The place where man met the Gods…

The clock said 5:22 when I woke up in the morning.  I got out of bed and Fritz asked “so what’s the plan?” “Well why don’t you hop in the shower and I will clean up a bit and then let’s get going.” I responded.  By 6:30 we were in the truck driving the truck, first stop coffee then to find a place to run Kona so he would be ok in the car with Haole for a few hours. 

The car thermometer read 45 degrees quite a change from the day before, but not surprising as we were at 7,800 feet.  We pulled into the hotel at about 1:30 and it felt like it was about 90.  I had picked the hotel on line from two that said they accepted dogs, but when I walked in the lobby I had my doubts that they would be ok with our monsters.  I politely asked the woman at the front desk if they had a room, and explained that I had read on the internet that they took dogs.  She checked with the manager who wasn’t quite convinced, I explained that our dogs were quite comfortable in hotels after traveling for three plus weeks, and that they had their own beds and that they would always be with us.  He finally said ok, but then when I walked through the lobby with the dogs in hand the expressions on their faces told me immediately that they were regretting their decision.  The situation came to a bit of a head when the manager came to our room to make sure that the dogs wouldn’t bark.  I explained that they were very sweet and we even took Haole down to meet everyone where he did his best to charm them all, and that was all it took, a couple minutes with our vicious pit bull snuggles and they were ok with the dogs staying.

By 7:00 in the morning we were there, waiting with the other early cars and buses.  A few minutes later I pointed at the distance and asked Fritz what he thought? “Wow” was all he could say.  We were at Teotihuacán, the ancient pyramids outside of Mexico City.  If you have visited Egypt or Peru or even Atitlan, then these pyramids may not be too impressive, but the first time you see a pyramid built before the birth of Christ it is a special experience.

The city was built sometime between 650 and 100 BC, by people now unknown.  There are three main pyramids or temples, Quetzalcoatl, the temple to the Sun and the temple to the moon.  They are separated by the Avenue of the Dead.  The site is over 3 km long and it is impressive to say the least.  First we climbed the smallest temple, Quetzalcoatl, and then we walked the 3 KM to the Temple of the Moon, passing by the 217 foot Temple to the Sun on the way.   We climbed the Temple of the Moon but weren’t sure we would do the Temple of the Sun.   After a discussion about how it would be a waste to come all the way to Teotihuacán and not make the climb we decided to do it.  All I can say is that the views were amazing and I wish they sold shirts that said “I climbed the Temple of the Sun and survived” because both Fritz and I would have bought one. In the 20 years since I last visited the temples there have been quite a few changes, one of the best is that they now have hand rails, so it wasn’t nearly as scary.

 

When we got back to the hotel it was time for a nap and shower.  As I was getting out of the shower my head still wrapped in a towel Fritz came in and said “Quick get the camera and check this out”.  I went to our balcony and there below us were Aztec dancer’s putting on a show for us.  The youngest one couldn’t be more than 4 and was absolutely precious.