The City of the Gods
November 3, 2015
Our tour guide met us at our hotel and we boarded a van that had four other tourists on the same tour. (There were two other couples, and it was crowded, but they were dropped off before our tour began).
Our first stop was at the Plaza of Garibaldi, yes the same one we looked for last night. Turns out, we did find it, but didn’t know it. We were there too early. The tour guide told us that every night, Mariachis perform here. So we made a mental note to return here later tonight.
From there, we were taken to Tepeyac hill, the place where the Lady Guadalupe was seen in 1531 AD.
The place has been preserved and represents three cultures – Ancient, religious and modern (note the newer building in the background). There we learned about the miracle of the shroud that proved that Mary had appeared there.
The tour continued to a souvenir shop that had replicas of the shroud.
The shroud was made out of cactus, which would normally break down after 20 years, but to date, the shroud has not disintegrated.
Across from the shop was the Basilica, where the actual shroud is kept. There we got a blessing from one of the priests. We entered the church which had not edifice and respectfully and saw many people attending.
Around the back, behind the sanctuary was the location of the shroud. I missed it the first time through and went back to check it out.
After our second look, we went on the road to Teotihuaca. There we stopped at another souvenir shop (a high class shop), that provided information about the area and the efficiency of the Teotihuacans who lived there. We were introduced to the Maguey (agave) plant that was used to produce pulque (a wine from the sap of the plant. The maguey had membrane that was used as paper and sometimes for cooking. Its strands were used as thread for fabric or rope, and its needles had its uses for sewing.
Our guide then showed us many stones that were used to create many of the beautiful artifacts found in the area. Although, it was mostly onyx, eventually many other rocks were brought in to add color to the creations.
We later gathered in the shop and were offered pulque, mescal and tequila to prepare us for the physical challenge of the pyramids. (Each was less than a half-shot). The drinks were quite tasty, and of course, they had bottles of each drink available for purchase.
I didn’t expect to get this much out of our tour and although it was designed to get us to open our wallets at the souvenir shops, it was very educational and interesting.
Now it was time for the physical challenge of the pyrimids.
There were three pyramids that surround the ruins of Teotihuaca: The sun pyramid (the largest), the moon pyramid and the temple of Quetzalcoatl (the smallest). We started at the temple but decided we weren’t in shape to climb even that one. We were told to head out to the sun pyramid where our tour guide van would be waiting.
The first part of the trek was easy, mostly flat. It was called the avenue of the dead, which may have been misnamed. Apparently, the Teotihuacán civilization disappeared and their city and pyramids where covered with dirt and plants by the time the Aztecs showed up. At first, it looked like a hilly area, but eventually it was discovered and a lot has been excavated. Archaeologists now question the original concept of the Avenue of the dead because no tombs have been found. The pyramids were apparently used as temples for worshipping the gods.
Once we got to the ruins, in order to continue forth, we had to scale the steep steps of several walls. This took its toll on us, but we (obviously) prevailed. One of the couples in our tour actually climbed to the top of one of the pyramids, but I was thankful we didn’t try, as we would have had a more difficult time to complete the trek.
Once all tour members arrived at the parking lot near the sun pyramid, our tour guide took us to a nice restaurant in a nearby village called San Francisco. There, the six of us spent time talking, joking and laughing. We exchanged email addresses and promised to keep in touch.
From left to right: Sergio and Camila from Chile, Joe and Wagner from Brazil, yours truly and Sandy from California.
Tequila and Cerveza and a buffet to end the tour.
After returning to our hotel, we rested, then journeyed out to La Plaza de Garibaldi.
Here we relaxed and listened to several mariachis perform. We walked around and eventually sat at one of the cantinas where we ordered drinks. Two mariachis approached and asked us if we wanted to hear a special song. I asked for “Cucurrucucu Paloma” but that was too hard, so we settled for “Ceilito Lindo” and “La Bamba” instead.
It was a fitting end to a long and eventful day.