One last day in Mexico, spent around the ancient Zapotec ruins of Yagul and Mitla. The sun rose with a golden flourish, and we enjoyed the warmth of the day, knowing what awaits us when we head north again tomorrow. It's going to be hard to go back to those below-freezing temperatures!
Golden fields surround the ruins at Yagul, full of dried flower heads -- and hundreds of birds feasting on the seeds.
A Curve-billed Thrasher surveys its domain from a convenient candelabra cactus arm.
The old city of Mitla was known as the City of Death. It was where the highest ranking retired priests and rulers spent their final years. Above is one of the palaces, once home to a retired ruler. The stonemasonry is mind-boggling: tens of thousands of individually carved stones, carefully placed together -- without mortar -- and still standing hundreds of years later. Interesting that newer buildings all throughout Oaxaca have fallen in earthquakes while this one still looks relatively untouched.
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