Welcome to Mexico City, a vast, vibrant capital built on layers of deep and fascinating history.

In the afternoon, we will meet at our hotel in the historic center, just steps from the Zócalo. We take a gentle orientation walk through this UNESCO World Heritage site.

Our first stop is a renowned crafts museum, a beautiful introduction to Mexican artistry spanning centuries and regions. This visit sets the tone for our journey.

In the evening, we gather for a welcome dinner in a traditional Mexican restaurant surrounded by warmth, color. We share our first meal together and toast to the adventure ahead.

INCLUDED FOR THE DAY:

• Museum entry fee

• Welcome dinner

• Lodging in Mexico City

This morning, after breakfast, we explore the historic center on foot. We walk by baroque churches, artisan shops, and the grand Palacio de Bellas Artes with its art nouveau and art deco splendor.

We visit an important museum, housed in a stunning 16th-century hospital building with cloistered courtyards. This museum holds one of Latin America's most important collections of decorative arts: colonial-era textiles, intricate embroidered religious vestments, furniture inlaid with mother-of-pearl, Talavera ceramics, centuries of cultural exchange between Spain, Asia, and indigenous Mexico.

After lunch on a beautiful rooftop restaurant overlooking the city's rooftops, we gather on our hotel terrace. Here, we begin our first embroidery workshop.

Hands find their rhythm with needle and thread. Conversation flows naturally.

Dinner is on your own this evening, a great opportunity to explore the local restaurant scene.

INCLUDED FOR THE DAY:

• Breakfast at the hotel in Mexico City

• Museum visit

• Lunch

• Embroidery session and embroidery kit

• Lodging in Mexico City

After a leisurely breakfast, we check out and drive to the neighborhood of Roma, Mexico City's artistic heart for nearly a century. Today, its grand “casonas” house contemporary galleries, design studios, independent bookshops, and concept stores where young Mexican designers reimagine traditional crafts for modern life.

We visit select galleries showcasing textile art, ceramics, and contemporary interpretations of ancestral techniques, then enjoy lunch in a beautifully restored “casona” in a courtyard garden. We're off to the airport.

A short flight carries us south to Oaxaca City, beloved for its honey-colored stone buildings, cobblestone streets, vibrant markets, and living indigenous cultures.

Upon arrival, we transfer to our hotel in the historic center. The evening is quiet and unhurried, with dinner at the hotel, a gentle transition into Oaxaca's slower, more contemplative rhythm.

INCLUDED FOR THE DAY:

• Breakfast at the hotel in Mexico City

• Lunch

• All ground transportation

• Air transportation from Mexico City to Oaxaca City

• Dinner

• Lodging in Oaxaca City

Our first full Oaxacan morning begins after breakfast with a visit to the central market, the beating heart of the city, overflowing with color. We wander slowly, absorbing it all.

From the market, we move to the Textile Museum of Oaxaca, housed in a restored colonial building. This essential museum traces Oaxaca's extraordinary textile heritage from pre-Hispanic backstrap looms to contemporary innovations.

After lunch on one of the most picturesque terraces facing the Zócalo, where laurel trees provide shade and marimba music drifts through the air, we return to our hotel for our second embroidery workshop.

Today we focus on the beautiful, intricate floral patterns of San Antonino Castillo Velasco. Their embroidery is distinguished by its creation of the "immortal flower", the flor inmortal, also called hazme si puedes ("make me if you can"), a flower that never dies, much like memory itself. These elaborate thread flowers bloom across white cotton fabric in explosions of magenta, orange, yellow, and green.

This particular style holds special meaning for our guide Nadia, who wore these vibrant embroidered blouses throughout her childhood.

Dinner is at leisure, explore on your own or join fellow travelers for tlayudas, mole, or mezcal tasting.

INCLUDED FOR THE DAY:

• Breakfast at the hotel in Oaxaca City

• Museum visit

• Embroidery kit

• Lunch

• Lodging in Oaxaca City

An early breakfast, then we depart for the mountains of the Sierra de Juárez, where elevation rises and temperature drops as we climb toward the clouds.

Today offers a rare and unforgettable experience: a journey to one of only two remaining silk-producing villages in Oaxaca state.

Now, in this remote Zapotec community hidden among pine forests and mulberry groves, a cooperative of determined women is reviving this almost-lost art.

We spend the day with these remarkable women who harvest silk filament from cocoons, spin it into lustrous thread, weave it on backstrap looms, and dye it with plants gathered from the surrounding mountains. We're not observers here but participants, learning the silk dyeing process directly from the artisans, sharing techniques, stories, and a simple, delicious lunch together on their terrace.

This is a day of shared knowledge and genuine connection.

In the afternoon, Nadia will teach a contemporary embroidery class to the entire group, local women and travelers together, creating a unique moment of cultural exchange that honors both tradition and innovation.

We return to Oaxaca in the evening and enjoy dinner together at a lovely neighborhood restaurant, where we can reflect on the day's gifts.

INCLUDED FOR THE DAY:

• Breakfast at the hotel in Oaxaca City

• Transportation for the day

• Lunch

• Weaving demonstration and embroidery kit

• Dinner

• Lodging in Oaxaca City