Keeping A Positive Altitude

Michael came down with what we think is altitude sickness and he couldn’t join us today (he’s  thankfully feeling better as I write this).  So, Aubrey and I did our best to keep the day from being completely in ruins.  See what I did there?

Teotihuacán (pronounced "tay-oh-tee-wah-KAHN") is a large and majestic UNESCO archaeological site located about 25 miles north of Mexico City. It’s famous for two pyramids dedicated to the sun and the moon, but the site also contains beautiful murals and carvings and museums where you can learn about Teotihuacan’s history. 

Pyramid of the Sun - The largest pyramid at Teotihuacan and the third largest pyramid in the world. Yep, those are people climbing up those stairs.

Old meets new at the top of the Sun Pyramid (Moon Pyramid off in the distance)

Pyramid of the Moon - The second largest pyramid on the site.

These were built by hand more than 1,000 years before the Aztec’s showed up and gave them the names we use today.  And, it’s estimated that they took 250 years to complete.  The bottom line is that’s a lot of people carrying a lot of these types of rocks. 

The purpose for the pyramids remains a matter for debate.  An alter?  A sacrificial center?  What we know today is that the pyramids are a huge draw for tourists which is good and bad.  Good because it’s amazing to learn about them and explore something so old.  Bad because they aren’t very well cared for.  Thousands of people climb up and down every day and the wear and tear is obvious. Today, we were two of them.

There are also several of these multi-floor structures on the grounds which were some sort of housing – probably the equivalent of apartment buildings back in the day.  

That’s Aubrey up there!

Tonight, we have a great dinner reservation at Limosneros.  Tomorrow, we’re going to the Museum of Anthropology so we can learn a lot more about what we saw today.  Muchas gracias for tagging along!