Oaxaca - Monte Alban

Monte Alban in the center of a large valley which is surrounded by mountains. The valley is filled with the city of Oaxaca on the East of Alban and small villages interspersed on the West and to the South. But to be on the mountain is to be separate, above and refreshed from city and commerce. The quietness and calm of walking among the ruins or sitting under a tree between temples is accentuated by the knowledge that many years past, the place now peaceful was buzzing with construction noises, sounds of animals being sacrifice, ritual incantations, and the hum of commerce. There was a contrast between what my imagination filled in on the main plaza and what was not there on our sunny, cool breezy day. This allowed me to enjoy even more the emptiness of many years. Vacant temples, green on one or two sides with grasses and flowers; tumbled columns; carved cornerstones boasting of conquests, almost imperceptible after years of weather to clean them. All this reminded me of the temporariness of our "authorities" we humans have set up. What a relief to see one major power of old, swept clean and impotent. That is the way of Time and Creation, constantly, slowly, re-making human objects of pride.