Oops! I totally forgot to talk about the wonders of Teotihuacan--the Aztec pyramids! I had the pleasure of visiting this area with my dad before everyone else flew in to Mexico City. (As I had mentioned before, Dad had flown in a couple of days before everyone else because he had a business trip in Mexico City). Going to see the pyramids was something that I REALLY wanted to do...like, I was not going to leave Mexico without seeing this. I even wrote a book about the ancient civilizations in Mexico when I was in third grade (you didn't know I was an author, did you?). *Mom, you should look for this book so I can see it when I get back!* Dad really wanted to go here also! I think its more than safe to say that Dad and I are definitely the adventurous ones in the family who always look for new things to explore!
Hot air balloon above a pyramid
So the day after I took the bus (by myself) to Mexico City to meet him, we woke up at 5am to go see the pyramids (again, lots of logistics involved when you don't rent a car...taxis galore + two separate bus rides. But believe me, you don't want to drive in Mexico City!). The bus that we *thought* the girl told us was 15 minutes long ended up being 1hr15min! But it was incredibly worth it! As we were arriving at the pyramids, there were three hot air balloons making their way above the pyramids. Such a beautiful site. Dad and I got out of the bus at one of the entrances--only to find that the gate was still locked at 8am! [The pyramids and the whole area that makes up what was once the land of this ancient civilization has a fence around its perimeters]
A car pulled up behind us, also stunned that the gate was still locked. He was a local, yet could speak English. SCORE! We started talking to him, and he asked us if we wanted to hop in his car and get the tour, but ENSURED us we would not have to pay. [I found this very funny] ;) I looked at Dad, like "um, are you sure?" and Dad said "well yeah!" only to then tell me that he would be absolutely furious if he ever found out if I did this again. [I mean, who hops in a pretty banged-up 1980s car with a stranger that has long pinky fingernails!! Dad, seriously, you don't have to worry about me getting into cars with strangers...and I'm actually surprised that you said OK to this idea! haha!] The guy turned out to be normal (no kidnappings ensued) and he was a great tourguide, telling us all about the ancient civilization, what each structure was for, showing us the archaeological sites, etc. We got to see the Pyramid of the Sun, Pyramid of the Moon, the avenue of the dead, and the Temple of the Feathered Serpent, among many other small ruins. It is amazing to me to imagine what life must have been like at that time. I climbed to the top of the highest pyramid--the third largest pyramid in the world! And to just look down from the top of that structure and visualize life in the ancient Aztec world is simply breathtaking.
In our tourguide's car
Our "tourguide" Barnaby
So our "guide" turns out to be a vendor--one that walks around to all the visitors at the pyramids trying to sell all kinds of jewelry, rock formations, ceremonial masks, etc. They even sold these things that sounded like a jaguar's growl when you blew into them (yes, they tried to sell you these after they touched their own mouth to them. *SORRY* I am a germaphobe!!). Our guy didn't try to push a sale on us, but we bought several things from him anyway. It made for a perfect morning adventure. And we made it back to the airport in plenty of time to pick up the rest of the crew!! Thanks, Dad, for this awesome adventure!!
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