[I split this post into two parts because it was just too long; this is the second half.]
After we left the basilica, we made our way to Teotihuacán, which is something like 30 miles outside of Mexico City. Before going to las pirámides (the pyramids), we stopped at a shop owned by local stone artisans-- El Sol: Piezas Finas en Obsidiana y Cuarzo (The Sun: Fine Pieces in Obsidian and Quartz). They provided tiny shots of tequila, pulque, and tuna juice (not the fish! the tuna is the fruit of the nopal cactus) so that we could taste them, but I'm a huge chicken so I passed on all of them. Then we got a demonstration on how they make their stone figures, after which point we got to poke around their shop. I bought a little pig and a little squirrel carved out of obsidian. After that, we took this picture:
...and then we had lunch there. Lunch was a very heavy type of corn bread with nopales (remember? cactus!), guacamole, and bananas for dessert:
We had some entertainment during lunch. As it turns out, Oscar is a mariachi singer in addition to being a driver, so he and some guys that just happened to be there and just happened to know how to play instruments performed for us. Gerson found an afro wig and jumped on the bongos (see, I told you he was weird) and Kyle joined him. Here's a picture of the "band":
From there, we drove to the pyramids. Teotihuacán was not, as is commonly though, built by the Aztecs. In fact, no one really knows anything for sure about the culture of the people that built the city, which is believed to have been home to as many as 200,000 people. When the Aztecs showed up some 700 years after the city had been abandoned, they gave it the name of Teotihuacán, a Nahuatl word meaning "the place where the gods were made", or "birthplace of the gods". They were quite impressed with the city, and took up residence there until the Spanish conquest. anyway.
This is a view of the Pirámide de la Luna, or the Moon Pyramid, taken when we first got to the central part of the complex. Note how the top of the pyramid looks a bit crunched in; a Japanese firm was excavating inside the pyramid until early this year, when the top section began to collapse. The firm was expelled and the internal structure fortified, but visitors are no longer allowed to climb to the top of the pyramid. We climbed as far up as we were allowed.
The steps on both pyramids were extremely steep. This picture was taken looking down the steps of the Moon Pyramid.
I love this picture. That's the Pirámide del Sol (Sun Pyramid) in the background.
Here's the standard tourist photo: me on the Moon Pyramid, with the Sun Pyramid in the background.
Yes, I wore a dress. Yes, it was a dumb idea.
View of the city with the Sun Pyramid
the Sun Pyramid
After much huffing and puffing, we all made it to the top of the Sun Pyramid!
Remember what I said about the dress? I've affectionately dubbed this picture "the Marilyn".
View of the Moon Pyramid
We had to walk a little ways to get out of the complex; this is the view on the way out.
After exhausting ourselves on the Pyramids, we headed back to the Hotel Moneda, where I discovered a nice sunburn (apparently I missed one of my shoulders with my sunscreen.. as well as the tops of my feet). We just kind of hung out for a bit, I smashed my face into a metal locker, and then we headed to dinner. Kyle has some friends from his graduate program that are living in the city right now, so we met them for dinner. I don't remember the name of the restaurant, but it was a cool little place. We got pizza and hung out for a couple of hours.
All of us were pretty beat by the time we got back to the hostel, so we went to bed relatively early so that we could get up early the next day and do yet another tour. Thus ended day #2 in Mexico City!
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