OAXACA TOUR
Day of the Dead Festivities
October 28-November 3, 2008

I've been traveling to Oaxaca for over a decade now bringing small groups to the magical area for a taste of the best and most interesting food and markets in Mexico. For annual Day of the Dead festivities you'll savor Oaxaca's famous moles, the finest Mexican hot chocolate, delectable and unusual tamales, tortillas so delicious they'll make you weep!, ice cream and sorbet flavors enlivened by fresh tropical fruit, to sensational sauces and table salsas ground from fresh and dried chiles....in fact, the most comprehensive selection of chiles in the world. We'll taste everything.

Our small group of 10 food-loving participants will roam open-air markets for samples of the most important flavors in the food capital. We'll dine in casual and sophisticated restaurants, plus in a private home, to capture the spirit of the important holiday when Oaxaca's colonial city-center is stuffed with shops overflowing with world famous folk art. We'll take day trips in a comfortable van to nearby indigenous pueblos to meet artisans and shop in their studios for Oaxacan rugs and weavings in Teotitlan del Valle, carved and painted fanciful animals in San Martin Tilcajete and/or Arrozola, famous black pottery in San Bartolo Coyotepec, rustic painted clay figures at The Aguilar sisters workshop, and more. The quality of Oaxaca's folk art is world renowned and highly coveted by serious collectors.

We stay at one of Oaxaca's finest hotels, full of the comforts and luxuries you expect. Our 6-night adventure begins with orientation, a stroll through my favorite zócalo in Mexico and the first of our exciting Oaxacan meals together. All meals and snacks are included in the price of this tour. The next morning's walking tour of town introduces the city-center's lively market and adjoining food hall marketplace where we drink hot chocolate and eat specialty breads made for Day of the Dead before grinding our own chocolate at a nearby mill.

We'll hear experts speak about Day of the Dead traditions, visit the incomparable Zapotec ruins of Monte Alban and tour the Santo Domingo Cultural Center with its breathtaking ethnobotanical gardens. We'll visit the colorful Tlacolula marketplace and then enjoy a cooking class in a private home followed by a meal of holiday specialties including Zapotec tamales, visit a mezcal bodega and learn all about the mezcal mystique. No Day of the Dead tour to Oaxaca would be complete without a nighttime visit to a local cemetery for a once-in-a-lifetime magical experience. We'll see families congregate at gravesites to celebrate the special night, where young and old decorate graves with brightly colored flowers and thousands of candles to mark a bright, clear path for ancestors to return to visit. Food is served and plenty of mezcal is passed as part of the joyful welcome home event. Markets and folk art shops are bursting at the seams with festival items this time of year so plenty of time is set aside for shopping, or just relaxing by the pool, taking a siesta or sitting at a café on the zócalo watching Oaxaca go by.

$2400. Per person, based on double occupancy.
Six nights hotel, all meals, ground transportation, demos, tastings, tours and entrance fees are included in the price. Air travel and van/taxi to and from hotel not included.
¡SALUD!
Enjoy traveling with a small group of 10 participants.
Registration deadline is August 28, 2008

Space is limited. Reservations are accepted upon receipt of 50% tour cost deposit with a signed application for each participant. Total payment is due 60 days prior to the start of a specific trip.
Notification of cancellation must be received in writing from participant.
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