Monte Alban, one of the largest and earliest cities, 400 BC, was situated on a ridge 400 feet above the valley floor. This site was the civic/ceremonial area and the common people lived in the valley on either side of the ridge located where Oaxaca now is. We toured a small museum which houses artifacts and carvings found in the excavation process. There are unrestored and unexcavated buildings on the site as well as many nicely restored ones. We could climb up to the top of both the North and South platforms but, as usual, we were not given enough time to do everything. This web site give more information and many pictures: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monte_Alb%C3%A1n In the late afternoon the bus took us to the Santo Domingo de Guzmán church. It has been completely restored and the main alter is covered with Gold leaf. It is the most elaborate church in Oaxaca and one of the most beautiful we have seen. From there we walked a few blocks to the Zocalo where we had plenty of time to shop before dinner. On the way our guide showed us where the restaurant is as we will need to walk back there when it is time to eat. We had plenty of time to walk around the Zocalo and see the Cathedral there and do a little shopping since we have not had much time to do that. On the way back to the restaurant we saw a bar with a band and decided we would go back there after eating. Our buffet dinner was at the El Milenario restaurant. Good food and good fellowship with friends. Upon leaving the restaurant we heard music and saw there was a parade coming up the street toward us. In Mexico they have a parade for most every occasion. Today it is Women’s Day. There was loud music, colorful costumes and anyone could join in and walk the parade route. We walked on to the bar where we hoped to hear some more music but the band was taking a break. We were told they would be back in a Mexican moment. They never showed up before it was time for us to catch the bus back to the campground. Some of the caravan stayed in town and took taxis home later.
Mar 8 Day 44 Free day in Oaxaca
Today about 10 AM we walked over to the Tule Tree and the shopping area and Mercado there. It is just a couple of blocks away. The Tule Tree is a 2000 year old Mexican Cyprus that is 164 feet high and 161 feet in circumference at the base. It is said to be the largest tree in the world. This tree is truly amazing. We then walked through most all the little open air shops looking for we know not what…just looking. Then we came upon a large building that was all small eating places. It was crowded with locals. We looked over everything and decided we wanted to try something we have not seen before. It looked sort of like a Pizza but with Mexican ingredients and called a Tlayudas. It was cooked on an open wood fire which was covered with a pottery plate. We saw them for sale several places. The plates are covered with something special that works like Teflon. The tortilla was first covered with Oaxaca Cheese, another story, and then chicken or whatever meat you want. Vegetables, guacamole and more cheese was added. It was very, very good. So good in fact, later in the evening we walked back over with friends and each had another one. When we were back after dinner we finished our Mexican Train game that we had started a couple of nights ago. This was a relaxing fun day and we are ready to hit the road again tomorrow.
Mar 9 Day 45 Travel to Pueblo/Cholula
We made it through the huge morning traffic without any problems. Today promises to be another long day of driving up and down and around the mountains. The highways are mostly toll roads, 5 of them, so the road should be a little better. We expect to have to pay more than $40 for toll fees today. But it may be better with safer highways. The terrain changes as we go up and down in elevation. One area we went through the ground soil was a very soft pure white limestone. It looked like snow with the sparse grasses showing through. And the areas where the highway is cut through the hills is pure white rock. We even went through a tunnel. And a little later we see many kinds of cactus and when we are in the valleys we see crops for human consumption, fields that are barren waiting for the planting season and livestock. We have told you of venders trying to sell whatever at the topes or speed bumps. Well today they are selling puppies. They will try almost anything to make a sale. We made it safely to Cholula
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Mar 10 Day 46 Tour Pueblo/Cholula, ruins and Zocalo
Today we took an open air trolley tour through Cholula on our way to Tepanapa Pyramid. The Great Pyramid of Cholula (Tepanapa) was built over many generations from the 2nd century BC to the early 16th century and is said to be the largest pyramid ever constructed in the world. Now it just looks like a big hill with a church built on top. But the entire hill if excavated would be a very large pyramid. There are over 5 miles of tunnels that have been excavated by archeologists. The pyramid as a whole has not been excavated and restored because of the historic and religious significance of the church that sit atop the pyramid. We toured parts of the tunnels and the restored parts of the pyramid. Then we had about 15 minutes to climb to the top and see the church, Iglesia de Nuestra Senora de los Remedios. The church was built by the Spanish in colonial times (1594) on the site of the pre-Hispanic temple. It is a major Catholic pilgrimage destination. On our way walking up we were passed by a ceremony coming down. Following this we had lunch in Cholula before heading back to the campground.
Mar. 11 Day 47 Travel to Teotihuacan
In our travel briefing this morning we found out we are not going to follow the route set for us in our Trip Log Book due to some problem getting on that highway. So the Wagon Master wants us to travel in a tight Caravan today meaning we will follow one another keeping the RV in front of us in sight at all times and preferably leaving only a distance for passing vehicles to get in between us. This is very hard to do, especially when we are in cities with traffic lights. We were given brief and critical instructions but most important that we stay together. We inched out very slowly in extremely heavy AM traffic and are now sitting in the “breakdown lane” waiting for all to regroup. This is a city adjacent to Puebla which alone has 475,000 people so you can imagine the congestion getting onto the highway, changing lanes, etc. We are 4th in the caravan and this stop alone to regroup took 1 hour. After regrouping we are traveling in the center lane with traffic zooming by us on both sides. Now, for some interesting things we see along the road. Right now we are passing two horses pulling a plow. We have seen oxen used to plow fields too. Some things are quite primitive. At Texmalucan we can see an inactive volcano with lots of snow on top of it. We all stopped here at a Pemex station for some to fill up their vehicles. This took about ½ hour. This is the kind of problem we run into when we all travel together. While here Rig # 5, one that has had several other problems, said his engine was overheating and added some water and anti-freeze. Gene said he thought there was oil mixed in the water and it might be a bigger problem. Then we found out the Wagon Master had been in contact with the Green Angels, the volunteer group here in Mexico that helps people in distress on the highways. They are going to come and lead us into the campground. What a relief. So we are waiting for them to get here. After waiting another hour the Wagon Master says they can’t find us and we are going to head out, without Rig #5 as they seem to have a more serious problem. The Tail Gunner will stay back with them. So we were here at this Pemex for 1.5 hours. They will get 2 tow trucks to pull or haul the truck and trailer of Rig #5. Now we are near the back of the Caravan. It is much harder to keep up. It is just really hard when we are continually going through little villages. So when we get out on the open road, those in the front need to slow down and the back speeds up but we often do not catch up. We have just topped 10,500 feet but it really does not seem so as we were already at a high altitude before we left. Here is another Toll Booth and this time we are paying the most ever, 336 Pecos which today is about $75 US. Some in the caravan did not pay as much so we may have gotten ripped off. That is not unusual either. This route has taken us way, way too close to Mexico City and we are in very heavy traffic. The small towns adjacent to Mexico City seem to be less attractive and cared for. Just saw a young guy jump on the front of a moving car to wash his windshield as the driver inched into traffic. This town has very narrow streets, heavy traffic and double parking at times so it is hard to maneuver our big rigs. Will this day ever end. It is here that the very smallest rig got his mirror clipped off today. We are near to the campground. Thank you, Lord. Suddenly we find out the owner of the campground has spotted us and will lead us into the campground. This is such a good thing as the Wagon Master has told us it is very tricky getting into the campground due to some critical turns with too many roads to choose from. When we get to the town we find it is packed with cars and buses and people all going every which way plus sharp turns and narrow streets. It is a good thing we only have a few blocks to go. Just before we get to the campground there is a right sharp turn over a single lane, one way, bridge with no guard rails. We have to cross going the wrong direction. Yes this is true. Only in Mexico. It is too narrow to get across with the sharp turn we had to make so most of the big rigs have to back up some just to get across. Now we find the campground is very small. There is barely room for all the RVs and hard to maneuver into our spot. The group ends up parking every which way. But we are here safe and sound…except for Rig 5. They did not get towed in after their breakdown until 8 PM. They will work tomorrow at getting a mechanic to fix it. Tomorrow will be a big day in Mexico City so off to bed.
In our travel briefing this morning we found out we are not going to follow the route set for us in our Trip Log Book due to some problem getting on that highway. So the Wagon Master wants us to travel in a tight Caravan today meaning we will follow one another keeping the RV in front of us in sight at all times and preferably leaving only a distance for passing vehicles to get in between us. This is very hard to do, especially when we are in cities with traffic lights. We were given brief and critical instructions but most important that we stay together. We inched out very slowly in extremely heavy AM traffic and are now sitting in the “breakdown lane” waiting for all to regroup. This is a city adjacent to Puebla which alone has 475,000 people so you can imagine the congestion getting onto the highway, changing lanes, etc. We are 4th in the caravan and this stop alone to regroup took 1 hour. After regrouping we are traveling in the center lane with traffic zooming by us on both sides. Now, for some interesting things we see along the road. Right now we are passing two horses pulling a plow. We have seen oxen used to plow fields too. Some things are quite primitive. At Texmalucan we can see an inactive volcano with lots of snow on top of it. We all stopped here at a Pemex station for some to fill up their vehicles. This took about ½ hour. This is the kind of problem we run into when we all travel together. While here Rig # 5, one that has had several other problems, said his engine was overheating and added some water and anti-freeze. Gene said he thought there was oil mixed in the water and it might be a bigger problem. Then we found out the Wagon Master had been in contact with the Green Angels, the volunteer group here in Mexico that helps people in distress on the highways. They are going to come and lead us into the campground. What a relief. So we are waiting for them to get here. After waiting another hour the Wagon Master says they can’t find us and we are going to head out, without Rig #5 as they seem to have a more serious problem. The Tail Gunner will stay back with them. So we were here at this Pemex for 1.5 hours. They will get 2 tow trucks to pull or haul the truck and trailer of Rig #5. Now we are near the back of the Caravan. It is much harder to keep up. It is just really hard when we are continually going through little villages. So when we get out on the open road, those in the front need to slow down and the back speeds up but we often do not catch up. We have just topped 10,500 feet but it really does not seem so as we were already at a high altitude before we left. Here is another Toll Booth and this time we are paying the most ever, 336 Pecos which today is about $75 US. Some in the caravan did not pay as much so we may have gotten ripped off. That is not unusual either. This route has taken us way, way too close to Mexico City and we are in very heavy traffic. The small towns adjacent to Mexico City seem to be less attractive and cared for. Just saw a young guy jump on the front of a moving car to wash his windshield as the driver inched into traffic. This town has very narrow streets, heavy traffic and double parking at times so it is hard to maneuver our big rigs. Will this day ever end. It is here that the very smallest rig got his mirror clipped off today. We are near to the campground. Thank you, Lord. Suddenly we find out the owner of the campground has spotted us and will lead us into the campground. This is such a good thing as the Wagon Master has told us it is very tricky getting into the campground due to some critical turns with too many roads to choose from. When we get to the town we find it is packed with cars and buses and people all going every which way plus sharp turns and narrow streets. It is a good thing we only have a few blocks to go. Just before we get to the campground there is a right sharp turn over a single lane, one way, bridge with no guard rails. We have to cross going the wrong direction. Yes this is true. Only in Mexico. It is too narrow to get across with the sharp turn we had to make so most of the big rigs have to back up some just to get across. Now we find the campground is very small. There is barely room for all the RVs and hard to maneuver into our spot. The group ends up parking every which way. But we are here safe and sound…except for Rig 5. They did not get towed in after their breakdown until 8 PM. They will work tomorrow at getting a mechanic to fix it. Tomorrow will be a big day in Mexico City so off to bed.
Mar 12 Day 48 Bus tour to Our Lady of Guadalupe Basilica and Teotihuacan ruins
We left this morning at 8:30 as it is about an hour’s drive in heavy traffic into Mexico City. We saw areas where the housing has been built up and over the mountainside. You can’t see streets, just lots and lots of houses. One interesting thing we saw and have seen before is kids waiting at the stop lights to clean windshields. Today there were 2 of them cleaning the windows all the way around in the time it takes to sit at a stop light. At the same time there was a young lady walking between the cars on this busy 3 or 4 lane road trying to sell bottles of water. Only in Mexico. Next we were bused to the heart of Mexico City. It is here that the Aztec first settled in 1325 and built a temple to their Gods. The Aztecs and other peoples of ancient times added a new "shell" of construction, covering the prior temple. It was often done in 52-year cycles, a time lapse of great importance according to the Mayan calendar. Here the archeologists have discovered 7 distinct temples, one on top of another. They continue working in the area today gathering more information about the Aztec peoples. We went into the very beautiful and very modern Our Lady of Guadalupe Basilica here at the this location. Our guide told us the story of how Our Lady of Guadalupe became such an important part of the Catholics in Mexico. On the internet I found this description: Our Lady of Guadalupe is an aspect of the Virgin Mary, who is believed to have appeared to St. Juan Diego Cuauhtlatoatzin, an Aztec convert to Roman Catholicism in 1531. According to the traditional account, Juan Diego was walking between his village and Mexico City on December 12, 1531 when Our Lady of Guadalupe appeared, speaking to him in his native Nahuatl language. She told him to build a church at the site. When Juan Diego spoke to the Spanish bishop, the bishop did not believe him, asking for a miraculous sign. Although it was winter, the Virgin told Juan Diego to gather flowers, and Spanish roses bloomed right at his feet. When Juan Diego presented these to the bishop, the roses fell from his apron (the Tilma) and an icon of the Virgin was miraculously imprinted on the cloth. The bishop ordered a church built at once, dedicated to Our Lady of Guadalupe. The shrine of the Virgin of Guadalupe has proved extremely popular in Mexico ever since. Spanish missionaries used the story of her appearance to help convert millions of indigenous people in what had been the Aztec Empire. This information and photo is from: http://www.sacred-destinations.com/mexico/mexico-city-basilica-guadalupe.htm. The new magnificent Basilica was built in 1976 and truly is grand. They have mass every hour, 24 hours a day plus there are 6 other chapels which have one mass each day. The building holds 50,000 people. It is a magnificent structure. There are 5 other churches around this plaza including a very small church on the hill mentioned in the story about Our Lady of Guadalupe. It was built about 1531. The original Basilica of Our Lady (the Antigua Basilica) dates from 1536 still stands and is adjacent to the new one. However it is slowly sinking into the moist ground. The walls, ceiling and arches are now being shored up to help to preserve it. We can see from the outside how it is leaning.
We then traveled to Teotihuacan for lunch, a nice buffet, before seeing the ruins. Gene and I went to the ruins a year ago in January but found them quite interesting anyway after having seen many other ruins here in Mexico. It is by far the largest complex we have seen. It covers over 14 square miles and only 20 percent has been excavated. It was occupied from 100 BC to 800 AD. The two main buildings are the Pyramid to the Sun and the Pyramid to the Moon. We again, as last year, climbed the Pyramid to the Sun. However this year they for some unknown reason have closed off the last stairs to the top. So we were somewhat disappointed but it was fun anyway. There are many more buildings and platforms to see and we did not have time to see them all. We often do not have time to see everything we would like.
Mar. 13, Day 49 Bus tour to Anthropology Museum, Floating Gardens and Zocalo in Mexico City This morning we were awakened early, about 6 am, to fireworks and a parade. This seems to be a very busy and active city….and noisy. We don’t know what this parade is for nor why there was so much traffic yesterday. We think some of it is church related and some is a political rally going on. We do know they are having an election here soon. At any rate we are up bright an early. Our drive into the heart of Mexico City is slow going. There are 8 lanes of traffic, 4 each way, and the traffic is heaviest going toward downtown. Because of the heavy traffic in Mexico City, those who own autos are only allowed to drive them one day a week. The rest of the time they have to find some other means of transportation. We are now at the Museum of Anthropology. It is a very modern building, beautiful, clean and well kept. There are several sections but we are concentrating on the Mayan and Aztec cultures. We have a guide but there is so much to see that he has to just skim over the surface. We will have an extra 30 minutes at the end of his tour to see whatever we want. Since we have been to both the Aztec and Mayan ruins he spends most of his time comparing the two peoples. A good web site for pictures and information about the museum and its artifacts can be found at: http://www.sacred-destinations.com/mexico/mexico-city-archaeological-museum.htm. Links to the websites of many of the ruins we went to are also at that site also. Next we went to the beautiful Floating Gardens. When the Aztec first settled in what is now Mexico City it was a small island on a large lake surrounded by mountains on all sides. They devised ways to make the island bigger by removing the soil and making canals through the city. The soil was then used to increase the size of the island. Those canals are now called “The Floating Gardens”. The waters are very rich in minerals and natural fertilizers needed to grow flowers and garden vegetables. Mexico City is noted for beautiful flowering plants and cut flowers that grow adjacent to these canals. Today this area, once on the edge of Mexico City , has been engulfed by the gigantic metropolis. There are more than 8 miles of these canals which are still navigable and used for transportation by the locals and entertainment for the tourists. We enjoyed a fun time aboard the flat bottom boats floating along the canal. Each boat has a long table and chairs for 12 people and we were served a very good Mexican meal as we floated along. We listened to Mariachi music sung and played by a great Mexican band on a boat beside us. Then we had the opportunity to view and purchase handicrafts made by some of the local people. It was a very memorable time.
After this fun time we went to the Zocalo in the heart of Mexico City. When the Aztec first settled here they built a Temple on this land. In 1978 when the city was doing some excavation they discovered some ruins. The archeologists have discovered the remains of 7 temples, one built on top of another which was the practice of the Aztecs. They believe a life cycle is 52 years and so each 52 years they build a new temple shell over the top of the last. We have found this to be true in most all the ruins we have visited. Also located at the Zocalo is the Governors Palace, the capitol building of Mexico. We were allowed in after going through security similar to the airports in the USA. Inside is a huge courtyard with a 3 story building around it. Our main reason for going there was to see murals painted by the well known Mexican painter, Diego Rivera. In his paintings he tells the story of the Mexican people and their life style. Also on the Zocalo is another huge Cathedral built in 1573. The City's soft clay subsoil, subject to continuous movement over the years, has caused the gradual sinking this cathedral too, and sophisticated restoration works has prevented its collapse. On our way home, during rush hour traffic we were stuck in traffic at several different points. Like any big city honking of horns is the way some think will solve the problems. At one intersection it was quite a site and sound show as cars, trucks and buses jockeyed for position. We did make it home with no problems but it was a long trip. Actually today we spent 5 ¼ hours on the bus and 5 ½ hours visiting the city sites. But, it was a very good , fun and learning experience.
