Today we slept in, for a total of 11 hours! We got up and had a leisurely breakfast in the bouganvilla courtyard, where there is an amazing buffet. Will had French toast and papaya (so good, he says), while the adults tasted the tamales and local cheeses.

 We then hired Arnold, a local guide, who drove Helen, Mike and us up to Monte Alban, at 6,500 feet in elevation a full 1,500 above the city on a hill the ancient Zapotecs flattened to build a vast ceremonial city. It was amazing. We descended into a tomb, saw the ruins of domestic homes under whose floors the families buried the bones of their family members, and a ceremonial ball court that Arnold said had to do with fertility. We think Arnold had his favorite theories about things, not necessarily based on archaeology, since it didn’t always jive with what we read in our guidebooks or on the explanatory signs along the route, but who knows?

 We walked among the remains of huge temple platforms once used for sacrifice and other ceremonies and the vast grounds that had amazing acoustics so the priests could address the assembled masses. The day was clear and the views of the valley were amazing. Arnold, who is 82, also told us about the mathematical and astronomical sophistication of the Zapotec people, who lived in the areas some 3,000 years ago, according to his reckoning, which we are not sure of. The ruins date from 500 B.C, so around the time of classical Greece, the Parthenon and Greek tragedy. We saw the glyphic writing, along with carvings in stone of contorted human figures called “Los Danzantes,” or the Dancers — though modern archeologists speculate they may be sacrifice victims or defeated kings. It was hot, and Will started to droop, but gutted it out for the full proverbial three-hour tour. Will also found a carving on a stair, which was his first major archaeological find!

We ended up back in town by 2:30, nearly the local time to have the main meal of the day. We ate at a lovely, relaxing restaurant called, appropriately, “Los Danzantes.”  It was a beautiful indoor courtyard, surrounded by soaring architectural stone walls that echoed the ruins we had just seen. Will insisted we sit near the large pool surrounded by artistically arranged mortars and pestles. We had good food – coconut shrimp for Will, which he snarfed – a few Coronas and wandered back to the hotel to relax before the first official event of the wedding, a cocktail party on a rooftop terrace overlooking the Cathedral of Santo Domingo and the sunset on the distant hills.

We met many of Elizabeth and Rob’s family and friends, and Will made two new buddies, 5- and 7-year-old brothers who are sons of the best man from London. Courtenay freaked that they would catapult off the terrace (there were no rails whatever) or plunge into a cactus or crash into the open fires where chefs were cooking tortillas. Fortunately, no one was hurt. Then home to our hotel, a block away, for baths and cuddles and the sound of guitar music from some evening party we hope ends soon! Good night all!