BIENVENIDO! WELCOME TO OAXACA! 

Today you arrive on either an afternoon or evening flight to Oaxaca, Mexico. We will arrange to pick you up at the airport and bring you to our lodgings. There will be no official tour events on this day, but your Cultural and Fiber Ambassadors will be on hand to greet you, help you find delicious food, and join you should you invite us for some spontaneous margarita drinking!

OAXACA CITY EL CENTRO

Let's explore this extraordinary city! After a fabulous breakfast, we’ll visit the Santo Domingo Museo and Church, including treasures from Monte Alban Tomb 7. Then a walk down the bricked-in street of Alcala, catching the Mexican holiday spirit, and dashing in cathedrals, markets and cafes until we reach the center of city life - the main plaza (zocalo).

We will return to our hotel for a special Makers’ Market and luncheon where you’ll meet a backstrap weaver, a seamstress and embroidery wizard of traditional San Antonino clothes, and a loom weaver who also creates bespoke contemporary clothing designs. You’ll enjoy hearing about the lives of these artisans, and be much better informed afterwards to appreciate, explore and purchase unique crafts as we venture into our week.

After a day filled with so many sights, let’s gather at our hotel rooftop for Happy Hour, snacks and optional foot massages.

COYOTEPEC, SAN MARTIN TILCAJETE & WHO KNOWS WHERE ELSE

Today we visit a series of small villages and learn about the unique folk art specific to each village. Coyotepec is famous for black pottery and home to an exceptional Folk Art Museo. Next, a visit to San Martín Tilcajete for the fanciful wood carvings known as alebrijes, including a demo where we hear about copal wood and its role in Zapotec life. A lovely outdoor lunch in a beloved palapa location will follow (with a gift shop)!

TIS THE QUEEN OF HEAVEN’S DAY!  TEOTITLAN DEL VALLE

It’s going to be another impressive village day, and with the added bonus of the once-a-year celebration of the Feast of the Virgin of Guadalupe. The Danza de la Pluma (Dance of the Feather) will go on all afternoon in Teotitlán del Valle, home to the renowned rug weavers of Oaxaca. Natural dyes predominate these stunning weavings so get ready to fall in love with the cochineal; match this little insect with wool and the results are a stunning red, which became as valuable as silver, sugar and gold after the Conquest. We'll have a demo, a meal of tlayudas, and time to dive into Zapotec life.

Pro tip: you will want some room in your luggage to take home some amazing textiles!

LET’S VISIT A TIANGUES;  TLACALULA, MITLA, TULE     

Tlacolua on Sundays is an immersion in indigenous market life. Locals and tourists flock to this World Heritage area for the Sunday tiangues: a once-a-week open air market. It's an opportunity to socialize, sell and buy a wide variety of market goods, attend mass, acquire a new yoke for your oxen and so much more. Next stop is the Mitla archeological site - an important treasure to the Zapotec culture located in a town renowned for cotton weaving. To cap off the day, we’ll stop at the Tule tree, a Montezuma cypress that has the stoutest tree trunk in the world.

TEXTILE MUSEUM, SAN PABLO CULTURAL CENTER & SO. MUCH. MORE.

We’ll start with an enjoyable, relaxed breakfast followed by a walk to the Textile Museum and the San Pablo Convent; both museums offer exceptional exhibits. You’ll have the afternoon to continue exploring this culture-rich city. If you are a photography buff or into antique silver or more textiles and local jewelry, we'll provide ideas, routes and help to get you where you'd like to go. But don’t miss lunch! This is the day we indulge in our Seven Mole Extravaganza for comida. Oaxaca IS mole central; let's taste, discern, and taste some more! Optional mezcal tasting will be offered in the early evening.  

MONTE ALBAN

We set off early for a guided tour of Monte Albán, a very significant pre-Columbian archeological site founded in approximately 500 BCE and once home to over 5,000 people. After returning for lunch (on your own) there will be free time to pack...  or shop ...  or shop and pack!  We'll close our week together with a final group cena (dinner) and a mezcal toast.

HOMEWARD BOUND

It’s time to say hasta luego, amigos and return home filled with the colors and memories of Oaxaca! 

Janie has traveled in Mexico literally all her life. When you travel with Janie prepare for relaxing shoulders, opening hearts, and delights for the spirit. Though Janie resides most of the year in Santa Fe, New Mexico, a big chunk of her heart always remains in Oaxaca. By profession, she was clinical social worker specializing in child welfare. When not working or traveling, she likes to read books, dance, volunteer in her community, hike, practice her foodie habits, and plan her next Mexico sojourn.

Colleen is knitting multiple projects right now, spinning hand-blended fibers on her Lendrum DT, and has found it difficult but not impossible to knit and watch a South Korean show on Netflix with subtitles at the same time. She is curious about makers' stories of the lineage and evolution of their craft and where to find truly awesome pie.  Her professional background in outdoor tour guiding and small business ownership makes a great match with RTT. Colleen loves to drive a convertible, swim in natural waters and hula hoops. Does she talk to her plants? That’s what her friends want to know.