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Published: February 7th 2009
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About to climb
At the base of Temple of the Sun I started my trip in Mexico city on the 25th of January. I went to all the popular spots in the city. The Zocalo is the huge city square with the presidential palace and National Cathedral. I stayed with a very nice family while I was there. They live in Xochimilco, which is in the southern part of the city near the University of Mexico. In this part of the city there are canals that the Aztecs built and used for obvious agricultural purposes, but today it is mostly used for some fishing and on Sundays families come out and rent long brightly painted boats, more like larger gondolas. Someone drives the boat around the canals with plenty of food and beverages being sold from other boats and mariachi music on others. The mexican gondola is an appropriate gringo name for them as I have forgotten their real names.
When I arrived at the airport Edgar and his family picked me up and we went promptly to his Abuela´s (grandmothers) house for a late lunch/dinner. It was a very typical Mexican setting with the Grandmother and other mothers in the kitchen cooking corn soup and enchiladas. The fathers watching
More Teotihuacan
Edgar and I are on the Temple of the Moon with the Temple of the Sun in the background. futbol(soccer) and the children roaming around everywhere. Everybody of course couldn´t stop paying attention to the new baby either.
Two of my favorite experiences in the city had to do with the famous 1968 student movement which occured here in the city leading up to the Olympics which Mexico was hosting. Edgar took me to his school, the University of Mexico, where many of the buildings are covered in murals painted my the most famous Mexican muralists. Diego Rivera being of course one of them. Mexico is known for having the best muralists in the world. Edgar also took me to famous locations on campus where important speeches or protests took place during the movement.
The other place I really enjoyed was probably at the top of my list for things to do in the city before I got there. La Plaza de Tres Culturas in Tlateloco is where the student movement ended. On October 2, 1968 there was another large student gathering in this plaza just days before the Olympics were about to begin. The army came in there with tanks and soldiers and just began shooting at everyone in the plaza. Since it was a huge
Las Mañanitas
Katie, Barbara and I at the restaurant in Cuernavaca. open plaza there was absolutely no place for them to take cover as well as the army having blocked off any of the exits. The government did this because this was the first time a developing country was to host the Olympics, and the government obviously wanted to look really good in front of the world. This massacre in the plaza quickly ended the movement and little news of it got out to the international community during the Olympics. Since then books have been written about it and I did a fairly lengthy paper on it in college, but the government to this day barely acknowledges it happened. The plaza today is a very quiet refuge from the city, there is a small aztec archeological site in the plaza as well as an old spanish church mostly built from stones taken from the old temples. There is also a memorial museum there that I very regretably did not get to see because it was closed the day I was there.
The day before I left the city Edgar and I went to Teotihuacan. This is an old city north of Mexico City, it is pre-Aztec and nobody is quite
Xochicalco 1
The ruin site just outside of Cuernavaca sure which civilization lived there (many cultures used it over time) because it was completely deserted when the Aztecs got there. The temples of the sun and moon are the main attractions there. The temple of the sun is the largest temple in the world in mass. The tallest is a mayan temple at Tikal in Guatemala. We climbed to the top of it and had an impressive view of what is left of the city. There are still tall mounds just off the main road of Teotihuacan that are unexcavated ruins.
From Mexico city I arrived in Cuernavaca, a town my dad lived in back in the 70s for about a year. I am staying with two ladies that my father also stayed with when he was traveling down here. They have a beautiful house in the city with a small backyard separating the main house with a smaller one in the back which they are letting me stay in. The backyard has a small pool and a very nice terrace to eat breakfast or lunch in.
My first full day in Cuernavaca was a Saturday so I took a bus to a small town about 45min
Tepoztlan
The view from the top of the Tepoztlan temple. away called Tepoztlan. There was a large open markets with people selling everything from food to textiles and other crafts. I had lunch on a small balcony eating tacos looking over a narrow street. From there I hiked up into the mountains that are tucked up right next to the town. A small temple at the end of an hour hike looks over the valley. It was pretty tiring, especially being back in some altitude, but worth the effort. There was a great view of the town and valley below, especially on top of the temple.
Another day I was in Cuernavaca I took a bus to the ruin site of Xochicalco(Zoe-she-cal-co). It was amazing, especially for the fact that I was one of 4 people climbing the ruins. I basically had the place to myself, so now when you visit I think everyone will enjoy the giant longhorn that is carved upside down on the main temple. Go Buffs.
My entire time in Cuernavaca was extremely special. My family has many close ties to that town for many reasons. It is a place I will certainly return to again. My next stop is in the state of
Plumed Serpent
Up close look at the Plumed Serpent temple in Xochicalco. Oaxaca, where there are even bigger mountains as well as the beach!
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juliana y raquel
non-member comment
Pablo, adoramos leer acerca de su viaje. Continua escribir querido amigo! nosotros le perdemos! hasta luego!