THE RETURN OF THE SOULS. . .

Day of the Dead in Backcactus Oaxaca
October 24 - November 3, 2009
(For tour price and other information, please see the Trip Details sidebar on this page)

Overnight in a remote, candlelit graveyard, create an altar, cook food, visit potters, weavers, graveyards, house altars and more all under the ambiance of Oaxaca's most colorful festival time. . .

Glorious!! The most beautiful and wildest festival of the year! One of the most wonderful places in Mexico and the most beautiful season. Fall in Oaxaca means clear, vibrant air, green hillsides and field after field full of wild flowers.  And Day of the Dead means the markets, house altars and graveyards will also be filled with flowers. This is a journey to celebrate the best of places during the best of times.

Our travels will take us into rural Mexico and into the homes and workshops of craftspeople, cooks and artisans who create the items that are necessary to make a festival happen, ever surrounded by the celebration of Todos Santos or Day of the Dead. We’ll visit the potter who makes the stew pots, the cook who makes the stew, the baker who makes the sweet breads, the candle maker who makes the ceremonial candles- (but we’ll skip the butcher who gets the turkeys ready for stew).  We’ll visit with mescal brewers the chocolate millers, and the piñata maker.

We travel into the hills of Oaxaca during the most beautiful time of year.

And of course, this being Day of the Dead, the annual celebration of the return of the souls of the deceased, we’ll visit the bright graveyards to see each and every tomb adorned with flowers, candles, sugar cane, oranges…In every household we visit there will be an altar piled high with food, scented by copal incense and the memories of the dead.

And since everyone is coming for the party, living and dead, this is the biggest feast you can imagine. Please come prepared to eat. There will be tamales, stews, corn beverages, hot chocolate with almond and cinnamon, mescal, sweet breads, fruits and the ever present and unsurpassable fresh made tortilla (we’ll even give tortilla making a try).

The Zapotec ceremonial center of Yagul

For the candle-lit night of Todos Santos itself you have a choice; if you would like to visit one of tourist-herd graveyards near Oaxaca city, stop reading now and shop for another tour. If you’d like to find yourself under a starry sky in a small village in a remote corner of Oaxaca, read on. Our trip takes us to a special place where we are not likely to see another foreigner. We will spend the time building an altar, baking bread, making and enjoying food with the villagers and spending a night in a small graveyard overlooking a broad river and surrounded by flowers. The location is breathtaking, the people friendly and welcoming.

Our travels also will take us to the overflowing pre-festival markets -- the biggest market days of the year.  We’ll visit the town of Mitla, the Zapotec “place of the dead” with some of the most ornate rockwork in Mesoamerica. We’ll stay in the village of Teotitlan and visit a ceremonial candle maker and see how fine wool rugs are

Altars are filled with the foods that the dead loved.

woven. We will travel across the valley to San Marcos to visit potters who make the best cookware in the area. And we’ll head up the hill to the mineral springs of Hierve el Agua to take in the spectacular views, share a meal with a family of basket makers and stop by a mescal still to learn how cactus is turned into firewater (and try a bit as well). Our path takes us into the spectacular canyon of Apoala with its cliffs, turquoise pools, horse-tail waterfall and palm basket makers.

And more… plenty more. Join us on this trip and you will discover a place that words cannot describe.

DAY BY DAY ITINERARY
B=breakfast, L=lunch, D=dinner included in trip cost

Day 1, (D) Arrive in Oaxaca for our first meeting at 6pm followed by dinner on the town. Evening in Oaxaca

Tlacolula market

Day 2, (LD)After breakfast we head to the Tlacolula market, one of Oaxaca’s largest and most interesting markets, and today it will be going full tilt as people from the surrounding villages come in to buy food and flowers for the Day of the Dead celebrations. After getting our fill of the market’s excitement we will retreat to the sanctuary of a silent, tree draped cemetery, unlike any you’ve likely ever seen and a fitting place to find ourselves on our first day of travel on this Day of the Dead journey. We’ll round off the day with a visit to the peaceful ruins of the Zapotec ceremonial center of Yagul.  Evening in the village of Teotitlan del Valle.

Day 3, (BLD)After you have breakfast we head to the Zapotec pottery village of San Marcos to visit a family that has been making cooking ware for 200 generations. We’ll see how they create their beautiful, stone polished pottery that is used for cooking stew, boiling coffee, toasting tortillas and a hundred and one other uses. Then we travel back across the valley to our host village, the Zapotec mega-weaving village of Teotitlan del Valle, a town of 5,000 weavers. We’ll have lunch at a weaver’s home and even give tortilla making a try. We’ll see how rugs are woven, learn about natural dyeing methods used by some weavers in the village and visit with ceremonial candle makers to learn how they ply this important local trade. Evening in Teotitlan.

Day 4, (BL)We will begin the day with a visit to the very local and friendly market of Teotitlan. Imagine a farmer’s market every day of the week in the middle of your small town that you could walk to, buy your day’s ingredients fresh, visit with some friends and then head home. Today you won’t have to imagine it. Then, bags packed and loaded into the van, we travel on…heading to the ruined palaces of Mitla, once known as the “Place of the Dead”, and legendary for the intricate stonework in the palace walls.  Here we will see the fabulously intact palaces with their ornate stone fretwork. Then we head into the hills and to the little hamlet of Roaguia where we’ll visit a sweet and humble family of corn farmers and basket makers who will show us how basketry is done and feed us a simple and tasty lunch. We’ll also visit the spectacular mineral springs of Hierve el Agua that are located in this town with their “frozen” water falls. In the afternoon we return to Oaxaca city and settle into our hotel there. Head out on the town this evening to find dinner and see what’s happening in the metropolis.

A Traditions Mexico group enjoying breakfast in the hotel in Tlaxiaco

Day 5, (L)We’ll begin the morning close to home with an optional town tour and then a visit to the Oaxaca Regional museum. This 400-year-old building that houses the museum collection is worth the visit alone. But our particular interest is in looking at the treasure from tomb 7 of Monte Alban. After lunch we head to the source of the treasure itself,  Monte Alban, the ancient “Rome” of the Zapotecs and one of Mesoamerica’s largest ruined cities. As we explore the rocky remains of this ceremonial center, we will learn about the fascinating history of this world heritage site. With sunset we head back to Oaxaca.

Day 6, (BLD) Once again we pack our bags, heading today further into the backcountry. Our travels today will take us to a handmade paper coop and a visit to a 100-year-old textile mill that has been turned into a beautiful arts school.  Afterward, we head into the land of the Mixtec and on to a scenic backcountry dirt road that eventually drops us down, zigzag, zigzag, into the narrow, limestone cliff lined canyon of Apoala. This little village welcomes us with a hostel and rustic cabins together with spectacular views and wonderful hiking potential.  Evening in Apoala.

Day 7, (BLD)Today we will pause our travels, at least by vehicle, and soak in this lovely place. We have options to hike, swim in cold water boulder pools, relax, visit basket weavers, wander to the cemetery and see what preparations are going on there and simply slow down. There is no internet in this village, only one phone and four streets. And one of the dozen pre-hispanic books that survived the Spanish conquest describe this little village as the mythical birthplace of the Mixtec people. You will see that this place is most certainly myth worthy. Evening in Apoala.

Tlaxiaco market

Day 8, (BLD)And today we go even deeper. Our travels take us on a remote road through steep, breathtaking country. Mid-day will find us in a place of mango and lime trees, with warm air and a stop in a provincial town market where we will go shopping for flowers, fruits and other items that we’ll need to build our own altar. We then head to a little village half forgotten by time and settle into the simple and lovely adobe cabins where we’ll be staying the next two nights. We’ll head into town and meet some of the villagers, perhaps have a look at their altars for inspiration,  take a peek at the graveyard and then head back to our cabins and begin working on our altar. Evening will be slow and relaxed, with time for chatting, perhaps a walk down by the river and excellent potential for stargazing in this dark corner of the earth. Evening in Masalla.

Day 9, (BLD) Today we walk beyond the village to an almost unknown and seldom visited red stone ruins that top a large hill at the convergence of two rivers. In the morning cool, we will hike up and explore these ruins like the old-time discoverers of antiquity. These ruins are just now beginning to be excavated and understood. The location and views are breathtaking.  Should the sun become hot, we will descend back down to the cool river below to splash and swim or take shade under a willow. Then, after crossing the river back to our small village of stone and adobe we can expect a simple and delicious country lunch of fresh tortillas, beans, and avocados. We’ll spend the afternoon visiting, as is custom during Todos Santos. We’ll visit and perhaps participate in the preparation of fiesta food and we’ll visit the baker who still cooks in a wood-fired, stone oven. Then we’ll take some quiet time, perhaps catching a nap, because tonight is going to be an “all nighter”.  This is the night the souls come home, and it is custom here to spend the evening, especially the early morning hours before sunrise, in the graveyard, awaiting the returned souls. The graves are adorned with flowers and candles.  We will join the people in the graveyard in the pre-dawn hours. So that you know, it is generally considered an honor to have extra guests around when the dead come back. They may be dead, but that doesn’t mean they don’t know how to enjoy a good party. The more the merrier. We’ll be part of this compelling celebration of those who’ve gone beyond this world.  Evening in Masalla.

Day 10, (BLD)We will flow with the villagers back to our homes and the festival for the deceased will continue. Mid-morning we will slowly pack our things and say farewells. Today we return to Oaxaca city, settle into our hotel and take a slow afternoon for final explorations of Oaxaca city or simply a nap. We gather this evening for a final dinner together and to share stories about all that we’ve experienced.

Day 11, (B)This morning after breakfast (or before for some of you) catch your flights back home or continue your travels on your own.

All itineraries subject to change without notice.