耐性有限

這天的行程是搬家跟拜訪Monte Albán。

Our agenda today was moving to the youth hostal in downtown Oaxaca and visiting Monte Albán.

起床以後正好是hostal提供早餐的時間，所以我們又順便吃了早餐，邊吃邊跟其他背包旅客聊天，一個女生剛從南部海邊回來，建議我們在這段六到八小時的崎嶇山路不要搭小巴，她就是搭了小巴卻碰上喜歡開窗戶而不開冷氣的司機，結果她坐在窗邊左手臂整個被晒傷，搭公車還比較便宜而且沒有慢多少。另幾個參觀過世上最大樹（Tule Tree）、傳統紡織村莊、實際上是冰泉的沸水（Hierve el Agua）及mezcal釀酒廠的旅客跟我們分享經驗，自己搭公車去那些定點的話會浪費很多時間等車，不過參加套裝行程的話就會被限制時間，不能想待多久就待多久。

It was 8:30 when we got up, the time when the hostal served their breakfast, so we had it by convenience and chatted with other backpackers. A girl just came back from the beach and suggested us not take the minivan for that 6-8 hour winding trip. She took the minivan, but the driver preferred windows open to the air conditioning, so her left arm was heavily burned by the sun. It was cheaper to take the bus and not that much longer. Some other travelers who had visited the world's biggest tree (Tule Tree), traditional weavers villages, Hierve el Agua (the "boiling water" that's in fact a cold pond), and mezcal distillery told us it took them lots of time waiting for buses to go from one site to another, but buying a day tour meant that we would have time constraint and couldn't stay as long as we wanted if we really liked a place.

然後我很意外且開心地完成早上的大事——拉屎。接著我們叫了計程車搬到新hostal去。

After breakfast, unexpectedly but happily I finished the morning business--pooping. Then we called a taxi and moved to the new hostal.

搬到新的hostal很高興，不過我們也被告知只能住一晚，因為隔天全hostal（40幾個床位）都被預定了！所以我們明天又得繼續搬了…

We were happy to move there, but we were also told that we could only stay there for one night, for all beds (more than 40) were booked the next day! So we gotta move again the next day...

搬完家我們沒有多浪費時間，馬上出發去找載旅客去Monte Albán的小巴，沒走多久看到一間全紫色的hotel，進去看了以後發現價錢便宜到不行（雙人房只要130 pesos），當下決定明天應該就會搬來這。走一走碰到一個男的在推銷，跟我們說每個人只要30 pesos，比昨天在廣場上碰到的大叔介紹價40 pesos還要便宜，所以我們直接走到旅行公司在附近飯店的辦公室，發現原來40 pesos是一般價，如果路上推銷員在廣告傳單（全部都長得一模一樣，只是印在各種顏色的紙上，感覺應該是一間公司獨占市場）上寫了給你的優惠價就可以得到優惠，雖然那男人沒給我們傳單，經過我的提醒跟Dustin的溝通之後旅行公司的人還是給了我們優惠價。

After moving, we didn't waste time and went to check out the transportation to Monte Albán right away. We saw a purple hotel on the way and found out that it was super cheap (130 pesos for a double bed), so we decided that it be our first choice for tomorrow night. On the street a guy tried to sell us the package tour to Monte Albán and said that the transportation was 30 pesos each, 10 pesos cheaper than the price we were offered by a middle-aged guy at the plaza yesterday. We then went to the tourist agency office in the nearby fancy hotel. The normal price was 40 pesos, unless we got a flyer from the sales on the street with a discounted price. Although that man we met earlier didn't give us any flyer, after my reminder and Dustin's communication, they still offered us the discounted price.

大概坐了20分鐘的小巴來到一座山上，一角有一個博物館介紹該遺址的歷史，不過我們沒進去看，直接買了門票（51 pesos）就去參觀古蹟了。進去後發現有些英文和西文的導覽團正在介紹，一個講英文的墨西哥導覽充滿熱情，介紹地很不錯，我們就站在遠方偷聽他講故事…

After about 20 minutes of minivan ride, we arrived at a mountain. A museum that shows the history of the ruin site is in one corner. But we didn't go inside but bought the ticket (51 pesos) and went into the site right away. Some English and Spanish tours were nearby. A Mexican tourguide speaking English was very passionate about the history, so we listened to him from a distance for a while...

Monte Albán是兩千五百年前左右的Zapotec族統治的社經中心，這是足球場。

Monte Albán was the social and economic center of Zapotec people more than 2500 years ago. This is their soccer field.

玩了很多次的自動拍照功能終於拍到一張成功的團體照。

We triedmany times the automatic shooting function and finally got a successful team picture!

首先吸引我們目光的是一排男子石像，他們的表情都萬分痛苦。

At first we were drawn to a line of carved stones with naked guys on them, and they all looked very painful.

所以看了介紹以後才知道，原來這些石像是紀念當初被Zapotec人俘虜用以祭祀的鄰近部落首領，男性生殖器官都被切掉…

After reading the introduction we learned the reason why...

雖然有些石像隱約顯示沒有切除完全還看到汩汩流出的鮮血…

Some men looked like their important parts weren't cut off clearly and the blood was still dripping...

然後來到可怕的大台階…

And then it's the super scary stairs...

我完全是四肢並用爬上去的…下來的時候也是扶著右邊的欄杆慢慢一格一格抖下來…

I had to literally use my four limbs to "climb" up... And on the way down I had to hold onto the handrail on the right and shiver my way down.

明明墨西哥人這麼矮（走在人群中我時常覺得高人一等），怎麼會建這麼每一階都這麼高階數又這麼多的樓梯？Dustin說這是祭祀用地，所以也不是天天要爬上來，台階這麼高的用意可能是為了一面爬一面表達對神明的敬意，我覺得相當有道理。

I wondered why would Zapotec people build such a long staircase with each stair so tall? Mexicans are short people (I often felt I wasn't short at all walking among them). Dustin said it was a special place for ritualistic worshipping purpose, so they didn't need to climb up everyday. Such big stair made people need to crawl up, showing their respect for the deities. I find it quite make sense.

爬上了這麼艱難的台階，當然要來張團體照。

After our strenuous efforts, we had to have a group picture for sure.

幫我們照相的是追求個天人合一的大哥。

The dude who took the picture for us was basking in his meditation.

在上面眺望遺跡中央

Overlooking the ruin site from top.

外面山谷的風景。

What's down there in valleys.

這個建築讓我想起眷村。

This building reminded me of the military dependents villages (This is so difficult to phrase it in English. I can't find something equivalent at all.).

倒數28天～

Zombie Dustin

非常不怕觸霉頭的pose…

He wasn't afraid of incurring back luck at all...

歡迎光臨我家～

Bienvenidos a mi casa!

Zapotec人的日晷（我拍照的方向正好坐北朝南），可以清楚看到當時時間是下午一點半。

Zapotec people's sundial. I was facing the south, so we could tell clearly that it was 1:30pm.

我們在研究日晷的時候，碰到一個兜售小石頭的先生，每個石頭上刻了不同的面貌或是動物，大的10 pesos，小的5 pesos，我買了一個小型人臉，Dustin買了好幾個，其中一個當然是要送給他親愛的Shaggy。

When we were studying the sundial, a señor tried to sell us small stones carved into faces and animals. Big ones were 10 pesos each, and small 5. I bought a small one with funny face. Dustin bought several, and one was of course for his beloved Shaggy.

這天的植物特寫。

Plants shoots.

這種花竟然會有棉絮…

This kind of flower has cotton?

逛到這時候我們早已經充分消化早餐，肚仔餓得咕嚕咕嚕叫，一直在想等下回到市區要吃什麼大餐。回到市區後，看了廣場週邊的餐廳後我們又回到昨天Dustin喝啤酒的餐廳，因為他們的特餐最實惠，45 pesos包開胃菜、飲料、主菜、甜點。也就是照片裡最右邊那家（圖片取自http://www.tomzap.com/ozocalo.html
）。

At that time we already fully digested our breakfast and were starving. We kept thinking about what delicious meals we were going to get after we get back to downtown. After we got back to Zócalo, we looked at menus at different restaurants and decided to go back to where Dustin had the beer yesterday (the one on the very right in the picture), for they had the best deal, 45 pesos for an appetizer, a drink, a main dish, and dessert. (picture from http://www.tomzap.com/ozocalo.html)

我們的開胃湯。

Appetizer, soup. Why do they cut up the noodles?

Dustin的雞餐（當然一定會有豆泥）。

Dustin's chicken dish. (Of course there would be mashed beans.)

我點的牛肉餐，牛肉蠻有嚼勁的。

My beef dish. The beef was chewy.

當然一定要有不可或缺的tortillas…

Of course there would be the indispensable tortillas.

最後是讓我相當失望的甜點，香蕉切片淋上奶精裝在精緻的器皿裡就算甜點。

The dessert was quite disappointing, banana slices with cream put in an exquisite container...

不過後來吃多了所謂的餐後甜點，就會習慣性把期望值降低了，墨西哥人除了咖啡只是有咖啡顏色跟味道的水以外，甜點通常都只是水果加糖水，糕點類更是千萬不要期待，通常都又硬又乾，把所有蛋糕或酥餅都傳統麵包化…

However, after having had more desserts later, I lowered my expectation. Mexicans like to have watery coffee (just water with coffee's color and smell, not flavor...). Desserts usually refer to fruits with syrup. Don't ever expect their patry... They love it hard and tough and dry! Like the way they make their bread.

餐廳樓上的廁所有粉紅色的美國西部牛仔酒吧的門～

Upstairs the bathroom has pink Western cowboy bar's door.

這天下午悠閒地吃了午餐，然後把明信片拿出來寫一寫，觀察廣場四周往來的人，看誰先找到昨天看過的人。

We leisurely ate lunch and wrote some postcards while watching people, trying to see who spotted someone we had seen yesterday.

離開墨西哥那天我買了兩個吊床…一坐一臥。關於我愛上吊床的故事留待日後再說。

On the day we flew back to the US, I bought two hammocks, one for sitting and one for lying down. I'll tell the stories about me falling in love with hammocks later.

廣場週邊有不少街頭音樂家，還有兩、三個傢伙演奏木琴，技術相當不錯，後來突然聽到耳熟的音樂，Dustin立時拿相機去拍。

Around the plaza there were many street musicians. Two or three guys were playing marumba, and they were pretty good! When we heard a familiar melody, Dustin rushed to videotape them.

休息夠了離開餐廳後，Dustin碰到賣tamal的老婦人，所以雖然不餓卻不想錯過機會品嚐，就買了一個只要5 pesos的tamal。

When we were finally done with resting and left the restaurant, Dustin ran into an old lady selling tamales at 5 pesos each. Even though he wasn't hungry, he couldn't let the chance go by, so he bought one from her.

打開以後相當令人

After opening it, it was quite

只要5 pesos嘛所以還能期待什麼呢…

Well, it was only 5 pesos. What could you expect from it?

然後展開我們的散步拍照行程。我只能說我真是太喜歡那些鮮艷的顏色了。

Then we started to walk around aimlessly and took lots of pictures under the fantastic sunset lighting. What can I say? I can't love those bright colors enough!

我最鍾愛的街頭三連拍。

My favorite 3 snapshots.

斑駁的牆

The mottled wall.

Hola!

手織工藝品

Handmade rugs.

買了一杯我以為會喜歡的飲料…結果喝起來油吱吱又沒什麼味道…15 pesos。

I thought I'd like this drink, but it tasted greasy and not flavorful... 15 pesos.

然後我們發現了被夕陽黃金光照耀的教堂。

Then we ran into a church in the golden beam of the setting sun.

教堂外面

Outside golden church.

教堂裡面

Inside golden church

因為沒有宗教信仰，每次進各寺廟教堂都覺得差不多，所以我就沒有進去了，坐在外面等Dustin的時候被一個高中生Jesus搭訕，問我是不是日本人？說我很漂亮想幫我畫畫，趁他從書包裡拿畫本出來時我揮手叫Dustin過來，結果這位耶穌就開始打開話匣子，像嗑了藥一樣茫茫然說著美國有多糟糕，到處是暴力腐敗的警察，強勢的文化，入侵別人的國家摧毀別人的傳統…聊了一陣以後我們就開溜了。

I'm an athiest, and I'm not into visiting any temple or church. They are all the same to me. So I didn't go in and sat outside waiting for Dustin. A high school student named Jesus tried to talk to me and asked me if I was Japanese. I got that a lot. Either Mexicans only know about Japan among all the east Asian countries or I don't look like Chinese (which I'd take as a compliment). He said I was pretty and wanted to draw me. When he took out the drawing book from his bag, I waved at Dustin and signaled him to come. This Jesus started to talk on and on, as if he was high on weed or something, about how awful America was, full of violent and corrupt police everywhere and their culture was so aggressive that they invaded others' countries and destroyed others' traditions... We used an excuse to leave after a short while.

當代藝術館外面

Outside the contemporary museum.

Dustin肚子又餓了，街上的taco攤位紛紛出來，我們觀察了幾攤之後Dustin決定在這個家庭攤位消費。

Dustin was hungry again. We saw many taco stands on the streets now and made our observation before committing. Dustin decided to try this family taco stand.

他們有很酷的傳統砧板。

They have a very cool traditional cutting board.

五個tacos 25 pesos。

5 tacos for 25 pesos.

吃完還意猶未盡的Dustin決定再去光顧另一家被一大堆顧客包圍的taco攤位，挑戰一口氣吃10個tacos，據說超級英雄都能一口氣吃10個tacos。

Dustin wasn't satisfied with the 5 tacos, so he decided to buy some more from another taco stand surrounded by lots of people. He wanted to challenge 10 tacos because legend has it that superheros can eat 10 tacos a time.

結果挑戰失敗

But he failed.

回hostal的路上我買了一袋芒果，大概七、八個只要10 pesos，非常便宜，還有兩根熟透的香蕉2 pesos。回去hostal後，Dustin在陽台上讀Shaggy借他的書Nation（旅途的後半段我借來看了，好看到我決定自己去買一本），一面沉浸在市區的喧囂中。

On our way back to the hostal, I bought a bag of mangoes, 10 pesos for about 7~8 mangoes, very cheap, and two ripen bananas for 2 pesos. After we got back to the hostal, Dustin went to sit on the balcony reading Nation by Terry Pratchet, the book he borrowed from Shaggy (I borrowed the book during the latter half of the trip and decided that I've got to get one copy myself!), while being immersed in the noise of downtown.

晚上我洗過澡又被Dustin叫出去。

I went out with Dustin after shower.

我們走到廣場上待了好陣子，看小孩們玩水、嬉鬧，攤販努力賺錢，還有飄揚在夜空裡的墨西哥國旗。

We walked to the plaza and stayed there for quite a while, watching kids playing with water and each other, vendors earning their hard money, and the Mexican flag flying in the late night sky.