Showing posts with label Travel. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Travel. Show all posts

Sunday, 29 April 2012

Mexico Part Three: Oaxaca!

It was a million years ago now, but I thought I might continue with my Mexico posts!

After Mexico city, Jack and I hopped on a bus and made our way on down to Oaxaca. Oaxaca City was one of my favourite towns in Mexico. It's so quiet and pretty and full of beautiful old colonial architecture.

On our first full day, we visited the Monte Alban Ruins, about ten Ks from the main town. I was excited for my first Mexican ruins, and was definitely not disappointed!



It was such a beautiful landscape - particularly the dry yellow grass contrasted against the bright blue sky.





On our second day in Oaxaca, we went on a tour with Fundacion En Via - a charity organisation who provide interest free micro-financing loans to women in the Oaxaca region. If you're anywhere near Oaxaca, I would definitely recommend going on one of their tours. All money raised from the tours goes directly towards providing more loans, and it is such a great experience. It really was a wonderful opportunity to see some of the villages surrounding Oaxaca City, as well as hear the local languages and understand a little bit more about local handcrafts.



On day three, we hopped up bright and early to take the bus to Llano Grande - a teeny village in the mountains, a few hours from Oaxaca city. We stayed in a sweet little log cabin and spent two days hiking, sitting by our smokey fire and sipping on bowls full of Oaxaca hot chocolate in the village's only restaurant (which happened to be in a family's lounge room).







We made our way back down the mountain to Oaxaca City that night, tired and sore from all of our hiking, and ready for tomorrow's beachy adventures!

Thursday, 15 September 2011

Frida Kahlo

I am heading to Mexico at the end of the year, and as my trip draws nearer, I am getting more and more interested in all things Mexican! I have loved Frida Kahlo forever, but am getting so excited about having the opportunity to visit her house and see the country which is so strongly represented in her work. I think that, like most people, I am just as interested in Frida Kahlo the person as I am with her actual work, so visiting her house, which has been preserved as a museum, should be such a treat!







Tuesday, 6 September 2011

The Harrow and the Harvest

I have been a little bit in love with Gillian Welch for quite some time. I bought her latest album – The Harrow and the Harvest - a few weeks ago, not long after it came out. While I was rather excited to have a listen, I decided to save it. I’m heading overseas at the end of the year – to America and Mexico, and I thought that would be the perfect time to hear the album for the first time. Country music must sound better in Texas, right? So I popped it away, hid it from myself, until December. But then my dad kept talking about it, saying how he must buy it, and so I ... er... wrapped it up and gave it to him for Fathers’ Day on Sunday - but not before popping it onto my own iPod. Haha. Worst daughter ever.



Anyway, we have listened to it a few times and, I must say, it’s just the most beautiful album. It’s been 8 years since their last release and I think it was well worth the wait. Like most of Gillian Welch and David Rawlings’ music, it’s the pretty, melancholy feel that makes me really love it.



And me oh my, I just love the artwork by John Dryer Baizley! So lovely.