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.

hiking in Oaxaca - San Augustin Etla

Last Friday's hike involved a walk that followed the aqueduct from San Augustin Etla to a power plant. Etla is a valley adjacent to the city of Oaxaca. It's where the city gets its water. But, the city doesn't pay for the water it takes from the valley. There's the rub. The last time I was in San Augustin Etla, one of the many pueblos bearing the name Etla in the valley, we couldn't go into the museum.

The day before someone had been shot and killed over a reforestation dispute.

There are different hikers each week, but when my hiking buddy Joan is in town she and Nievas are pretty faithful. Nievas is our mascot. She's a gentle, but spoiled little dog of mixed breed; who was rescued from the streets. On this hike, she kept jumping in the water.

The water in the aqueduct flowed toward San Augustin Etla, therefore, as we walked toward the power plant, each time Nievas jumped in she drifted away from us. Rescuing her became the main preoccupation of Joan and I.

It was impossible to keep up with the rest of the hikers. We put Nievas on a leash to prevent her from jumping into the water. She wouldn't walk on the leash. She kept finding shady spots under trees where she'd lie down and wouldn't budge.

Finally, we gave up and went back to San Augustin. The hikers who made it to the power plant weren't far behind. We all had a beer, and then went our separate ways.

The hike was somewhat of a challenge; it wasn't steep but, in places, the trail was badly eroded. The drop into to valley could cost someone their life. At one point, I clung to the ridge of the aqueduct while my footing touched on loose stones. In other spots, we climbed up rocks with sheer drops into the valley below.

(Photo of Nievas and Joan at the beginning of the hike. Photo of me along the aqueduct)