The Sights and Sounds of Oaxaca!

An important part of every IMO trip is the cultural component - as the competition is held in different parts of the world, it's an amazing chance to experience new places and cultures at every turn.  We're doubly lucky this time - we spend time in Oaxaca (a first for all of us), as well as in Rio for the competition.

Last Wednesday we had our first all day Oaxaca tour.  It was like a whirlwind glimpse of all things Oaxaca!

Let's start with El Tule.  Did you know that this tree below is not the tallest tree in the world, but apparently it is the widest?

And just for fun, here I am photo-bombing James :)

After this, we headed to a place where we got to see how they make traditional rugs by hand.  It was very cool - they started with the un-dyed wool, explained how they spin it with a spinning wheel, showed us how they get the various colors, and then how they weave rugs with a the loom. 

Qi qi is getting a demonstration of the dyes on her hand

Beautiful colors and patterns!

For the third stop on the tour, we went to Mitla - one of the most important archeological sites in Oaxaca.  There we gained an understanding how the ancient Zapotec's lived - what their homes looked like, tombs, their areas of worship, and their architecture.  The Zapotecs were a small people - women between 130 - 140 cm tall, and the men between 140 - 150 cm.  I'm tall here!!!!!!!

Afterwards we went to my favorite spot of the day - the Hierve el Aqua.  These were a couple naturally formed calcium formations - one of two in the world, the other being in Turkey.  One formation made a beautiful waterfall like formation, the other a set of pools where you can see bathers enjoying the waters.

(and a great shot of Qi Qi drinking out of a coconut for the first time!)

Finally, a cultural must if you are in the region, we went to a place where we learnt how the famous Mezcal is made from Agave plants.

  The above is a HUGE pit where they roast more than 200 lbs of Agave plants to make Mezcal! 

Keep posted for some additional posts on downtown Oaxaca, as well as details on our second cultural tour.