Undaunted Travelers: Teotihuacan - going back another 1300 years!

Teotihuacan (pronounced TEE-OH-TEE-WAH-KAHM) was established about 100 B.C. It was never actually inhabited by the Aztecs, but most of what we know about it came from them. At its height, Teotihuacan had a population of about 200,000 people (making it perhaps the largest metropolis in the world at that time).

Temple of the Moon at Teotihuacan

Marci and I met Hector at our hotel at about 7:50 (very early for Mexico!). He was wearing a sweater, scarf, and Yankees jacket - I was in shorts. We had our own driver (Jaime) and a large passenger van (which was very clean). We set off immediately as the ruins are forty miles northwest of Mexico City and it is good to beat the traffic AND the huge crowds from tour buses which arrive about 10:30 am.

The drive was...interesting. The outskirts of Mexico City are much more like the Mexico most Americans are familiar with from the border towns. Hector told us that they are built primarily by the people who live in them. The construction, although not very atheistic, is very sound and functional. They are built from cinder blocks and concrete.

There are literally hundreds of thousands of homes, stretching for miles.

As we got close to the ruins, the area was much more agricultural. However, not what we in the US are used to. Here is a cactus farm (cactus is common on salads in Mexico).

We arrived at the ruins before 9:00 am, which was fantastic. There were almost no visitors and the vendors (who saturate this site beyond belief) were not yet about for the day. We had the ruins mostly to ourselves for the first hour.

Vendor playing a flute

Marci climbing and climbing!

Marci resting - Temple of the Moon in background

Very cool!

And the view from the top was incredible. There are visible ruins all around the pyramids. Keep in mind, these were built before Christ and the primary ruin (the temple of the sun) is the third tallest pyramid in the world!

A balloon went by as we sat up on the top of the ancient world.

After visiting the Sun and Moon pyramid, we drove to the pyramid of Quetzalcoatl a God appearing as a feathered serpent. Behind the first pyramid, is a second which has many INCREDIBLE stone carvings. Here is just one:

I mean, these are no Anasazi, and Chaco is clearly more impressive (hmmm, perhaps I am a bit biased???). But, I can tell you exactly why this is a world heritage site. Anyone who loves history and Archeology HAS to make this a stop before they die.

We headed back towards Mexico City, but stopped at an important Catholic Convent, namely Acolman, on the way. Construction on this beautiful gem (in a far flung little known town) began about 1539. Think about that.

It was operated by Franciscan monks who were eager to convert the indigenous people. And it is impressive how they went about changing their standard practices - to more closely mirror those of the native population - so that they might accomplish thier goal.

The church has a pulpit that sits far above the outside seating area (similar to what the Indians would have sat upon for their own ceremonies) and is walled, similar to the holy areas of Meso America. Considering the spread of Catholicism throughout the Americas, these early evangelists get a bad rap!

After finishing there, we drove back to Mexico City and meandered through the Roma and Contessa neighborhoods. We will definitely make it back on our own Monday.

Thanks so much to Hector Baraza for the amazing gift he shared: knowledge - and himself!