Sunday, May 01, 2005
Una buena dia
We had such an adventurous day on Saturday that we have had a day of rest on Sunday. We took the taxi to the bus station and the collectivo to the small village of Santa Ana. There are only 2000 people in this village and 500 of them are weavers. We were the only tourists in sight. Kirsten found out about this program, where we paid for a guide for the day to tour the town and the community museum. The "tour" was actually quite a hike up a hill for a view. We learned much about life in a small Oaxacan community. We watched several weavers-- Kirsten says now that she must learn how to weave. She got to try her hand at it. We had lunch in the home of our guide-- chicken with mole (a traditional Oaxacan dish--this is the second time we have had it) Mole is muy delicioso. We also had a drink from the fruit of a cactus. In this area they grow agave or maguey to make mescal. One of the other villages makes mescal. Each village has a certain craft. We left the village at 3:30 and took a bus and a taxi and another taxi to return to our hotel.
But this was not the end of our day. After a siesta Kirsten and I went out to the internet cafe but got sidetracked when a parade came by-- a calenda with big puppets and brass bands and dancers and ladies with flowers on their heads. Everyone followed along and we did too. We came to a church a few blocks away where there was more music and drinks and free tamales. It was a celebration for the graduates of a divinity school. Perhaps this is like Johans PHD party except that everyone is invited. We left this fiesta because we had to meet Kit for yet another fiesta.
The B and B where we were to stay is right next door and they were having a party to celebrate the completion of the work (which is actually still not completed which is why we did not get to be the first guests). At the fiesta there was a priest and some kind of ceremony which involved speeches and prayers and singing. (We got a sheet of songs to sing which reminds us of Darrel´s song sheets at our Guemes church). The priest went around the hotel with the holy water sprinkling. Then there was toasting and excellent music and drinks and tamales. A quite pleasant evening. We ended the day with a walk around Santo Domingo where the young people hang out at night.
But this was not the end of our day. After a siesta Kirsten and I went out to the internet cafe but got sidetracked when a parade came by-- a calenda with big puppets and brass bands and dancers and ladies with flowers on their heads. Everyone followed along and we did too. We came to a church a few blocks away where there was more music and drinks and free tamales. It was a celebration for the graduates of a divinity school. Perhaps this is like Johans PHD party except that everyone is invited. We left this fiesta because we had to meet Kit for yet another fiesta.
The B and B where we were to stay is right next door and they were having a party to celebrate the completion of the work (which is actually still not completed which is why we did not get to be the first guests). At the fiesta there was a priest and some kind of ceremony which involved speeches and prayers and singing. (We got a sheet of songs to sing which reminds us of Darrel´s song sheets at our Guemes church). The priest went around the hotel with the holy water sprinkling. Then there was toasting and excellent music and drinks and tamales. A quite pleasant evening. We ended the day with a walk around Santo Domingo where the young people hang out at night.
# posted by Carol Harma @ 4:34 PM 
