PICTURED SITES ARE DESCRIBED IN THIS TEXT.

Vantage describes Mexico as a surprisingly complex nation of many cultures, ancient civilizations, and friendly people which we explored ranging from charming Spanish-colonial towns with cobbled plazas and vast complexes of pre-Columbian ruins to sophisticated cities full of culture, baroque architecture and the arts. We learned of the people's traditions through music and dance performances and museum visits.

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Oaxaca (pronounced wa-HA-ka) is at an altitude of 5,000 feet above sea level and is surrouneded by mountain ranges. With a population of 260,000 people, it is the capital of its state. Oaxaca is famous for its folk art, regional cooking and mezcal - the local fire water.

The city was founded in 1486 by the Aztecs as a military post in order to conquer the Zapotecs. The Spanish arrived in 1524 and used the city as headquarters for the administration of its conquered lands.

It is considered to be one of the most beautiful and well- preserved colonial cities in Mexico with archaeological sites, convents dating as early as the 16th century, unusually-designed civil buildings and a variety of museums. It was declared as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1987.

Hotel Marques del Valle is located on the zocalo ajacent to the Cathedral. It has been recently renovated and is a great place to stay. The owner's daughter, who has a master's degree in food and nutrition and extensive training at Le Cordon Bleu culinary school in France, has transformed the restaurant into a first classs mexican cuisine.

Construction of the Metropolitan Cathedral began in 1544 but was not finished until 1733 because of earthquakes and fire. It honors the Virgin of the Assumption whose statue is on the facade above the door. One chapel houses the crucifix of "Our Lord of the Lightening Bolt", the only piece to survive a fire started by lightening in the church's original structure. The reason given for no clapper in the bell is that it started to ring on its accord in the 18th century. Inside are a bronze altar imported from Italy, an antique pipe organ, and paintings from the 18th century. The huge clock on the south wall has chimed every 15 minutes since its installation in 1755. The cathedral is beautifully lit each night. While walking in the zocalo about 8:30 P.M. we were stopped by a man who asked what time it was and told us an organ concert in the cathedral was beginning.

The zocalo, or main square of the city, is constantly alive with people - children playing, adults conversing, young people with their friends, shoeshiners, balloon salesmen, musicians, and workers taking a break. Food venders vie with restaurants along the zocalo, some with balconies. The wrought-iron bandstand, fountains, and buildings are lit each evening, as Mexicans come to the zocalo after their work day made longer by a two-hour lunch break.

Twenty-five years ago the zocalo was reconstructed when the square was blocked off and motorized vehicles were prevented from entering. During 2005 more changes were made, causing quite an uproar as two huge linden trees were toppled in the process.

Santo Domingo Church has a 17th-century facade framed by two domed bell towers. Construction began in 1552 and continued for almost 100 years. It was, however, occupied by the friars beginning in 1608 due to earthquake damage to St. Paul's Convent. Its interior is decorated in Mexican Baroque style with huge amounts of gold leaf, plaster saints and flowers and yellow stained-glass windows. The interior of the dome has more than 100 medallions depicting various martyrs. It is larger and more lavish than Oaxaca's Cathedral.

Benito Juarez Market two blocks southwest of the Zocalo was built in 1893 of brick and iron. It sells mainly fresh produce, groceries, household goods, and flowers. Famous cheeses from the area called queso and quesillo, rounded into shape by palm leaves or rolled into balls like twine were displayed with jars and bags of red, black and coloradito mole, local honey, rice and cacao beans. Grasshoppers, which we had sampled at lunch, were also available after salt and chili had been used to preserve them.

Handicrafts, sandals, straw hats with bows and ribbons, hammocks, tinware in the shape of Christmas tree decorations, small black and green pottery jars, necklaces, small figures like animals, musicians, angels, and birds were displayed along with regional textiles including traditional shawls in wool and in elegant, beautiful silk (actually a specially treated cotton. Blouses, dresses and shirts elaborately embroidered or covered with flowers blew in the breeze.

Nearby were stalls selling sewing supplies, wallets, plastic toys, and marbles in addition to Oaxaca cutlery, highly polished and engraved, such as knives, swords, and letter-openers.

Oaxaca is well-known for the quality of rugs and wall hangings made there. Most weavers do every step of the process by hand--the carding of the wool, the yarn spinning, the dying and finally, the weaving. An average 3 x 5-foot rug can take ten days or more to complete, depending on the complexity of the design. Each item is created on a large wooden two pedal loom, which the Spanish first introduced in the 1500's. Red dye comes from a little insect living on cactus, and the addition of lime juice makes it a bright red. Another shade of red can be created with brazil wood after it is soaked in water for two months. Different shades of brown are created using pecan shells, the tree's roots, and its leaves.

We have Mexico to thank for the gift of chocolate. The Olmecs who lived on the Gulf coast were the first to discover the process of extracting the dark rich substance from the cacao beans. The Aztecs first introduced the drink to Spanish invaders and they held it in high esteem. When Christopher Columbus first arrived in Honduras, he was suprised to discover that the locals used cocoa beans as their currency.

Oaxaca is known as the chocolate capital of Mexico. Now chocolate is used mostly for a hot drink or as the basis for rich sauces such as mole. Chocolate shops in Mexico process the roasted cocoa beans in large metal machines. The consumers can choose the proportion of chocolate bean, cinnamon, almonds and sugar to be used in the final product. Once the recipe is determined, the chocolate beans are fed through a large mill to produce a bitter paste. The paste is then mixed with sugar and all other ingredients and molded into round balls or square pieces ready to take home.

Just a few miles from Oaxaca is Santa Maria del Tule, a small village famous for its tree described in all sources as a cypress but said to be a juniper by our local guide. It has a circumference of 164 feet at its base, is 2,000 years old, weighs about 600 tons, and is still growing. This tree is said to have the largest trunk circumference in the world. Recemt DNA tests indicate it is a single tree not the fused trunks of several different trees. A small boy went around the tree with us pointing out unusual figures seen in the tree with a pocket mirror reflecting the sun.