CULTURE OF OAXACA

Oaxaca de Juarez, the capital city of the rich and fertile state of Oaxaca in Southern Mexico, is our home base for this tour.

This elegant Spanish Colonial city, named a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1987, offers an abundance of museums and markets, architectural and artistic wonders, an ethnobotanical garden of great renown, a wide variety of high quality shops, and some of the best street art in Mexico.

In the outlying valleys we will spend our days in the homes, workshops, and studios where a vast variety of fantastic fine and folk art and traditional crafts are created.

We will visit villages where ceramics both utilitarian and decorative are made, wood is carved and painted into fantastical figures, rugs and fabrics are woven, sewn, and embroidered...and much more.

Ancient Mixtec and Zapotec ruins in the state offer yet another fascinating area to explore, and our trip will include an in-depth guided visit to the important site of Monte Albán.

As if all that were not enough, Oaxaca is also renowned for its complex and delicious regional cuisine. Our culinary experiences — in casual eateries and homes, a cooking class, and fine dining establishments — will allow us to savor a wide array of these glorious Oaxacan culinary specialties.

We will stay in two lovely hotels on this tour, one in the artsy neighborhood of Jalatlaco and one in the Centro Histórico, allowing us to experience two very different neighborhoods of the city.

And… for those of you who just can’t get enough of a good thing...

I am offering a three-day extension to this tour. The extra days will allow us to experience daily life in Teotitlan del Valle, an indigenous rug weaving village in the Eastern Valley. Accommodations and life here will be simple and sweet. The extension also includes a final dinner at Jorge León's Alfonsina, considered one of the world’s best restaurants.

To quote Travel & Leisure Magazine, “Whether you’re into art, architecture, food, history, spirits of the drinking kind, or handicrafts, Oaxaca has it in spades.”