- Oaxaca
Just one of the many brightly coloured fruit stands at the Oaxaca market.
A little deeper into the market I found these little critters. You know what they are? 'Chapulines', or Fried Grasshoppers to us. Know what they do with them? Yep, they eat 'em. And to answer your next question, yes, I did try a couple. And no, they're not really tasty - well, at least not by themselves. It's not that they have a bad taste, they don't actually have much taste at all. As with any bland-tasting food in Mexico, they're supposed to be eaten with condiments - a little salt, chily and a splash of lemon. Unfortunately I didn't have the opportunity to try them like that, so I can't tell you what they were like.
I might just take a moment to tell you a little about the "street cuisine" here in Mexico - they love to put chile on just about everything. Corn and potato chips (crisps) with chile is quite common, but doesn't really sound too bad, being vegetables and all. But can you imagine chile on top of sliced mango, watermelon - even on top of shaved ice (like an ice-cream).
While taking the photo of the Grasshoppers (which must have appeared quite strange to passers-by), these kids snagged me for a happy snap.
Outlook over the city of Oaxaca. Oaxaca is the name of both the city and the state in which it resides. It is bordered on three sides by the Sierra mountains.
MONTE ALBÁN
A group of us at the ruins of Monte Albán, built on the top of a flattened mountain.
Aaahhhh! Get me outa here. Patrick and I decided to go exploring in the underground tunnels. We hoped they would lead into one of the pyramids, but I think they were just old aqueducts.
Another view of the Oaxaca landscape. This time from outside the city limits.
Taking a break from the hot sun. Alex from Italy, Frank from Denmark, Patrick (alias Azul, due to the colour of his hair) from Liechtenstein, and myself.
Contemplating life on the top of a pyramid, as the sun sets over Oaxaca.