Teotihuacan

TD and I hadn't even thought to visit Teotihuacan, so its a good thing Papa FE spoke up about wanting to visit (I believe the words he used were "I've been wanting to visit mywhole life...". We rented a car Saturday afternoon and so were able to arriveearly on Sunday before the crowds.

The site was incredible - the scale and layout reminded me of Tiwanaku in Bolivia - but much more impressive because of the pyramids

In front of the pyramid of the sun

sooooo steep!

Pyramid of the Moon

the frugal family at the top

Which we shared with these pilgrims (?) dressed in white singing hymns. We were lucky to arrive early - the pyramid was crawling with folks after a few more hours.

Incredible to think that at one point all the pyramids and structures were covered with stucco and murals like this one. Also incredible that these are original pigments from 1500 years ago!!

The temple of the moon

These structures lined the Avenue of the Dead and had temples or other religious buildings on top.

The sun was intense - this was TD's solution...

Looking down the Calzada del Muertos (Avenue of the Dead) towards the pyramid of the sun and the Ciudadela (the citadel). The avenue is over 2 miles long!! At the height of the city, at least 150,000 people lived here.

 Pyramid of the Sun from the south west.

More bones...over 160 people were sacrificed during the construction of the Pyramid of the Plumed Serpent.

Temple of the Jaguar

The Pyramid of Quetzalcoatl (plumed serpent)