Day One - A Free Day in Oaxaca

We awoke refreshed and hungry.  Luckily, breakfast was right outside our door on the roof terrace.  We met our guide, Mark Pretti, and a couple of the participants.  We decided to go to the English tour at the Ethnobotanical Garden behind the Cathedral of Santo Domingo.  Without too much difficulty we found it and waited for the tour.  Our guide, Alonso, spoke English but with a really strong accent so words especially at the end of sentences were lost.  But I appreciated his skill at handling such a large group.  One of our fellow birders was on the tour.  I was impressed she had her bins and spotted hummingbirds and a kiskadee among the many she saw.  We enjoyed the two hour tour and took many beautiful photos especially of cactus and Ajaves (not birds).  My nighttime impressions of Oxaca were not wrong.  The city looked much more beautiful and vital by day.  The streets paved in big stones, the buildings are 19th century two story colonial and painted in many bright colors.  The accents of the iron work kept Bob occupied as he tried to determine how old it might be.  The city is small (40,000) and is situated in a valley with mountains ringing it.

When I think of what I experienced, I think color and music and short people.  There were many street musicians.  While we were eating lunch, we heard a loud banging, a big commotion outside and everybody (I mean everybody, the waiters, bus boys and patrons) rushed out to see what it was.  Can you imagine being serenaded by a brass band with two 10-12 feet high puppets dancing around.  If that wasn’t enough, there were two big 10-12 feet high balloon like structures dancing around.  One had writing that said “Felix Cupleanos” (Happy Birthday).  Eventually a couple appeared and a lovely young lady in a red lace dress was given a present and a big kiss by a young gentleman.  What a birthday celebration!  They know how to do it right here.  Walking along the streets which were filled with American tourists and street vendors, I felt mildly guilty not buying the trinkets, but I have enough of such things.  We walked 12,000 steps and were duly tired out when we got back to the hotel after a wonderful day exploring.