There are places your soul has visited even before you physically get there. Mexico is to me one of those places my soul has traveled to multiple times and continues to do so from time to time.
I went to Mexico for the second time in 2012. The whole trip was simply amazing and it's pretty hard to highlight one favourite moment. However, I must admit I was longing to explore Teotihuacan, the city of gods.
Located 48 km northeast of Mexico City, Teotihuacan boasts the most impressive Mesoamerican pyramids built during the pre-Columbian Americas and is the most visited archaeological site in the country.
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We started the day with a lovely breakfast. I had my favourite dish:
chilaquiles, which are fried tortillas (called
totopos) in a green or red salsa with pulled chicken topped with fresh cream, cheese, raw onions and eggs. It's too good to be true. Whoever came up with that idea was a genius! After that hearty meal we were good to go and ready for a day of adventure.
The first stop on the way to Teotihuacan was the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe, built near the hill of Tepeyac, which according to the legend is where the Virgin Mary appeared to the indigenous man Juan Diego. It doesn't really matter if you believe the story or not; this place is pure magic. The Virgin of Guadalupe is a symbol of Mexico's Catholic population and is venerated throughout the entire country. You perceive a feeling of respect and devotion inside the church, the world's most visited Catholic pilgrimage site. There's definitely something mystical about the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe and I had chills running up and down my spine when I stared at the cloak which holds her image. It's astonishing how faith can gather people under one roof for a shared moment of connection to the spiritual realm.
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| Modern Basílica of our Lady of Guadalupe, which contains the cloak with her image. |
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| Interior of the Old Basilica. |
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| Seen outside the modern Basilica. |
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| New friends from Colombia and Costa Rica! |
After the Basilica we headed north driving past hills covered in small unfinished houses to both sides of the road. It was the first time my eyes came across such a striking urban landscape: the slums (here in Mexico called "ciudades perdidas", in English lost cities) of one of the largest cities in Latin America and the world. An estimated 40,000 people live in these settlements in the outskirts of the capital and they quite often lack access to clean water and live marginalized. Crime and poverty are also problems in these areas.
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| Ciudades perdidas ('Lost cities' in English). Taken outside Mexico City. |
Finally we got to Teotihuacan and my levels of excitement were not even close to normal. Just the sight of the Pyramids from afar was enough to make me want to jump out of the car and run towards them.
We walked around the Citadel first and made a brief pause to admire the massive temple of Quetzalcoatl, the feathered serpent. Mesoamerican peoples had different deities and the feathered serpent was one of the most revered of all of them. Among the Yucatec Maya this entity was known as Kukulkan. The feathered serpent was a bringer of knowledge and in the Maya book "Popol Vuh" it is the creator of the cosmos.
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| In the City of Gods, Teotihuacan! |
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| Temple of Quetzalcoatl, the feathered serpent. |
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| Quetzalcoatl, the feathered serpent, a Mesoamerican deity. |
Before carrying on with our exploration, we made a stop for lunch. Everyone was already hungry and we needed to recharge batteries for climbing the Pyramids. I had soup with cactus. Yes, you're reading correctly. Nahua people call these cacti
nopal, a kind of plant very common in this area (it is the one that appears in the Mexican flag). It was surprisingly really good!
Then we went to a workshop near the restaurant and tried genuine mezcal, tequila and pulque. Pulque, also called "Aztec wine", is an alcoholic drink made from the fermented sap of the maguey plant (also called agave). Pulque was sacred for Mesoamerican people and only a certain class was allowed to drink it. After our energising drinks (oh yeah!), we were shown how Aztecs and other Mesoamerican people used obsidian, a rock of volcanic origin. It was used for weapons, masks, decoration, tools... the list goes on and on.
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| Understanding the Mesoamerican way of life. |
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Mask made of obsidian, a glasslike volcanic rock very common in this area and used by the Aztecs and
other Mesoamerican peoples. |
After a long day of walking aroung temples and trying different foods and drinks, it was time for some climbing action. People are only allowed to climb halfway through the Pyramid of the Moon, due to some instability in its foundations. From that spot I had the most amazing view of the valley around Teotihuacan and from the Avenue of the Dead and the Pyramid of the Sun, which is slightly bigger than the one of the Moon. I was speechless. I can't tell you how long I dreamt about that moment, about that place where my soul felt at home.
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| Teotihuacan when it was found and how it looks nowadays. |
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| I loved all these depictions of deities in the murals of the temples. |
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| View from the Pyramid of the Moon to the Pyramid of the Sun and the Avenue of the Dead. |
Some aspects about Teotihuacan remain a mystery to our days. In fact, we don't even know how the inhabitants of this city referred to it. Teotihuacan (which means "birthplace of the gods"), is a Nahuatl word used by the Aztecs, who found this settlement in ruinous state. What happened with this city and its people?
Archaeological evidence points out that Teotihuacan was sacked and burned by its inhabitants around 550 AD. Was it a drought, a famine or an uprising within its walls what caused its inhabitants to systematically burn down all the temples and leave? Either way, we can't deny the influence of Teotihuacan, which is said to have been a multi-ethnic state, in other Mesoamerican tribes and as far south as the Mayas!
During its zenith in 450 AD, Teotihuacan was the largest city of pre-Columbian America and the sixth largest city of the world. Its powerful influence extended throughout the entire Mesoamerican region. Its architecture and culture influenced the construction of temples in Yucatan and Guatemala, with the famous
talud-tablero architectural style as part of their legacy.
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| On top of the Pyramid of the Sun looking at the Pyramid of the Moon. With my hero, dad. |
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| Pyramid of the Moon and temples in talud-tablero style. |
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| Avenue of the Dead. |
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| Pyramid of the Sun. |
Teotihuacan is one of those places I want to visit again. Nothing compares to the feeling I had when I looked at the entire complex from the Pyramid of the Moon and thought to myself :"How amazing is the world and its people."
