This is a short video of our visit to Monte Alban
| Mexico Sailing Trip 2008-2011 |
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Francois and Antoine admire the ancient city of Monte Alban, near Oaxaca. Monte Alban was built in the 5th century B.C. by the Zapotec indians, flourished for about a thousand years, and was finally abandoned in the 7th century AD, probably because of lack of water.
The early Zapotecs had no writing system at the time but left beautiful stone carvings.
| Mexico Sailing Trip 2008-2011 |
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The incredibly beautiful interior of the 16th century baroque church, Santo Domingo, in Oaxaca City. Construction began in 1572, not long after the Spanish conquistadors arrived in Mexico.
| Mexico Sailing Trip 2008-2011 |
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On the road between Oaxaca and the Pacific coast, a donkey powered pickup truck and the ubiquitous three wheeled Mexican taxi.
| Mexico Sailing Trip 2008-2011 |
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Chapulines (cha-poo-LEE-ness) are a Oaxaca specialty. Fried grasshoppers. I'm not kidding. Here they are on a restaurant menu.
| Mexico Sailing Trip 2008-2011 |
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Pascale and Francois climb the beautiful 7th century Zapotec temple at Mitla, near Oaxaca.
| Mexico Sailing Trip 2008-2011 |
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We drove a couple hundred miles south to the historic city of Oaxaca. This ancient city has pre-Columbian history and architecture dating back to 600 A.D. We toured the grounds of Monte Alban, a 7th century mountaintop city, and the nearby village of Mitla, where the Zapotec temple ruins are in such good condition they look brand new. The photo of us here is at Mitla with its exquisitely well preserved stone walls.
| Mexico Sailing Trip 2008-2011 |
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Along the road to Puebla, we have magnificent views of snow capped volcanoes, including this one, Popocatépetl.
Popocatépetl is an active volcano and, at 5,426 m (17,800 ft), the second highest peak in Mexico after the Pico de Orizaba (5,636 m/18,490 ft). Popocatépetl is linked to the Iztaccíhuatl volcano to the north by the high saddle known as the Paso de Cortés, and lies in the eastern half of the Trans-Mexican volcanic belt.
| Mexico Sailing Trip 2008-2011 |
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