The best time to visit Monte Alban is early, as close to opening time as possible as this place can get busy, and very hot! For the first couple of hours and in the cool of the morning (a 37 degree day), you pretty much have the place to yourself, as we did, aside from…

For lunch we stumbled upon an amazing restaurant specialising in local cuisine and, in particular, the art of the mole (not the furry kind). ‘Tierra Del Sol’ – if you ever find yourself in Oaxaca, then we can totally recommend two dishes that are so delicious we’ll be back for more, Tlayuda Oaxaqueña con Frijol…

We were woken at 6am (this time not by an earthquake) by the insistent pounding of drums and (I have to say this) the out-of-tune marching bands – at least we’re yet to detect any recognisable tune – it’s more of a free-for-all of jangling notes, played mainly with the object of making a lot…

We weren’t able to score a ticket to the main event – long sold out – so instead we happily sought out the electric vibe on the street. Tantalisingly, wherever we went you could hear the roar from the auditorium (a vast, open-sided tent set on a hill overlooking the city), further amplified by huge…

And finally, wandering through another excellent downtown market, we turned a corner and were met by dozens of heavily armed police and a blocked off street… all locals staring, pointing and happily making shooting / stabbing gestures, the police deadly serious, so no photos. I wanted to delve deeper, but Anthony dragged me sensibly away,…

Our wake-up call this morning was a 5.7 earthquake, first the city siren with calm evacuation instructions, then a few seconds of shaking. Nothing really to report home about beyond a brief adrenalin spike, but thank god for the house chihuahuas, Yoko and Michael (yes, both named after music world identities – Michael has a…