Echoes of the Past - Teotihuacan

We never really planned to do a day excursion from Mexico City, but some of our friends convinced Ron that Teotihuacan was well worth a visit. Happily, our hotel offered a tour to that exact spot, with a stop at the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe, as well.(It pays to be flexible when travelling.) There are a myriad of ways to get there, private tour, multi-guest day tour, by bus, by cab - choose your option. We were completely lazy and took the hotels offering for a private tour, lunch not included. (This is sad for us, but as we only had a short amount of time, we didn't want to miss the stunning breakfast that our hotel offered, which would have been a requirement for a multi-guest tour that met at a major local hotel. Missing one meal is sad, two is just too much to ask, especially when it's included in the price of our room.)

Rogelio, Teddy and I, post adventure

The site, itself, is quite amazing. The location is situated on a flat, bowl-like plain, surrounded by mountains. (Much like Cuenca, actually, but flatter.) Then suddenly, out of the ground, rise three larger pyramids, surrounded by smaller edifices, clustered like baby chicks around a hen. Who built them? Nobody is quite sure, but the current thinking is that they were constructed by two groups who met in the plains, due to environmental changes or natural disaster. These two groups had similar belief structures and cooperated to build the "pyramids". The thing that I found strangest, was that the insides are basically precursors to the final product, sort of like Russian nesting dolls. There aren't really any chambers, they aren't burial mounds or places to hide secret rituals. Nope, for the most part they're solid inside. Some of the smaller buildings are considered to be the seat of government for the area and a market place, or the governing body that oversaw trade in the region. This idea is mostly due to the fact that images of various products were found on individual buildings.

Sun (Eagle) Pyramid - centre
Moon (Jaguar) Pyramid - left
Citadel - foreground

Pyramid of the Sun (left) and Avenida de los Muertos

When the Aztecs rolled through, they thought it was a burial site and left the whole thing unmolested. The main thoroughfare (avenida de los muertos or Avenue of the Dead) got it's name from them, because of this erroneous belief.  We aren't the only people who didn't know what was going on back then. The two main pyramids are know as the pyramid of the Sun and pyramid of the Moon. Conversely, they are also temples to the Eagle (representing day and its power) and temple of the Jaguar (representing the power of the night0>

Sun pyramid (or Eagle pyramid)

Moon Pyramid (Jaguar Temple)

Towards the end of this harmonic joint venture, things seem to have gotten tense. The citadel, (named because it's shaped like a military fort) indicates that there was a challenge to the ruling class and their deities. The pyramid was just a pile of jumbled up rocks with no gods like Quetzalcoatl (the serpent god), or Tlaloc (god of the rain). It's lacking in animal gods as well, no jaguar or eagle, no owls or pumas. 

The top portion shows the original pyramid

Jaguar and Eagle temple from the citadel

Kid hanging out with his family, rocking the skull mask

That is until a dog disappeared into a hole at the top of the pyramid. When he reappeared, sometime later in the day, a curiosity was born. (Humans are funny that way.) Under the neat pile of practical stones was another pyramid. Not surprising really, as the others were similar, but this smaller pyramid was bedecked with the old gods. They may never have seen the light of day again, but for a clumsy dog. 

We then stopped for a traditional lunch at a small restaurant on the outskirts of the historic site. I had a delightful amaranth patty, served with salad and a salsa on the side that was stuff of the gods. We started with soup and Ron opted for a cacti fruit dessert that was also amazingly delicious. Mexicans know their sauces. We still haven't found a bad meal. 

Government project offering free house paint

There were lots of takers!

After the refreshment of a good lunch, we went to the Basilica. The old basilica could only house a few thousand faithful, but the new, modern Basilica can hold services with 12,000 in attendance. Pope John Paul II, seems to have an almost cult status there. The site has a rich religious history and was chosen by the Virgin Mary, herself. She appeared to
Juan Diego Cuauhtlatoatzin, insisting that a church had to be built on the site and he was to go to the Bishop immediately. The Bishop was dubious, to say the least and it wasn't until Juan Diego brought flowers from the barren hilltop and presented them to the Bishop, exposing an image of the Virgin on his poncho that the Bishop believed and did as he was told. (Mary had to appear to Juan Diego four times, before the Bishop was convinced.

Old basilica, atilt, but safe

And open to the public

Interior of the new basilica

One of the ancillary chapels

The graven image is hung for all to view in a nifty section that run under the altar, by means of small moving sidewalk. All terribly high tech. Mass is held every hour between 7am and 8pm daily. (Except during the festival of the Virgin on October 12.) This is the most visited Christian site in the world.

Jan Diego's poncho

It was an interesting day filled with contrasting religious beliefs and iconography. We were blessed with sun, good food and an experienced guide. It was well worth the extra day.

Oh So Quaint San Miguel de Allende

If you love winding little streets, with random paint colours and shopping galore, San Miguel de Allende just might be the place for you. (Especially if you have a good healthy budget for real estate (rental or otherwise) or are lucky enough to get a home exchange, like us.)

If you like lots of restaurants in a compact area, SMA might just be for you, too. 

If you're entranced by bougainvillea,  love church steeples and a slower place of life, you might have found your Utopia.

 

What's my point? San Miguel de Allende has a little something for everyone. There's no shortage of picturesque alleys, gardens or even dilapidated  facades, mysterious terrazzos in sun soaked court yards. Even the roads speak of history, with rounded river rock, instead of asphalt or even cobble stones.

This doesn't even touch on the artwork, for which San Miguel de Allende is best known for. We've been resisting the lure of so many galleries, trying to be mindful of banal things like budgets and debt. We'll leave that to another blog and we will be strong. (Seriously, we have an art addiction that needs a 12 step program...not like Mr. Slim, from our Mexico City blog, of course, but a love of beautiful things, none the less.)

Sure, there's a lot of white folks. And tons of real estate offices. All that doesn't take away the lure of those little streets with who-knows-what behind the high walls or ornate fences.
Nor can it take away from the friendly locals who are more than wiling to offer up a buen dia or hola, to make your day a little friendlier. 

 

You just have to wander to the slight outskirts of the town to find where the locals live. That's not to say that there aren't some really well heeled Mexicans living in sprawling villas, to be sure, but I like to see where the real people live. You know, the ones that have to work really hard, every day, to put food on the table. The ones who know how to fix their car in their front yard and have chickens and children playing around the herb garden. You might even find a goose or two.

We don't know what it is or why it's there

There's a beautiful botanic garden on the edge of the city, called El Charco del Ingenio. So worth a visit for the amazing cacti, indigenous plants, bugs and birds. We spent a good part of the day there, just wandering the paths and enjoying the tranquility.

We haven't really even touched on the markets yet, only stumbling across one, accidentally, during our wandering. That might have to be a whole other post. 

So, is San Miguel de Allende worth a visit? Absolutely. The streets are buzzing, even on a Sunday and there's a surprise around every corner.

For the Love of CDMX (Mexico City)

You hear a lot of things about Mexico, some good, some bad and some that are the stuff of nightmares. We mostly take most of that kind of information with a grain of salt, especially having visited South America, which also has a wild reputation that is rarely lived up to.

All that being said, I was a bit leery of running around a city as large and populated as Mexico City. If you include the environs, there are almost 22 million souls that call CDMX home. (Short for Ciudad de Mexico, if you're curious. This is a fairly new moniker, as the government has rezoned the entire city and renamed the city centre.) Perhaps I've watched too many movies with kidnappings and ridiculous Latino stereotypes.

We love Mexico City. We love the people, the food, the huge green spaces and museums. There are art galleries and promenades, Spanish Colonial and modern architecture to marvel at. This city can hold its head high against any of the best cities in the world. If you come to CDMX for the food, you may never leave. It didn't seem to matter whether we were at a high end restaurant or a taqueria on the roadside. These folks know food and flavours in a way that I find inexplicable. Nothing is hot, unless you want it to be.That doesn't mean that your taste buds won't thank you for the adventure. The video has a bit of fun music, so turn up the volume.

We stayed at a lovely boutique B&B called Casa Comtesse, in the barrio of La Condesa. It's a beautiful old building close to many amenities, with charming staff and restful terraces. The price was also right, especially considering it included breakfast as it came in around $120 Canadian. For a major city in a convenient area, that's pretty good in our books. What threw it over the top were the breakfasts. They don't just offer breads, cereal and fruit, no. Everyday they have a new local specialty along with those, to get you through your busy day of touristing. (Yes, I've made that a verb.) Our first morning we had a slow cooked pork in a delicious warm salsa of mild chili peppers. (I never determined the type, I slipped into a food coma, not long afterwards and never thought to ask.) We had Mexican style eggs another morning, tuna ceviche on the third and finished up with a crispy torta of vegetables, served in a cream sauce and topped with a poached egg. The breakfasts lasted us well into the afternoon, an experience we've never had except for eating Ron's most delicious oatmeal.  If you have the opportunity, stay at this little gem. We can't recommend it enough.   

Our first day, a Sunday, was spent enjoying Parque Chapultepec, a large green space (bigger then Central Park in NYC) that also houses the Modern Art Museum and the Tamayo museum. Both were happily free on Sunday, but they will confiscate your water bottle. We did a crap job at taking pictures of both the park and the galleries; apologies.

Huge installation in the Modern Art Gallery

We then proceeded to have a mindblowingly delicious late lunch at Contramar. Go there, bring lots of money and die happy. (Of course, we have pictures of that, most of the dishes were half eaten before we remembered to take photos!)
 

Margaritas and salsa verde

Trout sashimi

Pulpo Gallega (octopus with potates)

Ensalate verde (green salad)

Tostadas de atun (Tuna on crisp tortillas)

Strawberry meringue cake

Cafe especial (specialty coffee) with mezcal

Day two had us on the hop on/hop off tourist bus. (We opted for Turibus, as it had a stop fairly close to the hotel.) It took us through the heart of the city to the old town, where we disembarked and enjoyed the vibrant city life of the downtown core. Go up el Torre Latinamerino to really understand how big this city is and to cherry pick some sights. We ate churros at the original El Moro. They've been in the churro making business since 1935, so it was well worth a stop, even though our breakfast was not yet digested.
 

Lots of art in the streets

Impressive architecture

 

Green spaces galore

Endless city

 

The most colour Ron's worn in years

We rejoined the bus tour and headed off to El Polanco (the shishi district) that is home to the Soumaya Museum. It's a private museum that houses things of interest for the Slim family. Carlos Slim, the founder, offers up this experience without fee. They will confiscate your umbrella AND water bottle, but they gave us back the umbrella when we left. The top floor was our favourite, with tons of Rodin (originals and replicas) and original art from many of the great painters (Senor Slim seems to have a passion for Degas). There was also a large pocket watch collection, examples of various types of Mexican currency, a carved ivory display. The detail was truly mind boggling, but it mostly made me sad. (All I could see was dead elephants.) The outside of the building is pretty spectacular and worth a visit just for the architecture.

Our third day took us out to Teotihuacan, a site with pyramids (non-Mayan or Aztec) and the Basilica of Guadalupe, but I think that's for another blog.

We really didn't spend enough time in the city. I can't begin to estimate the amount of time required to enjoy all that it has to offer. If you come, plan to stay at least a week, if not two. You still won't get to see everything, but you should be able to make a pretty good dent in what CDMX has to offer.