A Magical Mystery Tour You Must Try - First time visiting Oaxaca. Our tour was July 10. Our experience was exceptional. Francisco was our driver and guide. He quickly became part of our family. Francisco was a wealth of information. While he is fluent in Spanish, he is able to communicate in English. This was the LONGEST tour, 12-13 hours, but the most rewarding. Worth every peso! This tour will take you deep into the Oaxacan Sierra, into the small towns of San Pablo Guelatao, Ixtlan de Juarez, and Capulalpam De Mendez. Driving up the mountain builds up an appetite; our first stop was Paraiso Los Encinos Restaurant. The service, atmosphere and food were top notch. The restaurant and the gallery are owned by the Gomez family. A member of the Gomez family provided a demonstration of how he creates a Molinillo, a wooden whisk used for mixing and frothing hot drinks. He turned a piece a wood into a Molinillo using his artistic, craftsman skill in 8 minutes, amazing to see it happen. Mr. Gomez, explained that this talents has been passed on for generations. With our bellies full we continued our drive up the mountain to our first town, San Pablo Guelatao, all the while enjoying the scenic mountain view. San Pablo Guelatao is the birthplace of President Benito Juarez, the first Zapotec indigenous president of Mexico. Not knowing Mexican history, it was fascinating to learn how this man from a small mountain town became the leader of a country. When you calculate the distance to the nearest city and see the size of this town, it is astonishing to learn how he rose to his accomplishments. We visited President Juarez birth place and learned about his family. A beautiful location for pictures. Our next location is not for the faint of heart. We drove to the Mirador de Cristal, one of the highest observation decks in Latin America (200m/657ft), not higher than the Skywalk at the Grand Canyon in AZ. To get to this location we drove by the town of Ixtlan de Juarez, literally a small quaint town. I would have loved to have walked the town but there isn’t much to see. The Mirador de Cristal, provides a breath take panoramic view. You can enjoy the beauty of the mountains and valleys and the town below, Ixtan de Juarez. Yes, I walked the walk, but chicken in me held on to the rails for dear life. It gets a little shaky at the middle when wind blows. After admiring the vista we drove to Capulalpam De Mendez, once again a small quaint town. Capulalpam is known as Oaxaca’s first “Pueblo Magico” – Magical town. We stopped at a beautiful 16th century church which houses 14 handcarved religious altarpieces which were brought to this location for safe keeping during a war. Capulalpam is mostly known for its traditional indigenous healers who follow medicinal traditions and plants to heal. This was truly a magical mystery tour. No drugs were involved. This was a spiritual reflective moment which is meant to reinvigorate the energy of your heart, your mind, and your soul. It started with a cleansing. A mind blowing experience that left me speechless. The healer pointed out incidents occurring in my life that no stranger would have known. She provided me with recommendations on how to heal myself. Next was a relaxing massage which, I believe, is used to remove the bad energy that affects your health. Lastly, the Temezcal. This is a sweat lodge ceremony used for healing and spiritual purification. We had the rare opportunity to experience all three services, 3 hours total. I recommend bringing swimming attire and a small hand towel for the Temezcal. There are no showers. Per Francisco, usually the groups are limited to 2 services. If I may provide a suggestion, for sure do the cleansing, then the massage or Temezcal is up to your comfort level. Francisco, you provided the best tour of my entire Oaxacan vacation. We appreciate your patience and your wealth of information. Thank you for kindness, your laughter, and most importantly keeping your eyes on the road driving up and down the mountain. (keeping us safe) Would you like to try something different? Then make sure that you ask for Francisco.

Loved the scenery, loved... - Loved the scenery, loved all the places we visited, loved the food, the tour guide was very informative. We learned a lot about the places we visited. However the vehicle in which we traveled was extremely small and very uncomfortable for the 6 people plus the driver. I also understand that nothing was included, but water should be a must have.