Winding Road

A bumpy, dusty two hour bus ride around uncountable hairpin turns took us high into the mountains for a hike along a ridge that provided stunning views of the whole Oaxaca Valley. I took this photo at the beginning of the climb, and the bus wheels were often inches from the edge of the road. Maybe they really weren't, but it sure seemed like it!

The cloudy day made for pleasant hiking but not good photography. The valley was so hazy we could not see to the other side. The archaeological sites of Monte Albán and Atzompa, perched atop the mountains in the center of the valley, were almost invisible.

Tiny villages and farms where people were using oxen to plow the fields are scattered along the way. The man who organizes the hikes told me that some villages further into these mountains are only accessible by donkey.