Packing up the bikes to leave Guanajuato. Miss you already.. ;-((((((((((
The street we live on in Guanajuato.
Officially on the road again!! You can't miss it because you can't miss all of the speed bumps (topes) in Mexico. They certainly make good use of them throughout the country!
I've seen many of these reindeer through the United States at Christmas time.. I had no idea this is where they made them.
Some of us are privileged enough to travel the world by motorcycle.. Others are riding a donkey to work. (Not a great photo, but the man on donkey on a track near the bush heading toward Guanajuato).
We pull into the town of San Miguel de Allende. A very short 60 km or 35 miles. More people recommended we see this town over Guanajuato. I'm surprised, but I'm open minded!
It is a lovely town. I notice they mostly only use 2 colors of paint here on the buildings. I'm sure there is significance to that. Having a look we decided it was a really nice place, but it was so full of Americans and Canadians it really didn't seem like Mexico. That might not be a fair statement as we weren't here that long, but after loving Guanajuato so much, we were not inspired to stay in this town so close to where we just left. And in general, it's hard to ride the bikes such a short distance and be satisfied to stop so soon.
We decided to stay for lunch. Kevin and James ate Italian.. ha! I chose to have a MEXICAN ear of street corn instead and wander around the shops!! I figure if I'm only here an hour or two, I don't want to sit in a cafe ;-) Nope, I didn't come to Mexico to go to a Starbucks either..for real??? (To be clear, our bikes are parked here on the street as it's on the corner to the plaza.. where we did go for lunch. And I don't knock the boys for eating Italian. When you're on a trip as long as ours, we do need a change like from time to time)
After lunch, the boys want a quick look around too. We find the San Miguel Cathedral is impressive.
The photo taken is below!
A quick look inside and we are mortified! A beautiful painting of Mother Mary and the evil thing eating the baby angels!!!! What the ????
Asking directions on how to get out of San Miguel de Allende.
And one very steep road! As usual, it doesn't look near as steep in a photo as it felt on the bike.
Wrong way!!
I know what he was doing, but it's too long of a story about where we go. James and I wait patiently and just let him do what he's gotta do. We got back on the road to find our way, no worries.
We
think we have time in this day to check out a smaller group of ruins in
Tula before the main attraction of Teotihuacan ruins.
Quite
impressed with the size of that Yukka plant! Wonder how many hundreds
of years old it is...I'm curious if somebody planted this in their yard
in like 989 AD and never would have imagined these foreigners walking past it. I'm wondering because I
planted some of these in my front yard before I left on this trip. My
water-friendly no fuss Australian garden while I am away. Now I'm afraid I
planted them too close to the house! ;-)
Tula info from Wikipedia: These are the remains of the ancient capital city of the Toltecs, also known as "Tula" or as "Tollan".
Usually identified as the Toltec capital around 980 CE, the city was
destroyed at some time between 1168 and 1179. Tula became the capital
city following Teotihuacan, although it never reached the same size due to competing cities in the area.
The two largest clusters of grand ceremonial architecture are nicknamed "Tula Grande" (the most visited by tourists) and "Tula Chico". Remains of other buildings extend for some distance in all directions. In the residential areas streets were laid out in a grid pattern.
The core of Tula was a precinct containing pyramids, ball courts, and vast colonnaded halls. Toltec architecture is distinctive, featuring details that indicate Toltec influence when they turn up elsewhere at sites as distant as the Yucatán peninsula and the US Southwest.
The city was the largest in central Mexico in the 9th and 10th centuries, covering an area of some 12 km² with a population of at least some 30,000, possibly significantly more. While it might have been the largest city in Mesoamerica at the time, some Maya sites in the Yucatán may have rivaled its population during this period.
Very cool to see Tula. It was Kevin's idea to stop here. He's good like that.. ;-)
So, we make it to Teotihuacan after many dramas navigating the highway around Mexico City.. Lord have Mercy!! Those roads I don't want to have to repeat..
But guess who we found..!!!! Patrick!! So glad he has caught up to us again.
The next morning we want the whole day to explore the ruins of Teotihuacan. So we lock the bikes up and take a taxi to the sight.
Teotihuacán ("teh-oh-tee-wa-KHAN") is an ancient sacred site located 30 miles northeast of Mexico City, Mexico. It is a very popular side trip from Mexico City, and for good reason. The ruins of Teotihuacán are among the most remarkable in Mexico and some of the most important ruins in the world.
Teotihuacán means "place where gods were born," reflecting the Aztec belief that the gods created the universe here. Constructed around 300 AD, the holy city is characterized by the vast size of its monuments, carefully laid out on geometric and symbolic principles. Its most monumental structures are the Temple of Quetzalcoatl, the Pyramid of the Sun (the third-largest pyramid in the world) and the Pyramid of the Moon. To read more, because it's fascinating but don't want to fill up the whole blog here, check out this link: http://www.sacred-destinations.com/mexico/teotihuacan
The boys are procrastinating the climb.
I'm already up here.. come on guys!!!
This is the view to Mexico City.. how do I know? The SMOG. I love Mexico and Mexico City.. but it's hard to see the mountains through the smog. There are lots more mountains behind that white/brown layers and makes me a bit sad.
So this is the place where Gods' are born! That would explain why we found Jesus here!!!
Hallelujah!!!!!
Look how much happier these boys are when they are coming down rather than going up!
Fields where the games were played.
We finished hours of exploring and overheating!! Now very desperate for something to eat and drink just to regain our sanity. Lunch or more like dinner time was easy to find right outside the ruins.. A hot long day deserves a very large cold beer!!!
Story: I bought this new black t-shirt while in the ruins (I have it on under my jacket). Very seldom do I ever buy anything for myself, but I really needed a new shirt and I loved this one because it's a dyed symbol, not a print. Kevin came in right behind and while I was buying mine, had me show him what I was getting. THEN, he bought the exact same one for himself!!! (in the photo above). So we spend most of our travels trying not to wear the same t-shirt at the same time.. Do you think he could have bought a different one, at least a different color??? Men!!
Kevin and Patrick play while we wait for food. I'm really appreciating the pleasure and opportunity of being the only woman to travel with 3 boys. ;-/
Yep,
we're glad to have Patrick back. Clearly the supersize beers are
getting the best of me.. thanks (I think) for the photo James!!
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