Wednesday 31 March 2010

Mexico - Oaxaco and Mexico City

When we came back from Peru at Christmas the airline we flew with mucked us around so we were given $300 each of vouchers to fly anywhere we wanted- so we had to use them! We decided to visit Mexico because it was the cheapest location to visit from Quito. We arrived in Mexico City and only stayed for one night before heading to the city of Oaxaca. In Mexico City we found a great place to stay called Dakota Bed & Breakfast, it was a really funky designer place that was in a great location, near the World Trade Centre. The casa de cultura was down the road from our B&B so we explored it before heading to Oaxaca.
Oaxaco is a beautiful colonical city to the South East of Mexico City. It took us 6 hours to get there on a bus. We stayed in a hotel called, 'The Swallows,' which had a beautiful courtyard with flowers hanging everywhere. We wondered around the tranquil streets of Oaxaca and enjoyed the ambiance of the place.





After a couple of days of relaxing we took a tour to some local sites outside of the city. One of the most impressive was the 'Arbol del Tule,' which is the widest tree in the world. It has an incredible circumferene of 58m!! The pictures don't do it justice. We also visited some local ruins outside of Oaxaca, which were pretty amazing. Below are just a few of the pictures I took.


On returning to Mexico City we stayed at the same B&B. The whole city is really modern and funky. There are pieces of modern art everywhere you look. We loved it. Not unlike Columbia, we had been warned about this dangerous place but felt really safe and enjoyed every minute of it. We were lucky enough to attend an amazing free photography exhibition by Willy Sousa depicting pictures and films of the different Mexican cultures. It was one of the best exhibitions I have ever been to. The clip below shows you a glimpse of his work.

During our 2 days in Mexico city, we also visited the impressive Anthropology museum and wondered through some contempory neighbourhoods. Below are a few pictures.