Monday, January 16, 2012

Santa Ana del Valle



Our hike began with a second-class bus trip to Tlacolula de Matamoros; from there we took moto taxis (tuk tuks) to Santa Ana del Valle.
Santa Ana del Valle is situated a little off highway 190, west of the city of Oaxaca past Tule and before Mitla. It is in the community of Santa Ana, in the hills that surround the pueblo that the Mexican Revolution (1910 - 1920) began when Francisco Madero rose up against the government of Porfiro Diaz.

Our first order of business was to hire a guide. We didn't know where to go, and the guides didn't know where they should take us. In the end, we wandered in the hills above the pueblo. It was good exercise.

Along the way, we saw a crop of Nopal grown to breed the insect cochineal. Cochineal are used in the making of red dyes. Santa Ana is a weaving town.

There's a water table in the area, so there's no shortage of water. Our hike took us past a few reservoirs and water pipes.

Jerry, who was one of the hikers, made reservations with a comedor, which was the only restaurant in Santa Ana, and the proprietor had plenty of cold Corona waiting for us. For the grand total of forty-five pesos each, we had an all you can eat meal consisting of BBQ chicken, beef, rice, tortillas, salsa and Jamaica.

The festival of Senor de Esguipulas, which is the celebration of water, was going on that weekend, and so after comida we watched the parade.

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