(If you're getting tired of Mexico photos, don't worry, I'm nearly done!)
We finished our trip in Mexico City. We decided to take a bus ride out to the amazing site at Teotihuacan. On the way there, we were serenaded by a pair of singing guitarists who were VERY good, and made the ride pass so much more quickly as we dragged our butts through Mexico City traffic:
We finished our trip in Mexico City. We decided to take a bus ride out to the amazing site at Teotihuacan. On the way there, we were serenaded by a pair of singing guitarists who were VERY good, and made the ride pass so much more quickly as we dragged our butts through Mexico City traffic:
And then we arrived...
Teotihuacan is a fantastic place, the remains of one of the largest pre-Columbian cities in the Americas. The oldest buildings on this site date back to approximately 200 BC, and the large Pyramid of the Sun was finished around 100 AD. This pyramid is the third-largest in the world . The above photo is a view of the Avenue of the Dead, which leads up to the Pyramid of the Sun on the right, and the Pyramid of the Moon at the end (in front of the mountain.)
We took a winding back path to the Pyramid of the Sun.
Cactus graffiti.
And I said to Gordon, "We're going to climb THAT?!"
The Pyramid of the Sun is very, very tall at something like 75 metres high. We climbed many steps to the top!
Me posing amongst the tourist rabble.
A view of the complex from the top of the Pyramid of the Sun.
No railings, no nothing. They would never allow this in Canada. It was fantastic. As my friend said, it's called "natural selection." I suspect that in Mexico, if you fall off a pyramid, you don't get to sue. You just get called "careless." Or loco. Personal responsibility, I love it! I do wonder if they'll ever stop you from climbing these things, the way they stopped letting people climb the rocks at Stonehenge (which I got to do when I was 12, before it was all roped off.)
One of the platforms.
A view of the Pyramid of the Moon from the top of the Pyramid of the Sun.
Walls in the ruins.
One of the fabulous murals on the site. It amazes me that any of these have survived intact! Accoring to Wikipedia, "The creation of murals, perhaps tens of thousands of murals, reached its height between 450 and 650 CE. The painters' artistry was unrivaled in Mesoamerica. It has been compared with those of painters in Renaissance Florence, Italy."
Tomorrow, more of Mexico City.
You were lucky to be able to climb to the top. I was at Chichenitza in the Yucatan 2 years ago and you can't climb the big pyramid on site. The stairs are roped off. Thank goodness you had a chance to climb all the way to the top.
ReplyDeleteYou brought back great memories for me!
You're killing me. I'm green with envy. Además, hablo el español bastante bien. Yo habría ido contigo como alguien que podría traducir para usted, y como un tutor personal. Todo que tuviste que hacer estaba me preguntaste ... y, por supuesto, pagas mi camino.
ReplyDeleteFabulous view!
ReplyDeleteI love seeing old ruined walls like that, years of patina making them even better. Thanks for the tour.
ReplyDeleteI also climbed to the top of Chichenitza several years back. It was spectacular. I bet you enjoyed every minute of it.
ReplyDeleteJames and Elisabeth, our first trip together as a couple was to Mexico in 1990, and we visited and climbed Chichenitza. I remember it scaring me more than Teotihuacan... I think the steps were steeper and more precarious! It just boggles my mind to think of the slave labour that built these pyramids, without modern construction equipment!
ReplyDeleteDarn, Ginny, that would have been a brilliant plan. (Thank God for Google Translator, otherwise I wouldn't have understood your offer, ha ha!)
ReplyDeleteFran, the age of those murals is astounding. It does make me wonder if anyone will be looking at any of my artwork in a thousand or two thousand years! Probably not!
ReplyDeleteHey, I think i dated that guy! hahahha ...kidding
ReplyDeleteBeautiful pics as usual. i really need to get there one of those days.