(Post 27 of 193 (yup, someone sponsored four more posts — thank you!). Thanks again to those who participated in the Fundrazr!)

After “resting” on Sunday, it was time for another Lani Tour! This time, I was going east out of the city and going to hit up the number one location outside of Oaxaca that I wanted to go to.

Monday was a holiday, so the city was quiet as I headed out around 8:45AM. I wanted a fortifying breakfast like I had on Saturday and I was running a little late, so I went to the same café on the Zócalo.

I once again was started with coffee and bolillos, but they only brought me butter and jam for them when I was hoping to have their smoky creamy salsa like I had on Saturday. I just had to ask and they were happy to oblige. 🙂 My plate of fruit was bigger than on Saturday!

Breakfast was chilaquiles, which is such an indulgence for me — totopos drowned in sauce and topped with cheese and cream! I have never made it through a full plate of chilaquiles.

The tour was slow to start. I had to wait on some benches in front of the cathedral and I watched vendors setting up. Many swept and mopped the immediate area around their stalls. Oaxaca seems so much cleaner than Mérida and business owners taking ownership of their little bit of the city might have an important role to play in that.

The tour finally got under way. We were a 100% Mexican group, so there was zero English all day. Unfortunately, I had a hard time with this guide’s accent and use of slang words, so I only got maybe 85% of what she said most of the time. More than enough to process the information, but it really felt like work.

Our first stop was El Árbol del Tule, the oldest and largest tree in Mexico.

This thing was amazing! It looks like a bunch of trees fused together, but DNA testing was done on the tree and confirmed that it is one individual! It would take 30 average adults holding hands to reach around it.

I really enjoyed our brief visit, marvelling at all the pretty flowers and topiaries as well.