Amigos

Sadly, this has been our last day in Mexico City. There is so much to see here and we are loving our B&B so much that we are rather sorry to leave. Still we have made the most of our visit.

For this day, I had arranged for Amigo Tours to pick us up at our B&B at 9:00 for a day trip to Guadalupe and Teotihuacan. When the bus did not arrive at our hotel at exactly 9:00, Ernesto (one of the wonderful staff here) immediately called the company and inquired about what was going on. It seems as if they had forgotten us, but because of that timely phone call, the bus showed up some 20 minutes later and we were off. Our tour group for the day consisted of three Chileans, two Danes, one Frenchman, one German, and four Canadians (including us.) Our guide, Ivan, was a young man who possessed a great deal of knowledge about the sites we visited but lacked the warmth and charm of Hugo.

Tletelolco

First we went to Tlatelolco, known also as the Plaza de les Tres Culturas, an Aztec market place. There we saw evidence of three civilizations. Most notable were a sort of primitive sauna made by the Aztecs, and the Church of Santiago which was constructed by the Spanish conquerors mainly of stones from the Aztec buildings. The area is surrounded by modern apartment buildings which constitute the third culture. On the plaza itself is a commemorative stone to the 1000 Mexican students who were murdered in this spot just before the 1968 Olympics. I never knew such a travesty had occurred!

Old Shrine

Next, we made our way to the shrine of Guadalupe. There are, in fact, two shrines. The first one was built in the 19th century but it had to be abandoned for a period of time when the ground beneath it began to sink. (All of Mexico City is sinking by the way, so this did not come as a surprise to us). The new shrine is a 20th Century structure. At noon on a Monday, it was packed with pilgrims, many of whom had "walked" to the entrance on their knees.

Our third stop was at a tour bus standard "sell to the tourists" place. There, we saw how cactus can be used as paper, as a needle, and as thread. We were given samples of alcohol derived from the agave plant, Pulque and Mescal, and shown handicrafts made of obsidian and precious stones. Here, we also had a buffet lunch. It was either that or nothing.

We learn the wonders of the agave cactus

Finally, we arrived at the highlight of the day, Teotihuacan. It is a wonderful, extensive Aztec City which once housed some 200,000 people. We climbed as far as we were allowed on the Pyramid of the Moon at the south end of the city, and then we climbed all 280 steps to very top of the Pyramid of the Sun where we faced west to salute the gods and receive positive energy. It was an exhilarating experience! At first, I did not think I could make it to the top; either my legs or my vertigo would prevent me, but with Sue's encouragement, I got the the summit with no problems. I am so glad I did!

Standing in front of the Pyramid of the Moon

On top of the Pyramid of the Sun

After, we visited the museum on site, our bus load of amigos made our way back to the city. We said goodbye to our international companions and sat down to a glass of wine with our B&B amigos, Alan, Calvin and Soledad. For dinner, we headed out to Azul with even more amigos, Bev, Erin, Steve, Mary Ann and George, all friends from the West Coast of the US.

Dinner at Azul