Wednesday, March 14, 2012

Oaxaca - of giant trees, flashy churches, and edible insects

Here's another post from my Mexico trip for you, as I recuperate from the Mexican walking pneumonia  that came after the Mexican cold. I'm sure eating fried grasshoppers in Oaxaca had nothing to do with this!

So I had some very yummy Oaxaquena soup at this restaurant, with Oaxacan cheese, pumpkin, spices and I don't know what else, but I wish I had some now!!! However, I decided not to sample of the oh-so-delicious insect dishes...


Like ant eggs, maguey worms, grasshoppers with nachos and  guacamole, or grasshoppers with cheese. The aphrodisiac dish included a bit of all the insects on the menu! I also skipped the tortilla with FAT, beans and cheese. But it was probably tastier than the English translation made it sound.

One day, we stopped in the town of Santa Maria del Tule in order to see this amazing tree...


The Árbol del Tule is reportedly 2,000 years old and is a Montezuma cypress. We thought it was fabulous!




We figured it would take maybe 30 people to give this tree a hug! The villagers are very proud of their beautiful old tree.

And nearby we have..


The Baby Jesus Inn, complete with streetfront bar and itchy poodle.



Back in Oaxaca itself, we checked out the Church of Santo Domingo de Guzman, which was typically ornate...






I like the over-the-top ornateness you find in many of Mexico's fancier churches, but I also like some of the plainer, simpler ones. I'm not religious now, but I was brought up Catholic and I still love the atmosphere in these old houses of worship.


Gordon enjoying the view.

The old monastery attached to the church is a museum which holds the artefact from Tomb 7 at Monté Alban that I mentioned in my last Mexico post. The building is quite beautiful. 



He has a large collection of chicken t-shirts that I bought him on Etsy!



Church exterior.

Then back to our lovely hotel, Hostal Los Pilares, always filled with flowers...




..and a very cute gothic bar!



13 comments:

  1. Churches with bling and amazing trees...I must visit!

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  2. My mom has never tryed fried grasshoppers , but she did eat snakepot when she was in China :)
    My mom love visit churches too and she is not that religious eiteher.
    She too like the atmosphere that´s in churches.

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  3. These churches are certainly works of art. Incredible how ancient some of Mexico is compred to us.

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  4. That Goth bar would fit nicely in my dining room!!
    Jane x

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  5. That tree is incredible!

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  6. http://oneforkonespoon.blogspot.com/2007/06/memelitas-with-big-bag-o-lard.html

    Memelitas sound delicious.

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  7. Those churches look very well-dressed indeed! Churches in England were all similarly garish many years ago until the trend changed and they all got the whitewash look that we know and love today.

    That tree is gorgeous - please uproot it and send it to me immediately. Amazing that a tree can see thousands of years of activity going on all around it and not feel the least bit obliged to join in!

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  8. What trees, they are quite formidable. The food, I think, however sound a little strange.

    Hugs
    Elna

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  9. Your photos as superb! Makes me want to hop on a plane to Oxaca!
    What camera do you use?

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  10. Such beauty! You and Gordon were so lucky to have seen this part of the world.

    As for the Árbol del Tule, I was spellbound. And I thought live oaks were magnificent! That tree dwafted anything I've seen.

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  11. That church interior is wonderful, and I love the tree.

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  12. Anonymous10:25 pm

    If that old, wonderful tree could tell stories ...

    There is something about very old buildings and those fabulous old churches that instills a sense of awe. Fantastic photos!

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  13. That cypress IS fabulous. Imagine what the earth was like when it started to grow. Thanks for the tour, I'll probably never go to Mexico. Hope you're on the mend; probably picked up the pneumonia in the plane.

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Thank you for all your comments, which I love to read!