How amazing is this rainbow of wool???

We spent lots of time wandering around Teotitlan. It's a pretty sleepy town. Unfortunately we visited on the only day of the week when the cultural center is closed which we hear is pretty cool. Shoot, next time! We bought Nieves, which is like ice cream made with water. It's pretty yummy. We really enjoyed our time here and found ourselves wondering if we should have stayed overnight? The church was so adorable and the tile floor was something I admired. One day, I want to have patterned tile somewhere in my house even if it goes out of style.

Yesterday we went to Teotitlan De Valle and checked out a women's weaving co-op, Vida Nueva, that our friend recommended. Traditionally weaving was done by men only. Now weaving as extended to women as well. Vida Nueva includes 15 women who each have a loom in their home. From what I could understand, most of the women are single and some have children. The mission of Vida Nueva is to create economic opportunities for women, serve their community, and pursue their Zapotec heritage. Each year, Vida Nueva does a service project for the community. This was a really neat co-op to learn about! Our guide, Silvia, taught us about the dyes, which was so exciting. Just by adding a drop of lime juice, some of the dyes change immediately. It's like a science experiment or magic! We were all amazed and very interested. Silvia's uncle was working on a rug and he so generously let Holly and Greta give it a go. We joked that we would pick them up later. We learned about the significance of the different designs and we browsed the selection of rugs they had for sale and bought one. Silvia gave us a card with information about the woman who made our rug. We had such a lovely time! Holly and Greta are excited to get home and try the little loom I have. Before we came to Mexico, I found a tutorial for weaving with straws that I'm excited to try out with the girls!

Just had to share this truck filled with pineapples!

After the Jaguar Zoo, we went to Mitla. Mitla was such a pretty little town! We ate a really yummy lunch (I tried a mole and liked it!) and then we walked through a market and looked at the ruins of Mitla. The Mitla ruins are unique in that they have many mosaics made without mortars. Unfortunately when the conquistadores arrived, the dismantled much of Mitla and used it to build a Catholic church. At one point, it seems as though Mitla was a colorful, vibrant and incredible place! We really enjoyed walking through the ruins. They are of a different era than Monte Albán and if you could only visit one of the ruins, I would choose Monte Albán, however they were still very fascinating. I would love to learn more about these places! And I would be thrilled to read historic novels that take place in these areas.