Hierve el Agua

 By Rowen (with parenthetical info from Shannon)

Today  (December 18) we went to Hierve el Agua, a petried waterfall (really two of them). There are only two petrified waterfalls in the world, the other is in Turkey. 

We caught a bus to the town of Mitla, an hour away. Then we got to ride in the back of a truck (collectivo) with two other people from London. It took about 45 minutes to get there. 

After we swam for a bit, we walked up to a little market above the pools to get some lunch and "aguas frescas" which are water blended with different fruits, with different flavors like horchata or pina colada.  Then Eve went with Mom to buy a cute hate from one of the vendors (so Eve wouldn't get burned to a crisp) while everyone else finished the food. 

Then we went back to the pools. Eve, Aurora and I swam for a while again and then got Dad to join us in the water, but got out a couple minutes later because there were a ton of clouds. (Theo mostly just played by little rivulets running down by the "volcano"--water bubbling up from the earth.)

 After that, we decided to be done because we were going to go soon. 

We put on sunscreen (which wasn't allowed in the pools, so we all got a little pink). Then we took some pictures and walked back up to the market and then the trucks to get us home. This time, I got an edge seat as well as Dad. Once we had been riding about 15 minutes I guess we would be there in half an hour, and I was correct. We were dropped off at the bus station and caught one back to Oaxaca, and then walked 8 blocks home. 

A few more photos from Shannon: (next time maybe I'll figure out how to move photos, but not today).

The small village above Hierve el Agua had a variety of small "comedors" or eateries. All had simple, outdoor kitchens. This is a cumal. We love all the wood-fired ovens and cooking surfaces like this that we have been seeing, and benefitting from most deliciously. 

We keep bringing water bottles with us. But then we end up ordering these inexpensive and delicious "aguas" which are basically fruit and purified water put in a blender and then the fruit bits are strained out. Too, too good. So far favorites are jimaica (hibiscis), pina colada, and limon. 

 

Hurry and wait is how life rolls when you use public transportation. A good reminder to us of how prinviledged we are to have cars of our own back home. And a great way to slow down and meet people along the way (since we are also privileged to be travelling and working on our own schedules right now). 

Riding back in the collectivo--covered truck with built in benches. On the way back, we chatted with a couple from France and three people from Mexico City. All of them were flying down to the coast in the next 24 hours.