Ancient Teotihuacan
- jill
- Jan 16, 2022
- 3 min read
22 December 2021
Got up early to make sure I got to the meeting point for the vans to Teotihuacan--we were meeting at the Monument to the Revolution. Used a public restroom for the first time--you pay 5 pesos (.25 cents) and use a...not-so-nice toilet underground. Luckily I've learned to always carry a pack of Kleenex with me for all these bathrooms with no toilet paper! I grabbed a snack and hopped on the van. There were about 7-8 of us plus Jane and her two assistants.
Jane works on the various tunnels and caves around the Teotihuacan ruins--they are trying to find the underground tunnel that leads to the Temple of the Moon. The trip to the site takes about an hour, during which I felt like I might be sick, despite taking my Dramamine. We had a lot of walking to do once there, and that helped me feel more normal. We also had a bit of a scavenger hunt to do during the visit to win a prize. Also a lot of climbing!
We learned that the Teotihuacan (pre-Aztec) had the largest civilization in the world along with the Romans. Jane gave us a tour of some of the other ruins there--the Temple of Quetzalcoatl and the Temple of the Feathered Serpent. We also learned about obsidian and that they made weapons from it. We took pieces of it and were able to look at the sun through them. Teotihuacan means "city of the gods" or "where men become gods."
Every 52 years, they would "refurbish" the place, so you keep seeing layers everywhere. Sets of stairs UNDER other sets of stairs. We walked around some of the underground parts. Then we headed to the Temple of the Sun.
The Temple of the Sun and the Temple of the Moon are actually the same size, but the Moon looks bigger because it is at a higher elevation. Normally, you can climb them, but they are shut down right now thanks to COVID.
From there, Jane left us to go get the van to meet us at the back entrance at the Temple of the Moon. You walk from the Sun down a huge promenade past what were originally smaller pyramids until you get to the Moon.
After walking through the market area at the end and getting a Mexico t-shirt (he wanted to make sure I noted the "quality" and thickness of it), we were back in the van and drove a little ways away to a restaurant that is inside a cave! A lot of these places (homes too) are against the law--they aren't supposed to be running businesses here, so it is sort of hidden from the outside. There are a couple that are bigger and are "sanctioned"...but this one doesn't even have a name.
We had a bit of choice, and I got the cheese quesadilla, a squash quesadilla, and sope (small tortilla with beans and cheese). Also more mezcal shots (this stuff was pretty rank--smelled like lighter fluid). And Xoconoxtle, which is the fruit of a cactus blended with water and sweetener. It was at the restaurant where people actually started talking to me. One guy was like me and wanted to see everything in the world, and both of us really wanted to go to Antarctica.
After the food, we went to see the caves and tunnels Jane works in. The first one had a beam of light that comes in through a hole in the ceiling (like Raiders of the Lost Ark). If you put your hands in it, different people are able to create different light--some see green handprints on their bodies, some make green squiggles in the air (like me!), and some shoot white light out of their hands. Really interesting.
We walked through some others, and then went into one where we turned off all our flashlights/phones and sat in darkness for a few minutes, asking to become better people. We learned to touch the cave rock as you enter and ask permission to come inside.
There was a scavenger hunt during the day and I was one of the winners! I won an obsidian necklace, so I am ready for the next solar eclipse! Then we took the long ride back to CDMX, and I took the Metro back to my Airbnb for some McDonald's (finally open) and relaxing.
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