We had a delightful day on a forgotten highway on the way to the city of Oaxaca - The newer toll road was much more direct (and probably easier) but we had heard that this one was a great ride, so we took the old "free" road. It was delightful, climbing along a ridge through high forests and incredibly organized communities.

We saw clean highways, trash receptacles everywhere, and signs reminding everyone of their civic duty. This sign says "Take care of nature - don't throw trash. Health is LIfe." I can tell you we've seen some very trashed communities and highways at times in Mexico, and it was so amazing that this region had taken it in mind to put an end to this.

They also told us they have a community highway trash pickup every two months! We were impressed.

We don't see many billboards on the back highways of Mexico, but what we do see, every day, are the wonderful, colorful advertisements you see painted on the rock wall behind Nancy. They're all done by hand, but talented painters, who must be quite plentiful in Mexico, because there are *current* signs everywhere, for musical events, bullfights, all-star wrestling. During election seasons, there are lots of them for political candidates, too. We love to see the colorful art, and it's a pleasure when we see one of the painters. This one is for a musical extravaganza in a nearby town.

Our last day into Oaxaca City was a pretty easy one, so we didn't get started too early. Then about 2 miles into the ride we saw a sign that said "Santiago Suchilquitongo - Visit our tomb and museum!". Well, Santiago Suchilquitongo wasn't in our guidebook and we had no idea what to expect, but Nancy was game and we rode in.

A few questions and we found that we had to ride up a steep hill to get to the tomb. So we did. Then a few more questions and we found we had to hike up a much longer steep hill to get to the tomb. So we found a friend to watch the bikes and started up. It turned out to be a pretty good distance.

We did not get to far today but we saw a lot. First we visited the hugest tree I ever saw “El Arbol del Tule” 54 meters circumference and 45 meters high.

Second stop was the village of renowned weavings, Teotitlan. We stop by several shops and did get a couple of impressive demonstrations I saw a rug being woven for a doctor in Oaxaca which was huge, 9 feet by 20 feet and will take a month to weave at "Casa Santigago". I stopped by another old master weaver, Irene Jimenez Lazo and her family. Wonderful smaller rugs for around $70 dollars. If you get there her house and workshop is behind the main church. The church was built on an Aztec pyramid and some of the walls use the curved blocks from the old temple. We visited the artesian market next to the church. It is frustrating to see such wonderful craftsmanship and not be able to buy a thing. Both for me and the poor weaver. You can read about the weavers here. I bought a woven change purse for a dollar.

We were just visiting museums today, and were near the beautiful Santo Domingo church here in Oaxaca, Mexico, and we saw a lot of preparations... for something. It turned out that a wedding was concluding and the procession was getting ready. And we got to see (and follow) the most wonderful wedding procession, complete with dancers and "marmotas" (the huge dancing dolls you'll see in the video.)

One of the things we really like about Mexico is how celebrations are shared with the public. At home, a wedding is just for the people invited to it, but here, they make a way for everybody to partake of at least some of it. Even we got to follow the dancers through the streets of Oaxaca.

We've recently found out about Kiva.org, a website that arranges microloans (very small business loans) directly between first-world lenders and third-world borrowers. We've made our first loan (to farmer Samuel Amilla in Ecuador) and are pursuing an application to become "Kiva Fellows," essentially field communication volunteers for the organization. We're tremendously excited about the possibility and are filling out the application. We hope you'll take a look at their site and make your first loan too!

One part of the "Kiva Fellow" application calls for us to interview an small-business entrepreneur concerning their business and write a journal entry regarding it. Here's our interview with Gloria Hernandez Torres, who we met selling "molotes" at the door to the market in Cholula, Puebla, Mexico.

Well, Nancy had the audacity to leave me for a week last week and fly to Las Vegas for a reunion with her dad, brother, and her son Kamm. She had a blast. (She didn't do a lot of bicycling in Las Vegas... But she did purchase some things we were hoping to get.)

So I had to ride for the week on my own. Since our plan was to miss the Veracruz coast, I decided to make a trip to Xalapa, Veracruz, and Tlacotalpan, all on the Gulf Coast, all beautiful places.

Yes, this is a little bit out of order, but we recorded this in late June, 2006, with Philippe and Miriam on the banks of the Yukon River just outside of Dawson City, Yukon Territory, Canada. We always wanted you to hear it, and now we have the technology, so here they are!

Philippe and Miriam are now home, establishing their new lives in their architect careers. But you can see their website with the complete story of their trip.

• Click here for the normal (mostly French) version
• Click here for a bad translation to English

15:05 minutes (8 MB)