Teotihuacan

Saturday, July 30th, Justin, Olivia and I set out for our adventure to Teotihuacan. There were two young ladies, Amanda and Courtney, from University of Texas - Dallas visting Mexico City doing research that Justin knew who came too. We met up with them early in the morning at the Metro Baldaras station. We rode the train all the way to the end of Indios Verdes. There was suppose to be a bus terminal there but we didn't find it. We ended up taking one of the collectivios for $35 pesos. It was uncomfortable, bumpy and the seat I was sitting in had very little leg room but we made it there safely. It took over an hour because it made stops for people to get off/on. You can take a direct route which is much faster from the bus terminal for the same price.
The entrance fee was $51pesos. Olivia was free. She was also free for the bus too. Gotta love free. We walked down a pathway and noticed some Voladores about to perform. I have never seen them before but have read about them.
Voladores consist of five men who climb to the top of a pole often reaching 100ft. While one volador plays a drum and a reed-pipe on a tiny platform at the top, the other four "fly" to the ground suspended on ropes circling the pole 13 times before reaching the ground.

The Voladores getting ready to perform. A man will walk around for tips before they start their performance.

Descending

Okay, onward to see the ruins. As usual with these places and just about anywhere in touristy spots, there are tons of people trying to sell you stuff. A simple, "No, gracias" usually suffices. You end up saying it a lot. Even Olivia started saying it which was kind of funny. Though honestly, this place wasn't near as bad as Chichen Itza (I went there in the summer of 2009). The day we went was cloudy and quite cool. We lucked out really because usually it's hella hot with the sun blaring down on you (so I've heard). It didn't rain much either, again we got lucky because it is the rainy season right now. We entered in Gate 1. There are three different entrances. After walking by some shops, the ruins appeared.

The Temple of Quetzalcoatl to the far right. We didn't actually get close to this one. I wish we had though because there are some cool masks that decorate the temple and a nice view of the Pyramid of the Sun.

Walking down the path towards the Avenue of the Dead.

Olivia and I in front of Avenue of the Dead.

Teotihuacan, meaning "the place where men become gods," dominated life in the region for 500 years before being destroyed and abandoned, around AD 650.The Avenue of the Dead was named by the Aztecs who mistakenly thought the buildings lining it were tombs. The Aztecs held this site sacred believing that giants had built it.  

One of the ruins lining the Avenue of the Dead.

Justin with Avenue of the Dead behind him.

The Pyramid of the Sun.

The Pyramid of the Sun ranks among the biggest in the world. It stands at 213ft. and consists of about 2.5 million tons of stone and earth.

The family in front of Pyramid of the Sun before our climb. Thanks to Courtney for taking this photo.

The starting point. Olivia was all about climbing those steps. She doesn't like to walk but she'll climb steps, go figure!

View after walking up the first tier of steps.

Olivia, Justin and Amanda climbing the first tier. There were a total of four sets of stairs.

View after second set of steps.

The Pyramid of the Moon off to the distance.

Finally reached the top. It didn't take too terribly long. It sprinkled off and on. Olivia was a real trooper.

After that, Olivia was ready for her peanut butter bread.

Walking down the steps. Courtney is holding Olivia's hand.



We noticed there was a trail that veered off from the main pathway so we decided to go that way. I wanted to get a side shot of the Pyramid of the Sun with one of my Polaroids that I brought. Yeah, I was lugging two Polaroid cameras, my digital, our lunch and 2 liters of water the entire time. Justin offered to carry it but I was like, keep an eye on Olivia and we're all good.

Shot of a cactus with tunas (prickly pears.)



What looked like a cactus fence.

The path we hiked along.

We ended up back on the main pathway. Here are some nuns who were there. I saw them walking down the Pyramid of the Sun while we were walking up. Nuns, they are hardcore.

Along the way to the Pyramid of the Moon, there is the Jaguar Mural.

The Pyramid of the Moon.

The Pyramid of the Moon is smaller than the Pyramid of the Sun but it rises just as high due to a difference in ground level. You get the best view of the site from here. It was a bit more difficult to climb due to the steps being so steep. The very top of it was closed off.

Before the climb.

Even after climbing the other pyramid, Olivia was still all about climbing stairs.

"Uh oh daddy, I don't know if I can make it." She did, of course, but like I said earlier the stairs were steeper so a harder climb. Notice the look on her face, pure determination.

The incredible view from the top. I was digging those clouds.

The other part of the pyramid that was closed off. Bummer really.

Time to bust out the Polaroid I shot earlier. This was the last of the 600 film I had that was manufactured by Polaroid. You can still get Polaroid film through http://the-impossible-project.com/ but it isn't the same. It is way more sensitive to the light. (Though they are working on this.) My film was getting super old anyway. It was about three years expired and producing faded out images. Glad to have shot the last photo at such a cool place.

I took a shot with my SX-70 that has TZ Artistic film. I'm happy with the actual Polaroid, it looks really old, but not so much with this shot. Still, thought I would show it anyway.



Olivia striking a pose.

We chilled up here for a while.

The climb back down.

Walking back towards the entrance we noticed these fire ants that were all over the site. They were intriguing.

It was a tiring adventure but well worth it. I was glad to finally go and it was fun hanging out with Courtney and Amanda. Olivia had a blast. She fell asleep on the way back. :) Sorry for the massive long post but I didn't want to write two separate blogs.

Next blog: Desierto de los Leones - pine tree forest in the mountains