Oaxaca and Puebla: mezcal, petrified waterfalls, hidden tunnels, mice and cathedrals.

Rising early, we departed Tehuantepec for our first point of interest on our return journey through Mexico, Oaxaca city. It was only 150 miles away, 150 miles of winding, picturesque, mountain road. Things were in our favour today though; the roads were well maintained, traffic was almost non-existent, there were no machete-wielding protestors, our chains didn't fall off and the weather was mild. Progress was quick and, apart from Tim being required to take it easy on the corners because his rear spring has lost its springiness and is in need of replacement, there were no problems; in what seemed like no time we made it to Oaxaca. Riding through the outskirts of the city it appeared that the city was nothing special, until we suddenly passed into the old center of town and found ourselves presented with beautiful old colonial architecture, reminiscent of Antigua. After finding our hostel and offloading our motorcycles we went out to explore the town in the afternoon sun, heading towards the zocalo (town square) to get our orientation. From the zocalo, Tim directed us to "La Casa del Mezcal", a mezcaleria he visited when he was in Oaxaca six years ago; here we sampled some mezcal, a liquor produced in the state of Oaxaca and similar in taste to tequila. Once we had taste-tested some delicious and some not-so-delicious mezcals, we walked across the street to the market to see some of the locally produced wares; there were huge amounts of products for sale but what really caught our eyes were the pet stores. We played with the rabbits, puppies and various other baby animals and then Shaun and Chris decided to buy a feeder mouse each to bring with them on the rest of the journey through Mexico and save from their fate of being food for pet snakes. Bringing their new pets home to the hostel, Shaun and Chris set about attempting to 'train' their mice so that they would get used to being handled. Chris' mouse "Stuart" seemed quite docile and was easily handled; however, unfortunately for Shaun, his mouse didn't seem to like him, wouldn't stop screeching and bit him, so Shaun was forced to let him go into the wild to make it on his own.

The next day we spent exploring more of the historical sights of Oaxaca, doing out some much needed laundry, relaxing and organising a tour of some nearby attractions which we would take the following day, on Shaun’s 20^th birthday. The tour we booked would take is to the Tule tree, largest tree in the world by volume and older than Christ; a place where carpets are handmade using traditional indigenous methods and colors; Mitla, the ruins of an ancient burial site once used by the Zapotecs; Hierve el Agua, a huge ‘petrified’ waterfall that has grown through millions of years of mineralised water bubbling up from underground and leaving deposits in the same manner of how cave formations are created; and, to finish the tour, we would stop by a mezcal manufacturing place to see how mezcal is still made using traditional techniques and to sample some more of the different varieties. Following the tour, we had to make a decision where we wanted to go next in order to make our way towards Copper Canyon, we could either follow the coast or go the inland route, dodging Mexico City to avoid getting stuck in its never-ending traffic again.

We decided to stick to the inland route, reasoning that we had spent a fair bit of time already along the coast in Central America and it would be quicker to go inland because we would avoid crossing the mountain range twice more. So, the day after Shaun’s birthday, we left Oaxaca for Puebla a town we knew very little about but selected primarily as a waypoint on our way to Guadalajara. After what was probably the most impressive scenery we’ve rode through so far, complete with grand views of desert plains skirted by mountains and a distant snow-peaked volcano, we arrived in Puebla and found ourselves presented with a town much like Oaxaca; however, far less populated by tourists. Upon checking into our hostel we decided to stay in Puebla for a couple of days to see what it had to offer; what we found did not disappoint. We saw the largest cathedral in Mexico (and possibly the largest building in Puebla) complete with soaring towers, doors big enough for giants to enter, ornately designed shrines and enormous organs; and, just a few blocks away was another church with enough gold leaf inside to rival a royal palace! There was a brilliantly done museum, displaying works ranging from ancient artefacts to interactive exhibits of modern art; complete with a great view of the city from its terrace coffee shop on the roof of the third floor. Just 20 minutes away by chicken bus we explored the ruins at Cholula, where a church had been built on top of the ruins of the destroyed temple to Quetzalcoatl. Underneath the destroyed temple there was 5 miles of tunnels, dug by an archaeologist in the 1930s to prove that the church had in fact been built on top of ruins, instead of just a hill as it appeared to the naked eye; most of the tunnels are sealed off now but there is still a path for visitors to explore. After being pleasantly surprised by the attractions of Puebla it’s time to head to our next destination, Morelia.