Long-time readers of this blog may remember my high school friend Duffy who lives in Puerto Rico and works as a lawyer there. A month or more ago, Duffy wrote me that his law partner Charles was planning a vacation to Mexico City. He asked that I offer his partner advice in planning his trip. Charles and I exchanged numerous emails in which I gave him pointers for his trip. Alejandro and I offered to take him to the pyramids of Teotihuacan outside of the city while he was here. So, on the Saturday after his arrival, we met him at his hotel for breakfast and then drove him to the archaeological site.
Teotihuacan was the first great city of the Americas. It reached its zenith prior to A.D. 500, and probably had a population of over 100,000. It is a city shrouded in mystery. We don't know who built it or exactly why it fell in decline. It had been abandoned for centuries when the Aztecs came into the region. They saw the impressive ruins and thought that it must have surely been built by the gods. It was they who gave it the name by which we know it today... Teotihuacan... the place of the gods.
We arrived at the archaeological site, paid for our admission and parking, and parked at the lot closest to its grandest landmark, the Pyramid of the Sun.
The name was given to it by the Aztecs, but we do not know what deity was worshipped atop the structure. It was probably built around A.D. 200. It is one of the largest pyramids in the world with a height of 215 feet, and a base measuring 720 by 750 feet. It has been closed to climbing since the pandemic. However, Alejandro noticed some workers on the pyramid, and he wondered if they might be getting ready to reopen it to climbers in time for the World Cup.
Stretching the entire length of the site is the Avenue of the Dead. Again, the name comes from the Aztecs. They thought that the earth-covered ruins along the street were burial mounds. We walked along the Avenue of the Dead to the other great structure, the Pyramid of the Moon.
On the wall of a building along the avenue, there are the remains of a painting of an animal, most likely a puma.
The Pyramid of the Moon was built between A.D. 200 and 450 over a pre-existing pyramid. It is 141 feet high and stands in front of a large ceremonial plaza.
This pyramid was also closed to climbing during the pandemic, but last year the first flight of stairs was once again opened. From there, you have a superb view looking down the Avenue of the Dead to the Pyramid of the Sun.
It's been a few years since I have done any pyramid climbing, and this old man found the climb a little more difficult, particularly the descent. However, all three of us made it.
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