Today we took a 'free' walking tour of Oaxaca. I am not sure why we don't do this at every destination.
The tour is offered by a local group, with young English-speaking guides. We met at the famous Theater in Oaxaca, and started our 2 1/2 hour tour around the city.
There was a lot of history, particularly important Oaxaca citizens, including Benito Juarez (a much-loved, yet sometimes controversial President of Mexico) and Francisco Toledo (a celebrated artist who was an important social activist and benefactor in Oaxaca).
We visited several spots around the city, including a aqueduct system which we had previously never seen. It was interesting to learn that the aqueduct system was designed to deliver water from the nearby mountains to fountains throughout the city.
There were obligatory stops at 'factories and shops', which is how free tours make their money. We stopped in a boutique chocolate shop where we sampled a variety of local Oaxaca chocolate. We also visited a textile 'factory' where we saw men making a variety of rugs and decorative items. We did learn quite a bit and saw some cool things.
On our walk back to our house, we went by Santa Maria del ex-Marquesado. Come to find out, it was the beginning of a weeklong Marquesado festival. We watched as a parade walked by, complete with bands, women in traditional outfits, large white marmota (cloth balls with words written on them, spinning wildly) and massive mojigangas which are giant puppets dressed as people, with an internal wood frame, carried by one single person.
It was so cool seeing a neighborhood festival parade walk by, and we spent quite a while watching and trying to figure it all out - with no success.
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