Mexico City - Finally to Teotihuacan

On Saturday, I met the group with which I would be travelling through Mexico. I could tell right off that this could be a fun group. It consists of people from several countries around the world and varies widely in age. As I write this, I’ve witnessed everybody drink at least a little bit after only two days, so I have high hopes. On our final day in Mexico City, we did a lot of sightseeing so I think I’ll just talk about that in this entry.

We hopped on a bus early in the morning with a local guide to visit the Basilica de Guadalupe. I’ve read that this is the holiest religious site in North America and it houses the shroud of Our Lady of Guadalupe. I won’t go into the whole story about the Mexican man who became a saint in 2002 (I think) but one of the miracles involved in his story (I believe from the 16^th century) involves the Virgin Mary casting her likeness onto a shroud that is displayed in the Basilica de Guadalupe. There also are several statues and posters of Pope John Paul II, who visited the Basilica in 2002.

Since it was Sunday when we visited, mass was being held at the site. There actually are two churches at the site, the original one which Mary requested to be built in the 16^th century and a more recent one which I believe dates back to the 1970s. I’m not really one who goes in for all of the religious history or mythology, depending on your views, but witnessing people to react to something that is supremely important to them is always a very humbling experience.

Later in the day, we went to Teotihuacan, which is outside of Mexico City, about an hour drive to the north. Teotihuacan is best known as the site of the Pyramid of the Sun and the Pyramid of the Moon. I found these to be much more interesting than the pyramids in Egypt that I visited around this time last year. One reason for this likely is that you are permitted to climb the Pyramid of the Sun, which we did. On a difficulty level, with ten being walking along the towers of the Great Wall of China, I’d place this around a six. It was a little steep, but not too bad. The lower part was probably more difficult than the higher part, but I made it to the top in about fifteen minutes and took some photos of the Teotihuacan site from there.

From the Pyramid of the Sun, we went to the Pyramid of the Moon. The Pyramid of the Moon is smaller than the Sun, but also impressive. Having climbed to the top of the Pyramid of the Sun, I didn’t feel the need to prove myself by climbing the Pyramid of the Moon, and you’re not allowed to climb to the top anyway, so I just stood at the base and marveled at the structure from there.

Finally, at night, we went back (for me) to Plaza Garibaldi-Mariachi in order to get some dinner and listen to mariachi music. The whole atmosphere was pretty mild, I suppose because it was a Sunday night, and the food was good enough. It’s one of those things that you have to do in Mexico City when you’re here, but I can’t say that it’s necessarily my cup of tea.

That’s pretty much it for what I did in Mexico City. I think I’ll have another entry about the food and some passing thoughts before moving on to writing about Puebla.