--Before I begin, I just want to say that I have a lot of catching up to do with these blog entries. I haven't written about Cuba, or Oaxaca. So expect more entries in the near future!
I'm leaving Mexico in 3 days. I can't believe the semester went by that fast! I've been here for almost 18 weeks. The fastest 18 weeks of my life.
Yesterday was my friend Lalo's birthday, so a program friend and I went to Tlaxcala with him to celebrate. He just has a thing for Tlaxcala. His goal for the afternoon was to buy a cane. I think he felt it would change his "look." So we found a cane decorated with carvings of birds and cacti in an artesan shop, then we went to Cacaxtla. To get to the zona arqueológica, we had to take a colectivo through several pueblitos. When we got to Cacaxtla we found the zocalo (not difficult in such a tiny village) and bought some tlacoyos for lunch. Tlacoyos are tortillas stuffed with black beans and covered in salsa, cheese, and onions. So tasty! Then, we walked back up to the archeological site.
The coolest thing about the ruins at Cacaxtla are the murals. Cacaxtla became the great power in this region after the fall of Cholula around 650-750 CE. So the paintings are even older than that, and they're really well-preserved!
The colors are still vivid more than 1,000 years later!
Remember my pictures from the Museo Nacional de Antropología in the DF? These weird dancers with scorpion tails that I saw in the DF come from Cacaxtla!
Note the fellow getting his intestines ripped out in the bottom left corner.
Apparently this latticework shows that Cacaxtla has Mayan influence!
The Mayans sure got around.
After we got back from Tlaxcala, we took Lalo to All Day Cafe and made the staff bring him a slice of cake. The whole cafe sang Las Mañanitas (Mexican birthday song)! And the cake was delicious.
Lalo with cake.
It was a good ending to a great day, but saying goodbye was sad. It always is. I will definitely keep in touch with Lalo.
Now for the Word of the Day: Bastón. It means cane or walking stick. Lalo compró un bastón en Tlaxcala = Lalo bought a cane in Tlaxcala.
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