Teotihuacan

An hour-long bus ride into the countryside on the outskirts of Mexico City brought us to the archaeological site of Teotihuacan. The site is dominated by the two massive pyramids -- one for the sun and the other for the moon.

Our local guide was not very good. He rambled without any structure or form to his presentation. So there was a lot of trivial information that we really couldn't process or retain. He also just wasn't very interesting to listen to.

What we did come away with is that these pyramids were built over a long span of time, beginning more than two millennia ago. Smaller pyramids were "buried" by larger and larger structures built on top of them.

The builders were a civilization that pre-dated the Aztecs, and when the Aztecs came here they found it abandoned. Nevertheless, the Aztecs made it their capital, expanded their empire, and grew the city to a population possibly as large as 100,000 before the Spaniards arrived.

Though there are no written records, it is clear that numerology was important to the builders, with the numbers four, five and 13 being significant. The pyramids are also sophisticated solar and lunar calendars in their alignment with the celestial movements.

After a couple hours of moseying through the expansive site, we went a very short distance for lunch and entertainment by a couple of young women who danced traditional dances in period costumes.

The ride back into the city was even longer due to traffic. This is a three-day holiday weekend in Mexico (the Mexican equivalent of "Flag Day"). So streets were closed for festivals. We were supposed to visit Zocalo, a temple site inside the city. But that will have to wait until tomorrow.

On our own, the two of us walked to Revolution Square where there was a tamale festival taking place. Some of the food looked and smelled really good, but street food is not a wise choice for tourists. We were reminded of that fact when we passed one stall where the vendor was mixing meat in a large bowl with his bare hands.

Late afternoon, our tour leader offered an optional experience of visiting a "pulque" bar. Pulque is a traditional beverage made from the agave plant, but is not distilled like tequila. The alcohol content is also much lower, only 2 or 3%. 

About 14 of our 34 group members took the offer. The pulque wasn't bad, and the cultural experience was priceless.