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Published: February 15th 2006
Causeway of the Dead
This road at Teotihuacan was originally 1.5 km. longer, linking the most significant buildings together. Still filled with traders, these guys were selling some 'authentic' crafts of sortsMexico City was not high on my list of cities to spend a lot of time touring, but it should have been. There are so many museums to explore, and as I've never been a huge fan of the museums I didn´t have a clue where to begin. I opted for the hostel tour to Teotihuacan so I wouldn't have to put my brain to work. The hostel itself is in one of the most prime locations ever, behind the Cathedral in the Zocolo district. This would have been a good starting point for my self guided tour, but another day.
As we drove out of the city streets that were teaming with green volkswagen taxis, we stopped at a church with surrounding ruins originally called the 'Square of the Free Cultures'. It had survived the hispanic and colonial periods, albeit in a state of disrepair. Then in 1968 it was sent into a further state of disrepair due to a student revolution where a hundred lives were lost. As the Olympics were being hosted at the time, nothing was acknowledged. It was sad to note that there was no memorial to the lives lost or for the purpose
The Smoke Cleansing
These 2 guys had a steady stream of people requesting a thorough cleansing with the smoke. In Mexico City's Plaza de la Constitucion of their fight. A few photos and a few words exchanged and we were on to the third most visitied Christian site in the world, Guadalupe.
Having no religious leaning made no difference in how to take in the beliefs surrounding Guadalupe. It wasn't the peak part of the day to see worshippers in prayer or giving thanks to the Virgin Mary, but there were a few dedicated souls that crawled from the outside gates all the way to the central shrine. As this effort would certainly result in many scrapes to my kneecaps, I could only watch with respect. By crawling into the grounds it is said that you are expressing more respect and gratitude to Mary. Had I visited this site on December 12th, I would have had to mingle with 10 million other visitors, or opt to watch it on tv.
The tour continued to the largest pre-Hispanic site in the country, Teotihuacan. As I hadn't spent any time yet reading up on what I was about to explore, I was pleasantly surprised upon arrival. The Pyramid of the Moon and the Pyramid of the Sun rise above the 'Causeway of the Dead'
Waiting for something at Teotihuacan
He didn't seem to have anything to sell...but he looked so sad I surely would have bought it!! (I never quite found out the reason for such a peculiar name). It is thought that the population of this area may have been close to 100,000 so this was clearly a well planned city. We had a chance to explore the remnants of living areas, in addition to the pyramids themselves.
The base of the Pyramid of the Sun is almost the same size as the base of the pyramids in Egypt, although it's height is much lower. Here I was able to climb to the top as opposed to climbing down within the pyramids in Cairo. The view of the surrounding dry flatlands wasn't the most spectacular sight, so I opted to close my eyes and time travel back to the reigning period, 450-650AD. Pages of my grade 11 history book lept into view, and I could imagine the glory of this culture that disappeared after attacks from northern tribes. It's hard for most of us to understand how an entire population can just vanish from existence, but as I continue to update my historical knowledge, i find it is certainly repeated all around the world.
The tour then made a stop at one
Mescal
Although I like it more than tequila, it's still not my favourite drink. Although I find it interesting where it comes from of the traditional shops for us to learn of the local handicrafts and then buy buy buy! We walked around, appreciated the complimentary mescal and tequila, but kept our wallets zipped shut. I realize now that it is quite the same with tour groups anywhere in the world. There always seems to be a friend of a friend that will surely slip the driver a few pesos or dollars for potential customers. A little annoying, but hardly a hindrance to the day.
The following day I joined Ingrid and Lea for an exploration of one of Mexico City's many markets, although it might not have been my first choice if it weren't for the excellent company. For me, the "Witchcraft Market" conjured up an image of boiling pots and potions with the Wicked Witch from the East laughing as I peered behind Dorothy's dress (I always imagined myself in the Wizard of Oz...doesn't everybody?) As we set foot into the maze of stalls, I wasn't too far off. It might have been easy to mistake it for an ordinary market, but as we proceeded a little further we found the large sacks of dry ingredients, a lady reading
Mary at Guadalupe
I think the moving walkways below take a little bit away from her mystique, but this is the lady that all come to see fortunes, and the devil himself in live form ready for a few tourists to join him for a photo. The scary part came when we saw the cages filled with a variety of animals...for what purpose I dared not ask. The chicks had been coloured like Easter eggs (a little early I know) followed by rows upon rows of ducks, dogs, goats, rats, toads, iguanas and even a toucan. Definitely time to move on. We made our way past the hanging pinyatas and had to ask a clown to step aside in order to get up the staircase. Apparently, this is where to come to host the best kids' party in town. Mexico also being known for it's Day of the Dead festival, it makes me wonder if I could ever raise a kid here. But then perhaps I'm jumping the gun a bit, as the man must come before the childrens' party thoughts!!
As the girls ventured off to another market in search of perfect silver charms, I opted for a tour of the Zocolo area, properly known as the Plaza de la Constitucion. The square in the city is second onlyin size to Moscow's Red Square
The Pope
Well, not the most recent Pope, but Paul remains in most peoples' minds, I think i, which made it a great place for people watching. People lined up to be blessed by the traditional medicine men, others sat with a sign advertising their trade and need for work whilst market people set up their goods on top of suitcases or tarpaulins-always keeping an eye open for police who would fine them on the spot. The Cathedral seems to be the central point of the area, although this wasn't always the case as I soon learned. The Palacio Nacional dominates an entire side, so I decided to take a peak inside. My eyes were soon opened to the talents of Diego Rivera, husband of another famed Mexican artist, Frida Kahlo. The murals that decorated the stairwell and middle storey of the presidential offices, also defined many characters from different historical periods. As Diego was also having an affair with his wife's sister at the time of painting, he even snuck her in front of the face of his wife. Cheeky monkey.
Next door I found the recently uncovered ruins of Templo Mayor. The modern pavement had become too uneven to support another building, and excavations exposed ruins unlike any others in the area. Staircases,
rooms upon rooms, carved faces and statues have recently been revealed and respectfully displayed in the attached museum. Although I didn't make it to the famed Museum of Anthropology, I felt as though I took in information for all of Mexico in my few hours touring this site. As I exited past the Cathedral and saw all of the extra supports required amongst the uneven grounds, I could only wonder what might remain buried beneath.
For a change in my evening routine, I re-joined Ingrid and Lea for some Mexican entertainment at Plaza Garibaldi. Known as the hotspot for mariachi performances, we stepped out of the taxi to see a bunch of shivering dressed up performers looking for spectators. It was a cold night in Mexicoand even with my Canadian roots I succumbed to a few shivers. We walked around the seedy area and settled optomistically on an seat in the corner of one of the main restaurants. As we were the only people in there we became our own entertainment. We walked by a few more people strumming guitars, but decided to call it a night soon after.
The following day I caught up with
some domestic chores and then caught a bus down to Oaxaca, which I continue to mispronounce. I met Amanda and some German dude coming off the bus, so we shared a lift into town. Mandy and I soon learned that the German was a complete quacker and ditched him roaming the streets for accommodation. It's never much fun searching for a bed, but when it's become dark it gets a little more urgent. We settled on a grotty place and paid our couple of bucks before letting the zzzzzzzz's take over.
After the morning change of accommodation we absorbed life in the main square, also known as the zocolo. The invigorating breakfast coffee set the route around town as we discovered a few shops and a few benches from which to absorb more sun. After some of the chills of Peru, I finally feel as though I am regaining some colour, although I'll never quite go back to the pasty white look from life in England again! We then discovered one of the world's most extravagant churches, Santo Domingo. This church would certainly put a smile on any gold loving soul, as every corner was ornately decorated and
polished. No flashes, and lots of tours.
So there are my first few days in Mexico, I have a lot more to fill you in on as I tour ruins, jungles and the beach. It's still a pretty tough life I'm leading. Hehehehe...
Love to everybody as always, and thanks to anybody else that's reading!
-Fiona
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dad and connie
non-member comment
Mexico
Glad to see you're having a good time in Mexico, Fiona. Keep us informed as usual-- we know you'll be back next month, hopefully?? Bye for now.