9781566915021

Whether you're looking for tips on shopping for genuine Mexican crafts, such as handmade masks, carvings, palm weavings, serapes, metalwork, embroidery, and pottery, or viewing coatimundis, peccaries, ocelots, and other wildlife, Moon Handbooks Oaxaca is your tool for experiencing the best of this intriguing destination.

Bruce Whipperman In the early 1980's, the lure of travel drew Bruce Whipperman away from a 20-year career of teaching physics. The occasion was a trip to Kenya, which included a total solar eclipse and a safari. He hasn't stopped traveling since. With his family grown, he has been free to let the world's wild, beautiful corners draw him on: to the ice-clawed Karakoram, the Gobi Desert's trellised oases, the pink palaces of Rajasthan, Japan's green wine country, Bali's emerald terraces, and now, Oaxaca's traditional markets, spectacular ruins, picture perfect vistas, and parklike green pastures. Bruce has always pursued his travel career for the fun of it. He started with slide shows and photo gifts for friends. Others wanted his photos, so he began selling them. Once, stranded in Ethiopia, he began to write. A dozen years later, after scores of magazine and newspaper feature stories, Moon Handbooks Pacific Mexico became his first book. For him, travel writing heightens his awareness and focuses his own travel experiences. He always remembers what a Nepali Sherpa once said: "Many people come, looking, looking; few people come, see." Travel, after all, is for returning home, and that coziest of journeys always brings a tired but happy Bruce back to his friends, son, daughter, and wife Linda in Oakland, California. Bruce invites the readers of Moon Handbooks Oaxaca to likewise "come see"-and discover and enjoy-Oaxaca's delights with a fresh eye and renewed compassion.

Introduction

1

(73)

Like its renowned mole sauces, Oaxaca is a rich mixture of influences-indigenous and colonial, traditional and modern. This is a land with 16 native languages, in hundreds of dialects, where even today Spanish is often a foreign tongue. With countless fiestas, crafts villages, colorful markets-and of course, the incomparable cuisine you'll find much to savor.

Land and Sea

2

(3)

Flora and Fauna

5

(13)

History

18

(26)

Economy and Government

44

(8)

People

52

(22)

On the Road

74

(61)

What's your vision of paradise? Whether its snorkeling in hidden coves, figuring out where to string your hammock, or dining on fresh-caught fish under a shady palapa, you'll find all the practical information you need right here.

Sports and Recreation

74

(6)

Festivals and Events

80

(4)

Arts and Crafts

84

(6)

Accommodations

90

(5)

Food and Drink

95

(4)

Shopping

99

(3)

Getting There

102

(13)

Getting Around

115

(4)

Information and Services

119

(8)

Health and Safety

127

(6)

What to Take

133

(2)

Oaxaca City

135

(44)

Stroll the cobbled streets of Oaxaca's capital city, soaking in the colonial charm of its stone buildings. Sit at a zócalo sidewalk cafe and watch the world glide by. Discover handicraft-shopping heaven browsing through traditional markets and private galleries. Or let the whirling colors and dazzling spectacle of July's Guelaguetza folk dance festival draw you in.

Around the Valley of Oaxaca

179

(38)

Welcome to the Zapotec heartland, where villages famed for woodcarving and weaving thrive alongside stunning ruins such as Monte Albán, where long ago a majestic city endured for over 1,000 years.

EAST SIDE: THE TEXTILE ROUTE

184

(13)

Santa Maria del Tule

Tlacochahuaya

Dainzu and Lambityeco Archaeological Sites

Teotitlán del Valle

Santa Ana del Valle

Tlacolula

Yagul Archaeological Zone

San Bartolomé

Quialana and San Marcos Tlapazola

Mitla

Hierve el Agua Mineral Springs

SOUTH SIDE: THE CRAFTS ROUTE

197

(11)

San Bartolo Coyotepec

San Antonino Castillo Velasco

San Martin Tilcajete

Santo Tomás Jalieza

Ocotlán

Ejutla

Zimatlán

San Sebastián de las Grutas

Sola de Vega

Zaachila

Cuilapan de Guerrero and Arrazola

WEST SIDE: THE ARCHAEOLOGICAL ROUTE

208

(11)

Monte Albán

Santa Maria Atzompa

San José El Mogote

Etla

Suchilquitongo and Cerro de la Campana Archaeological Zone

Pacific Resorts and Southern Sierra

217

(82)

Adventure awaits along the Pacific Coast, from kayaking lagoons teeming with birds to riding the pipeline at Playa Zicatela, Mexico's best surfing beach. Heading upland into the Sierra Madre, you'll find spectacular waterfalls and jungle coffee farms to explore.

PUERTO ÁNGEL AND VICINITY

219

(19)

Playa Zipolite

Playas San Agustinillo and Mazunte

San Pedro Pochutla

Chacalapa

San José del Pacifico

BAHIAS DE HUATULCO AND VICINITY

238

(22)

Crucecita

Santa Cruz de Huatulco

Chahue

Tangolunda

Santa Maria Huatulco

Santa Maria Xadani

Santiago Astata

San Pedro Huamelula

PUERTO ESCONDIDO AND VICINITY

260

(21)

Playa Zicatela

Laguna Manialtepec

Atotonilco Hot Springs

UPLAND EXCURSION INTO CHATINO COUNTRY

281

(6)

Santos Reyes Nopala

Santa Magdalena Tiltepec

Santa Catarina Juquila

WEST TO THE MIXTEC COAST

287

(13)

Lagunas de Chacahua National Park

Rio Grande

Roca Blanca

San Pedro

Tututepec

Charquito Atotonilco Warm Springs

Santiago Jamiltepec

San Andres Huaxpaltepec

Santa Maria Huazolotitlán

Pinotepa Nacional

Pinotepa Don Luis

San Juan Colorado

Cacahuatepec

San Pedro Amusgos

Playa Corralero

The Mixteca

299

(58)

Stretching from the jungle-draped Pacific coastline across the cool, cloud-shadowed highlands to the warmth of a sunny desert plateau, the Mixteca is both vast and diverse. Its human legacy is just as impressive, with grand Dominican churches dotting the countryside and ancient Mixtec kingdoms that stir the imagination.

NORTHWEST FROM OAXACA CITY

300

(9)

Nochixtlan

Yucuita

Tilantongo and Monte Negro Archaeological Zones

The Vale of Apoala

DOMINICAN ROUTE SOUTH

309

(8)

Tamazulapan

Teposcolula

Yucunama

Yanhuitlan

DOMINICAN ROUTE NORTH

317

(8)

Coixtlahuaca

San Miguel Tequixtepec

Tepelmeme de Morelos

THE MIXTECA BAJA: LAND OF THE SUN

325

(17)

Huajuapan de León

Cerro de las Minas Archaeological Zone

Santiago Huajolotitlán

Rio Mixteco Valley and Asunción Cuyotepeji

San Pedro y San Pablo Tequixtepec

Santiago Chazumba

Yosocuta Reservoir

Tonalá Canyon

Santo Domingo Tonalá

Santiago Juxtlahuaca

Laguna Encantada

THE MIXTECA ALTA: ROOF OF OAXACA

342

(16)

Tlaxiaco

Chalcatongo

Yosundua and Cascada Esmeralda

San Miguel Achiutla

San Martin Huamelulpan

Santa Maria Cuquila

San Miguel Progreso

Putla de Guerrero

Northern Oaxaca

357

(40)

The north offers something for every outdoor enthusiast: high mountains for hiking, climbing, and camping; tropical rivers and glassy lakes for fishing, swimming, and boating; and crystalline springs for refreshing dips and relaxing afternoon picnics.

NORTHERN SIERRA

358

(10)

Benito Juárez and Cuajimoloyas

Santa Catarina Ixtepeji

Ixtlán de Juárez

Calpulalpan

Guelatao

INTO THE PAPALOAPAN

368

(17)

Valle Nacional

Santa Maria Jacatepec

San José Chiltepec

Tuxtepec

Temascal and Miguel Alemán Dam and Reservoir

San Pedro Ixcatlan and the Islands

Isla Soyaltepec

San Lucas Ojitlán

THE MAZATECA

385

(8)

Jalapa de Diaz

Cerro Rabón

Huautla de Jiménez

Las Regaderas

Nindo-Da-Gé

Sotano de San Agustin

THE CAÑADA: CANYON COUNTRY

393

(5)

Teotitlán del Camino

Cuicatlán

The Isthmus: Land of Plenty

397

(42)

This is a land worth celebrating, with vivid marketplaces and near-continuous velas-as fiestas are known to ist-meños. The grandest vela of them all is late December's Vela Tehuantepec, when an entire town dances to the strains of Sandunga music all night long.

TEHUANTEPEC AND VICINITY

398

(14)

Guiengola

Jalapa del Marqués

Tequisistlán

JUCHITÁN AND VICINITY

412

(8)

NORTH OF JUCHITÁN

420

(3)

Magdalena Tlacotepec

Santiago Laollaga

Lagunas

Santo Domingo Petapa

EAST OF JUCHITÁN

423

(5)

La Venta

The Chimalapa

Unión de Hidalgo

Playa Copalito and San Dionisio del Mar

Santo Domingo Zanatepec

San Pedro Tapanatepec

Rincón Juárez and the Calm Sea

SALINA CRUZ AND VICINITY

428

(11)

Playa La Ventosa

San Mateo del Mar

Santa Maria del Mar

Resources

439

TRAILER PARKS AND CAMPING

440

(4)

GLOSSARY

444

(3)

SPANISH PHRASEBOOK

447

(7)

Amazon no longer offers textbook rentals. We do!

Moon Handbooks Oaxaca

Moon Handbooks Oaxaca

1566915023

Summary

Author Biography

Table of Contents

Supplemental Materials

Write a Review