Teotihuacan pyramids

Teotihuacan is the major archeological site outside Mexico City, containing either the second or third largest pyramid in the world (I’ve seen it referred to as both, and assume it depends on how you define ‘biggest’). We took a bus from the Indio Verdes subway stop (I think it was 35 pesos each, but can’t remember), and bought tickets to the site (the oddly-priced 51 pesos a person) at what I assume is one of the main entrances, at the south end of the complex.

Our mistake quickly became apparent. We hadn’t eaten breakfast that day, figuring we’d just get a probably-overpriced snack at the gate. Well, the complex runs 4 km (2.5 miles), and the food was all a little more than halfway through. So we walked through the late morning sun to get a quick chicken mole, then back through the early afternoon sun to the beginning of the complex again so we won’t miss anything. Somehow it seems like a bit more planning could have prevented an awful lot of work...and it’s especially unfortunate since anywhere along would have been a perfect place for a picnic.

Also, as you walk through the complex you are of course accosted almost non-stop by touts wanting to sell you hammocks or jewelry, or hideous mass-produced Aztec burial masks, or (unfortunately) “real pieces of the pyramids, I have in back”, or other trinkets along the entire main avenue. Of course, one of the other trinkets you can get is a little pipe or whistle that, when blown correctly, sounds like a jaguar getting ready to pounce on and kill you. I’ve never heard a live jaguar, mind you, but I would guess that these little toys -– jaguar calls? –- actually sound rather life-like. So it can be a little nerve-wracking for the first hour to be walking along a tourist attraction surrounded by people and then from out of nowhere hear this deep roaring animal snarl. Until you got used to them they really did make you sit up and look for the muscular predator you had somehow not noticed.

As we restarted our tour at the south end of the complex, the first thing we saw was a big plaza with the Temple of Quetzalcoatl. We saw a group that had hired a tour guide and followed them for a bit and listened in. In front of the temple clap your hands, the sound is returned to you louder and changed. It’s rather remarkable. The tour guide said it is the sound of the quetzal, the bird half of the “bird-snake” Quetzalcoatl. He said it wasn’t an echo but rather a something else because the stairs were at such and such degree...I zoned out on the details. But it was an impressive effect. You’re supposed to clap 13 times and then walk from left to right and back every 7 steps up the stairs, if I remember correctly. It seemed tedious but Petra pointed out that (like a lot of archeological sites, actually) each step tended to be kind of narrow and this let you get better footing on your way up than climbing it straight on. Once you get to the top you realize that the temple is used to obscure an older pyramid behind it with fantastic snake heads sticking out of the walls. Very Indiana Jones and very cool. There was apparently supposed to be a tunnel under at least one of the pyramids, which would have been even cooler, but we lost the tour group before we found it.

From the south plaza, you head down the Avenue of the Dead through about a mile of residential ruins, with jaguar calls going off randomly around you –- and with a high school tour group who bought a bunch of toy bows and arrows from the tourist vendors and would occasionally shoot at each other with them, I’m sure to re-enact some historical battle they were studying –- at some point turning off along a pretty but vile smelling stream towards the Museum (and for those who are interested in such things, the museum area totally had the best rest rooms in the park). The museum itself was interesting and had a selection of interesting artifacts from different periods and gave you a broad kind of rise-decline-fall overview, but gave almost no idea of any actual historical events (kings, wars, notable events); their was also only the briefest description of the gods themselves and really no real information on the religion itself. So in general I thought it had a bunch of nifty knick-kancks, but didn’t actually give me much more information than I already had. It did have a neat model of the entire site that took up an entire hall though, with one wall a window that looks out over the main pyramid; Petra seemed to like that.

From there it’s on to the main pyramid, called the Pyramid of the Sun and its surrounding structures. You can climb up a series of step stairs to the top, which is in effect a rounded cobblestone hilltop. We made the trek and found a handful of sun bathers soaking up the rays, a 50-something New Age couple with their crystals out soaking up the vibes, and everyone else strolling around enjoying the views.

[And aside: I’ve given Petra a new moniker over this event, Petra Pyramid Climber. She has a couple of these, because she impresses me and I think they’re cool. 

Now, 100 points to the first person who can tell me in comments the technical term for such a name, like ‘Ring-bearer’ or ‘Dragonslayer’. I’m sure there is such a term, but I couldn’t find it looking around. The best we’ve been able to come up with is nickname, but that isn’t quite what I’m looking for.]

Now, they call it the Pyramid of the Sun and the smaller one at the other end of the complex the Pyramid of the Moon presumably based on the same concept. Of course, that is what someone told the conquistadors –- that the main pyramid had been used to worship the sun. Of course, that was like 700 or 800 hundred years after the collapse of the city, so I’m not sure how much stock you can really put in that. I couldn’t help being skeptical of the claim even before we arrived, and sure enough there is an info plaque at the pyramid saying some scholars think this general idea is wrong. The sign mentions another theory that thinks the pyramid was actually dedicated to the water god, and apparently have some evidence for that (sacred burials and the like). There was no information at all about what the supposed Pyramid of the Moon was for or dedicated to, from any theory. I wish there had been some more information on some of this, but that is the travelers eternal lament.

We climbed back down and worked our way down along more Avenue of the Dead ruins to the Pyramid of the Moon, but it was getting late and we were getting tired. You can’t climb to the top of this one, but we climbed up to the observation level about half way and sat for a bit.

Then it was a short way out the gate and to the bus back to Mexico City. On the way out we noticed that a lot of the mural art has a separate museum across the street, where most of it apparently has been moved. I’m would think I could have found more information there about some of the things I was interested in, like paintings of ceremonies and events, and could have gotten a better idea of the history there, but it was late and the sites were closing. We were tired anyhow, and caught the bus back to Mexico City. We stayed couchsurfing that night, and left the next morning.