Early this morning, 7:30am, a taxi picked us up from Ruth and Marty's place, destination, Estacioón de Autobús del Norte. Once there, we got onto a bus that took us to Teotihuacán, the Aztec pyramids one hour north of Mexico City.
I've not done any research whatsoever on the Aztecs, so there's not much I can intelligently say about this ancient civilization. The only reference point I have is Copán, the Mayan ruins in Honduras that I visited in 2001. Both, the Aztec and the Mayan ruins were very impressive. In terms of size, I think the pyramids (and surrounding ruins) in Teotihuacán are larger than the structures I saw in Copán, and there are more of them. However, the location of Copán was more impressive. Teotihuacán is pretty much on flat ground, in a valley, surrounded by mountains in the distance. Copán, if I remember correctly, was on hilly - if not mountainous - terrain, with a breathtaking view of a valley below.
Having said that, today's visit was well worth it. Below are two pictures of the walkway leading to the ruins. In both pictures, the Pyramid of the Moon can be seen right in the middle of the picture. In the first picture, the Pyramid of the Sun is also visible. It's the dark, steep structure on the far right.
Having said that, today's visit was well worth it. Below are two pictures of the walkway leading to the ruins. In both pictures, the Pyramid of the Moon can be seen right in the middle of the picture. In the first picture, the Pyramid of the Sun is also visible. It's the dark, steep structure on the far right.
Here's a closer look at the Pyramid of the Sun, as we're approaching it. At this point we're still a good 100 meters away from it.
It was a hot day, probably about 30C, that's why the grass (above) is so yellow. Yes, it doesn't look like grass, but it is. All this sunshine also made us look for places of shade. Below, Sanjit and I share a little square of shade.
With or without shade, we were in a great mood.
Although I'm not sure what I did to deserve this.....
It was great exercise to climb the pyramids! I actually felt a little bit out of breath when I got to the top, I'm not sure if it was the effect of the altitude, or if I'm just out of shape.....
The view from Piramide del Sol! The first picture looks back to where we've come from, it overlooks the ground we walked. The second picture looks forward to the Pyramid of the Moon, where we were headed next. The third picture was taken by Jennifer with her camera. She caught me pondering the beauty of God's creation...
On our way to the "moon", time for a few poses. The first three pictures were taken in front of the "Sun", whereas the fourth was taken in front of the "Moon".
We also took time to observe some of the locals, particularly those whose livelihoods depends on visitors like us.
This guy was reading his Bible in the heat of the day!
These two kids called me "gringo", thinking that I wouldn't hear them. I turned around and looked at them sternly, and then they got all afraid. Then I smiled at them and asked "Como estan"? At first they were shocked, because they didn't think I'd speak Spanish. But then their shy smiles came out and they answered "Bien". They asked me to take a picture. I love how the boy on the left has his hands on his friend's shoulder. Too bad I didn't get the lighting right in the picture; their faces are dark and hidden.
Here's the view from the top of the Moon Pyramide. To the left is the Piramide del Sol, and straight ahead is the way that brought us here.
After we conquered both pyramids, we traced our way back to the place our trek had begun, and we ordered ourselves a well deserved lunch!
With or without shade, we were in a great mood.
Although I'm not sure what I did to deserve this.....
It was great exercise to climb the pyramids! I actually felt a little bit out of breath when I got to the top, I'm not sure if it was the effect of the altitude, or if I'm just out of shape.....
The view from Piramide del Sol! The first picture looks back to where we've come from, it overlooks the ground we walked. The second picture looks forward to the Pyramid of the Moon, where we were headed next. The third picture was taken by Jennifer with her camera. She caught me pondering the beauty of God's creation...
On our way to the "moon", time for a few poses. The first three pictures were taken in front of the "Sun", whereas the fourth was taken in front of the "Moon".
We also took time to observe some of the locals, particularly those whose livelihoods depends on visitors like us.
This guy was reading his Bible in the heat of the day!
These two kids called me "gringo", thinking that I wouldn't hear them. I turned around and looked at them sternly, and then they got all afraid. Then I smiled at them and asked "Como estan"? At first they were shocked, because they didn't think I'd speak Spanish. But then their shy smiles came out and they answered "Bien". They asked me to take a picture. I love how the boy on the left has his hands on his friend's shoulder. Too bad I didn't get the lighting right in the picture; their faces are dark and hidden.
Here's the view from the top of the Moon Pyramide. To the left is the Piramide del Sol, and straight ahead is the way that brought us here.
After we conquered both pyramids, we traced our way back to the place our trek had begun, and we ordered ourselves a well deserved lunch!
After an extended lunch, we took a few more pictures before catching a bus back to Mexico City.
We arrived back in Mexico City sooner than expected, partly because it took us less time than we thought to view the pyramids, and partly because travel time was shorter than expected.
Back at Ruth and Marty's, we showered, replenished fluids, and took a nap. This proved very helpful, as it gave us enough energy to go out for the evening. We decided to go to Coyoacán and do 2 things: 1- go to Centro Commercial de Coyoacán, a shopping mall; and 2- go to the Coyoacán Zócalo and see if we could find a place to go for dinner.
I wanted to go to the mall and see if I could find a Benetton store, and Jennifer wanted to go there to find a Mango store. Sanjit, well, as usual, he was totally flexible, didn't really have an opinion, and was happy to come along and have fun.
Our shopping experience was bitter for me, and sweet for Jennifer. There was a Benetton store, but the grand opening for the store is tomorrow! So, no luck for me. Jennifer, however, found her store, and bought herself a lovely black dress. I look forward to see her in it sometime soon.
And for dinner we found El Morral, a nice restaurant not too far from the Zócalo. It was not a busy night at all, in fact, we were the only ones in the restaurant, but we didn't mind, because it enabled the restaurant staff to give us all their attention. It didn't take long for them to realize we were visitors to the city (maybe me and my camera gave it away!), because they showed us historical pictures of the neighbourhood, as well as paintings by various Mexican artists.
Dinner at El Morral.
A painting by Diego Rivera.
Impression of the day: Oddly enough, on a day that we visited the ruins of Teotihuacán, it was the manager of El Morral restaurant that made an impression on me. I was struck by how proud he was of his city, his neighbourhood, his restaurant. This wasn't a cheesy pride, it was pride full of dignity. He invited us to look at each individual picture/painting on the walls of his restaurant, and then he proceeded to explain the context of each. It seems to me that the Mexican people are proud of their identity. I don't really sense an identity crisis in the people here, the way I sense it in us Canadians.
Back at Ruth and Marty's, we showered, replenished fluids, and took a nap. This proved very helpful, as it gave us enough energy to go out for the evening. We decided to go to Coyoacán and do 2 things: 1- go to Centro Commercial de Coyoacán, a shopping mall; and 2- go to the Coyoacán Zócalo and see if we could find a place to go for dinner.
I wanted to go to the mall and see if I could find a Benetton store, and Jennifer wanted to go there to find a Mango store. Sanjit, well, as usual, he was totally flexible, didn't really have an opinion, and was happy to come along and have fun.
Our shopping experience was bitter for me, and sweet for Jennifer. There was a Benetton store, but the grand opening for the store is tomorrow! So, no luck for me. Jennifer, however, found her store, and bought herself a lovely black dress. I look forward to see her in it sometime soon.
And for dinner we found El Morral, a nice restaurant not too far from the Zócalo. It was not a busy night at all, in fact, we were the only ones in the restaurant, but we didn't mind, because it enabled the restaurant staff to give us all their attention. It didn't take long for them to realize we were visitors to the city (maybe me and my camera gave it away!), because they showed us historical pictures of the neighbourhood, as well as paintings by various Mexican artists.
Dinner at El Morral.
A painting by Diego Rivera.
Impression of the day: Oddly enough, on a day that we visited the ruins of Teotihuacán, it was the manager of El Morral restaurant that made an impression on me. I was struck by how proud he was of his city, his neighbourhood, his restaurant. This wasn't a cheesy pride, it was pride full of dignity. He invited us to look at each individual picture/painting on the walls of his restaurant, and then he proceeded to explain the context of each. It seems to me that the Mexican people are proud of their identity. I don't really sense an identity crisis in the people here, the way I sense it in us Canadians.
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