Branching out

When planning the Mexico leg of the trip an extended stay in Oaxaca was priority number 1. All we’d heard about the place - the culture, the cuisine, the fact that a sizeable chunk of the centre of town is a UNESCO world heritage site had us stoked to a state of high anticipation.

So what do we do on our first morning? We board a mini-bus and travel 30 miles to see some other stuff.

First up was a visit to El Tule. An unremarkable town that would doubtless receive few visitors if it wasn’t for El Árbol del Tule. 

We’d been told (and believe me, we were highly sceptical) that this is the biggest tree in the world. Our suspicions are confirmed when we are dropped in the main plaza and led to a large – but certainly not huge – tree. The thing was no taller than half the trees in Clissold Park.

We’ve been conned!

 

Then our travelling companion, Virginia, laughs and points to the beast in the adjacent churchyard. 

Some stats:

Height: 58 metres

Circumference: 42 metres (think about that)

Weight: 636 tons (more than 40 double decker buses)

Diameter: 14.5 metres

Age: at least 2000 years (think about that as well)

So now we’re impressed. Not only is the tree unfeasibly big, it’s beautiful too. Fair takes our breath away it does.

Next up is a visit to a Mezcal distillery. Over 60% of all Mezcal made in Mexico is from the Oaxaca region and the majority is produced by small family run concerns. We learn about the surprisingly simple process; from cultivation of the ajave plant, to mashing, heating, fermentation and bottling. Interesting stuff.

There’s an extended sampling session afterwards that Wend and Virginia get heavily involved in. They assure me they only try 6 or 7 types but judging by the giggling when they return to the bus I reckon they must have hit double figures. 

Youngsters eh? no self control.

It’s nearing dusk when we arrive at Hierve El Agua. The timing turns out to be perfect as we see this amazing natural phenomenon in the soft late afternoon light. Gently bubbling mineral springs trickle into natural infinity pools right on a cliff’s edge  – were pretty high up so the views go for many miles.  

Water dribbling over the cliff edge for thousands of years has created mineral formations that look like massive frozen waterfalls. It’s some site.

Hierve El Agua means ‘the water boils’ but the mineral-laden water is actually cool. Certainly too cold for me but emboldened by the Mezcal this soft southerner dives straight in.