Day 5
We hired a driver for the day, Enrique, who picked us up at Frondoso around 10AM and would drive us the 90 minutes outside the city to tour the ruins of Teotihuacan. Enrique dropped us off at the south entrance by the pyramid of Quetzcoatl, the rain God, and informed us he would wait on the opposite entrance by the entrance of the moon pyramid.
In short, Teotihuacan is absolutely amazing. As we learned at the museum the other day, this society thrived from about 200 B.C. to 300 A.D., roughly around the same time the Romans were dominating another part of the world. Though now a city of ruins comparable to Ostia Antica, it is much grander in scale, much more well preserved, and the three pyramids completely dominate not just the skyline but the entire experience. Quetzalcoatl is the smallest of the three and the only one you’re not allowed to climb. It does have some interesting carvings of snake & dragon heads that line the steps upwards and some other intricate designs that have survived the eons. We took our time exploring that area; Julia pointed out her fascination that so many of the structures are finely built and have such straight edges. You would expect their technology to result in more rounded and less refined architecture. But each edifice has perfectly defined 90 degree angles. Eventually, we worked our way up the Avenue of the Dead and detoured off the path to roam one isolated set of ruins where you can actually walk underneath and inside one of the buildings. It no longer has a roof of course but they cover the sky up well enough for the ancient environment to be sufficiently replicated.
Templo del Sol, the sun pyramid, is an absolute monster. Situated in the center of the city, it is the largest of the three, its size and grandeur positively intimidating. Just standing in front of it and knowing we would climb to the top, I felt the need to stretch the muscles in my legs. I counted the steps on the way up (248) and we were both surprised that it was easier than we had thought. We would ascend a level, then pause to catch our breath, and as I reached one level for a brief stop, I was shocked to learn I’d reached the top!
We sat at the top for a while and enjoyed the vast view before us. Juliana had given us a batch of chocolate cookie fingers so we indulged in a few of those. One guy asked Jules to take his picture and we struck up a conversation with him. Ted is from London and has been living in Sydney, Australia for the last five years. He’s been traveling around Mexico and has come back to the city from the Yucatan Peninsula but today is his last day in Mexico before flying out to London. Eventually, he’s meeting his girlfriend in Bangkok before heading back to Sydney. Ted’s a nice guy, 23, an aspiring actor, whose father is friends with the director of Serendipity (which coincidentally Julia’s cousin, Kate, was in… no, not Kate Beckinsale). Sure, contacts are key.
He walked down the pyramid with us and we made our way over to the moon pyramid together, Templo de la Luna. On the way, Ted and I each bought a T-shirt while Julia purchased a funky mask. Ted assisted with the haggling. We parted ways before Jules and I hiked up to the top to the final pyramid which offered the most breathtaking view of all of Teotihuacan. We both finished our rolls of film before heading back down and making our way towards the exit.
We found Enrique napping in the parking lot and he drove us to a restaurant on the perimeter if the site called La Gruta. La Gruta is a colorfully decorated establishment situated inside a large cave. It was stunning atmosphere with almost no customers, it being in the middle of the afternoon by this point. With the assistance of our friendly waiter, Rafael, we indulged. A shot of tequila & sangrita plus a beer each, a cactus soup and fried pork grinds with sweet onion and cheese in quacamole for appetizers, then a steak with French fries for Julia and a chicken stuffed with Mexican mushrooms, rice, and beans for me. Mid-way throughout, we shouted out “Change Plates!” and switched. The meal was delicious but it was the ambience that made it a truly unforgettable experience.
