Our FFD (First Full Day), began with a great breakfast provided by the hotel kitchen staff. Each day the staff would make us eggs, any way you like them, a meat, and fresh fruit. Coffee and tea was provided along with bread snacks to get us fed and on our way for each adventure. The kitchen staff was so nice, we tipped them well and they really appreciated our gesture.
We started our day by loading into the van and Eladio snaked the rig through the traffic up to an overlook that give a panoramic view, the locales call this area El Mirador, a spot overlooking the valley where you can see all of the valley below.
Across from this lookout point you can see the many colors of the houses that clinging to the side of hills. The colors create a montage that shimmers as the heat rises from the valley. A monument to Benito Juárez has been erected at this mirador. Rosario, our guide for the week, told us the story history of this man who is such a hero to so many in Mexico.
Heading out on the FFD.
Early morning view from our room.
Houses across from the mirador.
We drove down and across the valley, up the hillsides and onto the top of one of the many mountains that surround this city. There we entered Zona Arqueológica de Monte Albán . These ruins was one of the earliest cities in Mesoamerica. We were told that they have been dated back to 1000+ years before Christ. There we spent the afternoon exploring the ruins and marveling at how advanced this culture was. They had water pools with running fresh water and they played sports in their facilities. The ruins we explored had been excavated and exposed, but there were said to be miles of undiscovered ruins hidden below the mountain tops.
This map shows a overhead viiew of the excavation site.
Rosario explains the history of this archeological site.
In the background, to the left, you can see El Mirador, if you know where to look.
View from the top of one of the pyramids.
The main sporting arena.
Huge rock slabs carved with pictographs
The sports arena from the other direction.
They called this a Mexico Cotton Tree.
In the video below, the building that we're standing in front of is named after the Quetzal, a bird. The Quetzal is said to have magical qualities. Supposedly, if you stand in front of that building and you clap, because of the acoustics, instead of hearing hands clapping, the acoustics make a sound that is said to sound like the Quetzal bird. What do you hear?
No comments:
Post a Comment