Monte Alban and Oaxaca

An early start so that we could get to Monte Albán before it got too hot (sorry to our readers in the cold UK). Monte Alban is a large pre-Columbian archaeological site located on a low mountainous range rising above the plain in the central section of the Valley of Oaxaca. The civic-ceremonial centre of the Monte Albán site is situated atop an artificially-leveled ridge, with an elevation of about 1,940 m (6,400 ft) above sea level so we quickly got out of breath when climbing the monumental staircases (Gregg’s knees still holding out). In addition the site is characterised by several hundred artificial terraces and a dozen clusters of mounded architecture covering the entire ridgeline and surrounding flanks.
Besides being one of the earliest cities of Mesoamerica, Monte Albán's importance stems also from its role as the pre-eminent Zapotec socio-political and economic centre for close to a thousand years. The monumental center of Monte Albán is the Main Plaza, which measures approximately 300 meters by 200 meters. There is an observatory from which the Zapotec priests were able to make very accurate calendars.
One characteristic of Monte Albán is the large number of carved stone monuments one encounters throughout the plaza. The earliest examples are the so-called "Danzantes" (literally, dancers), which represent naked men in contorted and twisted poses, some of them genitally mutilated. The 19th century notion that they depict dancers is now largely discredited, and these monuments, dating to the earliest period of occupation at the site, clearly represent tortured, sacrificed war prisoners, some identified by name, and may depict leaders of competing centers and villages captured by Monte Albán although our guide thought they might be “medical drawings” giving instructions on how to cure different conditions, we thought this highly improbable.
We spent the afternoon wandering around Oaxaca which is a very pleasant city. The Zócalo was a mass of red poinsettias with people wandering around in the afternoon sunshine. We also visited the market where it is possible to buy the local delicacy of fried grasshoppers seasoned with salt and lime, different sorts of mescal (similar to tequila) which one drinks with salt and lime (notice a pattern developing here?) as well as about 25 different varieties of chillis and molé sauce - made with chillis, tomatoes, onions, garlic, pumpkin seeds, salt, lime and chocolate – visitors to our house may have had Gregg’s version…one guest even used it to polish our dining table but I will mention no names here!
New Year’s Eve rapidly approaches and we are all off out together to a restaurant (even though Moctezuma has taken his revenge on another member of the group). Tomorrow is another early start as we are travelling even further into Chiapas state.

A Happy New Year to all our readers