Mt Alban. This was an ancient Zapotec capitol that existed from about 500 BC to 700 AD. This city was built on top of a mountain whose top was flattened for construction of temples and buildings. It reminded me of the Acropolis in Greece. It seems as though the people of Mt. Alban were realitively peaceful, not practicing large scale sacrifice like the Aztec. Similarly to the fall of the Maya, no knows quite why it happened. My guess is that they ran out of water on the mountain top. The mountain is quite high and without a natural spring or water source I think it would be a difficult place to live.
Ruins at Yagul. A city in the Oaxaca region that rose following the fall of Mt. Alban.
A picture from inside a tomb at Yagul. These ruins are a bit off the beaten track and thus visiting them is a bit more of an intimate experience (ie you can crawl into tombs).
Hierve De Agua, a natural mineral spring outside Oaxaca. There are bathing pools for swimming and water from teh spring spills down the mountain leaving mineral deposites that look like frozen water falls. The day that I was there it was quite windy, I was by myself without any friends, the springs were crowded with locals, and I had no bathing suit. Thus I did not swim (but I have a small regret about not doing it anyway).
Another picture of the mineral falls.
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