Day 36 - Oaxaca

In 1519, a ruthless Spanish military leader named Hernan Cortes landed on the North East coast of modern Mexico with a big, hairy, audacious goal. He sought conquest of the 'New World' and to claim her gold for Spain. This latter-day Goldmember brought with him 550 men (well, Spaniards), horses, attack dogs and 1 cannon. His first act was to burn all the expeditions' ships. Clearly this pale, bearded Spaniard was no Len Shackleton.

At the time of his arrival, the population of Europe was 6 million. The total population of the lands he sought to conquer was over 25 million.

Despite the enormity of the task facing him, Cortes had three distinct advantages. The first was guns. The native tribes lived in a land plentiful in gold, but lacking steel. Their warriors fought only with spears and slings.

The second advantage was germs. The Spanish brought with them, flowing through their veins, all manner of virulent strains of European disease. These were diseases unknown to the New World, and they would wipe out an estimated 80% of the native population in the years to come.

The third, and perhaps most telling of all advantages, was Cortes himself. Moctezuma - the Emperor of the most powerful of the New World empires, the Aztecs – was a superstitious man. 1519 also happened to be the predicted date for the return of the god Quetzalcoatl, who scripture described as a pale, bearded figure (the Incas themselves were mostly hairless).

And so unfolded historys' greatest 'Sliding Doors' moment. Right place, right time (or wrong place, wrong time if you happened to be a native).

When Moctezuma was told that a pale, bearded figure, supported by legions of unknown creatures, had landed that fateful day, he chose not to send a legion to destroy them as they put feet on dry land. He did not ambush them whilst they slept their first, new night in the deep jungle. Instead, he sent an envoy to invite them to join him in his palace.

It was to be the mistake that defined the future of a continent. Cortes, as ruthless as ever, took the emperor hostage. Over the years that followed, he subjugated an entire continent, by sword, alliance and sheer will. He converted most to Catholicism. He enslaved those who failed to support him. He rewrote the history books, building Spanish churches atop existing native temples and ziggurats. All the gold the New World possessed became his. His role in history today is defined by his actions; the Conquistador.

The overriding flavor of Oaxaca (Wa-ha-ka) is history. History and food. We arrived here in the early morning, following a long, smelly, six-hour,overnight bus trip down from Mexico City. In the dawn light, the town looked like something from a spaghetti western. Lots of whitewashed, plastered walls fallen into disrepair and crumbling all around. The only thing which spoilt the image were the lush green mountains encircling the town.

A walk exposed the 'town' for what it really is, a city. Oaxaca the city is, fittingly, the capital of Oaxaca the region. It's a picture postcard place, a thin veneer of history covering what is a fairly modern city. It's very low-rise too. There are few buildings, if any, greater than two stories.

It's known throughout Mexico for it's culinary standing. Dishes such a dark, chocolaty mole, a light string cheese called quesillo, tequila-esque firewater mezcal and salted, lime crickets called chapulines are all celeberated as Oaxacan staples. In fact, you can't walk around a corner without spotting some small restaurant nestled in an inner courtyard, or up atop of a roof. It's a foodies dream and, for the record, the crickets simply taste salty.

After the 24/7 spin cycle of Mexico City, Oaxaca has been an opportunity to take it down a notch. We've wandered down her streets, marvelled at grand old stand-stone buildings and sauntered through the markets for which the city is also known. We took a particularly memorable, long, dusty trip into the mountains to an amazing place called Hierve el Agua. It's basically the site of hot (read, tepid) springs, where you can sit in a mineral-rich pool on the edge of a cliff and survey the valleys below. What makes it especially amazing is seeing where the calcium-rich waters have flowed down the rock, leaving an eerie, white ghost of a waterfall suspended motionless for eternity.

However, at the risk of continuing the history lesson and boring everyone, it's hard not to be in Oaxaca and soak up the past. It's everywhere. It's in the faces of the people, the food that comes across your table, the museums all around town and, most of all, the buildings.

In ancient times, the land around Oaxaca gave rise to one of the most potent empires of the time. The Zapotecas rose to prominence in 500AD. Later, they built their impressive capital, Monte Alban. This city, which ruled over the surrounding villages for over 1300 years before mysteriously being abandoned, is an amazing place. High on a hilltop, it truly shudders the mind to conceive of the effort that went into building the city, especially when you realise they sheered the top off a mountain to do it.

It makes your realise that for all our technology, our modern day smarts, maybe we're not as clever as we think (especially given recent economic events). After all, when was the last time you heard of a group of people clearing an entire mountaintop using only basic tools, before building a city that would endure for over 1300 years? It puts those of us who struggle to assemble Ikea furniture to shame.

You'll be happy to know the Spanish is coming on nicely, with only three glaring oversights. Rachel managed to wander around for most of our night out in Mexico City telling the many Mexican men she was chatting with I was her hermano (brother) rather than esposo (husband). It made for some odd faces when I gave her a kiss a bit later in the evening. Walking down the road in Oaxaca she rather abruptly told an old man selling native artwork no me gusta (I don't like it), rather than the more polite no quiero (I don't want it). However, the guff of the month probably goes to me for telling a chambermaid this pillow is my wife, rather than this pillow is my wife's.

Still, would have made for an interesting wedding.

All the Oaxaca snaps son aqui