Teotihuacán

We heard about the Teotihuacanos at various points in our Maya trip, perhaps especially at Chichén Itzá and Palenque. Teotihuacán was abandoned in (possibly) the seventh century AD.

To get there, our tour van drove north to the state of México, through the poorer sections of the city, to the site of the pyramids of Teotihuacán. Our guide was named Mario, and there were 8 tourists on this expedition; others included people from Bolivia, Colombia, France, Great Britain, and a retired couple from Texas, celebrating their 45th anniversary. The woman from Texas had taught 3rd grade, and she chose as her one activity in Mexico City (en route to Acapulco) a visit to the pyramids, as she had taught about them for years. She was surprised to learn that the pyramids in the area were not Aztec.

Before visiting the anthropological site, we stopped at a gift store featuring obsidian. The main attraction for us, however, was a demonstration of some of the many uses of the agave plant (thatch, needle, thread, antiseptic, and source of fermented pulque), and an opportunity to sample four regional drinks: pulque, mexcal, tequila, and a liqueur made from agave and almonds.) These beverages fortified us for what lay ahead…… climbing the pyramids!

The entire site is enormous. In its heyday, the population of Teotihuacán (named by the Aztecs who found the site centuries later, and meaning “place of the gods”) may have been as large as 200,000, and was the seventh largest city in the world at the time. Our van and guide dropped us off close to the major pyramids. Our time allotted was only 5:00 to 6:15. Were we up to the task of climbing both pyramids, in this short time span, and in the heat of late afternoon? Happily, yes, thanks to our “training” on the MAA tour. We were so proud of ourselves! We did it! In fact, we completed both climbs and descents in just under an hour. The Pyramid of the Moon was unbelievably rocky at its peak; there was not even a square foot of level surface. The Pyramid of the Sun had 242 steps, and the temperature atop was 100 degrees. The pyramid faces west, where it was believed that the sun was transformed into a jaguar in order to pass nightly through the darkness of death.

(Our day had begun with a morning tour of Mexico City when our fellow tourists were a couple from Australia and a young man from Buenos Aires. The tour of the Pyramids included a stop at the Basilica of the Virgin of Guadelupe on our way back into the city.)

Mario, Linda at Teotihuacán.

View down the Avenue of the Dead of the Pyramid of the Moon at the far end of the Avenue, with the Pyramid of the Sun on the right, taken from near yet a third, smaller pyramid, called the Pyramid of Quetzalcóatl y Tlaloc, part of the area called the Citadel.

A view of the Pyramid of the Sun from atop the pyramid of the Moon..

On to the second page of photos from Teotihuacán, or back to the front page.