El Mirador

The Guelaguetza Auditorio sits on a hill overlooking the city. Our apartment is at the foot of that hill, so a hike up is in scope, so long as we take it slowly. Our age aside, Oaxaca sits at an altitude of 5,100 feet, so climbing higher should not be undertaken lightly.

The Auditorio was actually built to house the annual Oaxaca-specific (because Oaxaca) Guelaguetza indigenous cultural festival that takes place in July, and has been celebrated since before the Spanish conquest. The rest of the year it’s used as a concert and performance venue. We missed a Mon Laferte concert there, and still feel the sting.

The Ascent

The purpose of the ascent wasn’t to achieve Mount Guelaguetza per se, but rather to reach the overlook, the mirador, just below it. We were promised a panoramic view of the city.

  • Setting off…
  • Nearing the top…
  • Looking back down

The Summit

  • The sweep of the valley, from left to right.
  • We were surprised to see smoke in the distance, until we figured out what it was.
  • Our apartment, with the Jardin Morelos just across from it.
  • A panoramic view.

The Descent

  • The Auditorio, up close and personal. Downhill from here…
  • We’d heard these described as the Steps of Doom. We took the route up the hill to avoid them, but they were fine on the way down.
    • marknevelow
      – Reply

      Sadly, that’s true. I check the mobile preview in WordPress before publishing, but it doesn’t render exactly the same as the published version.

      I see two potential solutions. 1) I could rein in my verbosity when it comes to captions; or 2) some things are just going to look better on a larger screen.

      I vote for 2). I’m just not keen on reining myself in.

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