the beach and get a healthy Indian tan and stock up on all that essential Vitamin D that. It is almost guaranteed to drive the depression out of you. Why do you think suicide rates are so high in Scandinavian countries during the winter time with only 1-2 hours of sun per day?
On to Mazunte next!
|  | 
|
