A Missed Opportunity
We got into the car and headed north to the Teotihuacan Pyramids. On the way there were a few barbacoa pit stops. They all had the same big signs. We saw people eating in tents. I really wanted to go, but Lizy refused as she had to go to the bathroom and it was unclear what the bathroom situation was if people were eating in a tent.
It wasn’t worth a fight. We’d eat somewhere at the pyramids.
But when we got to the entrance of the pyramids there was no restuarant. So it goes.
Hats
There was however a lot of small stores selling hats, banking on the fact that tourists would misjudge how sunny it would be. The hat stores were packed with people. Everyone in our group was lured in by the popularity of hats and went to by hats. I didn’t think I needed a hat.
“You need a hat. I’m buying you one,” Lizy said to me.
I wasn’t losing another argument though. So I dug in my heels and didn’t wear a hat. I can’t lose every argument.
Touring Pyramids
We hired a guide for the site. He was engaging, but later we found out he incorrectly made us a reservation at a restuarant for after the tour. You gotta take the good with the bad.
Teotihuacan the city started to be built up around 200 BC and was deserted around 700 AD. It is the site of the largest pyramid in the Americas. The civilization that constructed the city dissolved with the city and the next big civilization in the Mexico Valley region was the Aztecs hundreds of years later. We don’t have any written records from the city or the civilization that constructed the city, but archeologists have pieced together a few things from the artifacts found in their cities.
The first pyramid we saw was called the Quatezocl Pyramid. It was partially destroyed. It’s most impressive feature were theses large animal heads carved on it’s sides. The heads were either a alligator or a feathered snake. Our guide said the snake represented the water cycle and the alligator represented the hilly landscape of the region.
Next we went into a small house that had been excavated. Lizy was especially impressed by an indoor shower fed by a small aqueduct.
Next we walked to the Temple of the Sun. This was the largest pyramid, not just in Teotihuacan, or even Mexico, but in all of the Americas. You used to be able to climb the steps to the top, but archeologists had determined the stress of the foot traffic had damaged the pyramid, so now only the watchmen got to climb to the top.
It’s cool that he gets to go to the top. It’s probably awesome the first day. You see the views. You think of the history. You look at all the tourists that want to be where you are, but can’t. But like any job, by the third day, you’re probably getting annoyed you have to climb up so many stairs.
Obsidian
There were many people selling goods made of obsidian. Obsidian is a volcanic glass. Most of the tools and weapons of the Teotihuacan’s and the Aztecs was made out of obsidian because of its abundance in the region. Lizy asked the guide how the people were able to sell trinkets at the archeological site, " In American, these wouldn’t be allowed."
The guide told us that when the government excavated the site there were native people farming the land. The guide’s father had lived right next to the Sun Temple. The government kicked everyone off the land so they could excavate the land and preserve their culture, but as a sort of compensation they promised the natives that they would be able to benefit financially from the tourist attraction. So now the guides and the trinket peddlers are all descendent from these natives.
Our tour guide showed us an interesting property of Obsidian. He grabbed an Obsidian disk from one of the peddlers he knew. He held it up to show us it looked completely opaque. It was maybe an inch thick. Then he held it up to the sun and you could see a small ball of light through the obsidian. The sun’s light was dulled, so that you could look directly at it.
The Moon Pyramid
The Moon Pyramid was the last pyramid in the site. The tour guide told us that as we walked closer to the pyramid it would cover up the hill that was behind it. It seemed impossible, since the hill looked so much bigger than the pyramid. But, sure enough, as we walked closer to the pyramid the hill grew smaller and shrunk behind the pyramid. We took some photos, but by this time we the whole group was pretty hungry so we headed to the restuarant.
Walking with Andy
Andy and I hiked up the past the pyramid to see one additional temple before heading to the restaurant. As we walked together he told me about this theory regarding the alignment of the pyramids he had heard. Apparently, the Teotihuacan Pyramids were aligned perfectly with Orion’s Belt. Additionally, the Pyramids of Giza with supposedly no communication between the civilizations happened to also be aligned perfectly with Orion’s Belt. I wasn’t sure how weird it would be align pyramids this way, so I was unsure if it implied anything. Andy seemed to believe it implied something, but it was difficult for me to pin down exactly what he thought. I don’t want to put words in his mouth, but I think he believed that the similar alignment of the pyramid complexes implied some communication between the cultures. The Pyramids of Giza are significantly older, so I guess this would mean that there was some sort of earlier pre Columbus, pre Vikings voyage to the new world.
La Caverna
When we got to the restaurant we found out that our tour guide either hadn’t or incorrectly made a reservation for us. So it goes. We settled down for the 40 minute wait.
The restaurant had something I had never seen before. There were paid concessions for the wait. You could buy esquites and drinks. Esquites is a type of corn snack consisting of corn with lime, chili, and cheese. You could get it in a cup or on the cob. I got some in a cup. It tasted more savory and less sweet than the corn I was used to. It was quite tasty.
In their courtyard they had a few statues of pre hispanic gods. They even had one of Xipe Totec, the flayed one. But I couldn’t make out if he was wearing a mask of flayed skin as I assumed he was always depicted.
After waiting for quite a while, we finally got a table at the restaurant. The restaurant, La Caverna, was situated in a big cavern. Getting to our table we had to follow behind the host who took us down several flights of stairs carved from the rock. Up on a ledge in the big cavity of the cave I could see old Mexican women making tortillas.
As we were waiting for our food, we reflected on the day and how much we enjoyed seeing the pyramids. Lizy’s parents also really vindicated my earlier desire to stop at one of the barbacoa places. They said the barbacoa places tempted them too. Andy said it had reminded him of a meal he and Elizabeth had in Greece just after they first met as refugees. He told me, “There was a giant pig roasting on spit on the fire and we would just pull chunks off the flesh and put them in our mouth. I’ll never forget that meal.” They chided Lizy for being too picky. I couldn’t believe they remembered that meal after so many years.
I got Barbacoa at the restaurant and it was pretty good, but I kept wondering how it compared to the road side pit stops. The fresh tortillas were amazing.
After the meal the restaurant give you candle to put in the inner part of the cave. I gave Elizabeth the candle to put in the cave, but she got nervous climbing stairs with the candle because of her eyesight, so I transferred it to Lizy, but as she was walking up the stairs she burnt her hand with hot wax, so I ended up taking it up the final few steps. I wasn’t sure if I should be wishing for something, so I didn’t.
Drive Back to the Condo
The drive home was crazy with traffic once we got back into the city. At one point we tried to go onto a side street, so we could veer off of bumper to bumper traffic, but it ended being closed so I just had to loop around and drive the same block again in the same bumper to bumper traffic. After three blocks, I thought I might be able to make a left, so I merged over five lines to the left, but I couldn’t figure out how to make the turn. Lizy recommended to turn to the right so I could wrap around , but I was worried if I turned right again I might accidentally have to loop back to the beginning of the stretch, like I had been forced to do before. “We have to go straight then make the next left, " I said. I merged into an express lane, then I went across another five lanes of traffic, weaving gracefully, waving gracias’s. Then I made a U turn and suddenly I was out of the traffic.
“Ah, finally free,” I said.
“We’re not home yet,” said Lizy. She was always nervous to count her unhatched eggs.
“But, at least I’m out of traffic.”
I looked to the left and saw the traffic heading in the other direction. You have to celebrate even the partial victories.
Reflections on the Day
It was smooth sailing the rest of the way back to the condo. Back at the condo we talked about what our favorite part of the pyramids was. Elizabeth said it was the temple of the moon blocking out the mountain. When the guide told us the pyramid would block out the mountain she hadn’t believed him. The mountain looked so much bigger than the temple at first. But then sure enough when we go closer we couldn’t see the mountain. She had captured it in a series of photos on her phone she was so impressed. I was was amazing. I agreed with her.
Andy strongly disagreed. That’s just how perspective works. It’s a simple trick. He didn’t say so, but I could tell he seemed it inferior to the astronomical alignment of the pyramids and what it implied for global communication in the ancient world.
I’ll leave it to the reader to decide what the most interesting part of site is, but you have to go to the pyramids to see for yourself.
Evening Walk
I had trouble sleeping, so I went for a walk. I stopped by a taqueria beside the walmart. It looked like they also had a retail component that sold tortillas. They were baking the tortillas on a little griddle right in front of the counter where the customers stood. I got a ribeye taco. What I liked the most about the place was they had bunch of bowls of toppings: pickled cactus (nopales), salsas, and surprisingly potato salad. I walked around the Condesa for a little afterwards and when I got home Lizy was a little upset at how late I was getting home.