Exploring Teotihuacan, Hot Air Balloon and gastronomic experiences (Day 9)
For our last epic tour we woke up at 4:30 am, the earliest of the trip.The Hot air balloon company , Volare picked us up at 5 am, for our Sunrise tour of Teotihuacan,and brought us to their take off location after picking up a few more people from different sections of the city. After a quick check in we had some quick snacks and coffee to wake us up before we started taking off one by one at first light. Hot air ballooning is a very serene experience with some thrilling moments just during take-off and landing. As we soared into the sky colored with pastel shades of purple and orange mixed in a gradient of deep blue along with at least a hundred other colorful balloons, all the tiredness and the exhaustion due to lack of sleep vanished.
With the calm winds we drifted towards the temple complex as the first rays of the sun hit the Pyramid of the Sun. As he slowed down and reduced altitude this magnificent pyramid , the tallest in Mexico at 246 feet( 75 meters) was glistening like gold in the early morning sunlight . Very soon they landed the balloon on the other side of the archaeological site and a quick transfer to a pick up truck brought us back to the take off location, where a delicious mexican buffet breakfast awaited us with a mariachi band playing. Even though the balloon ride was short but is an experience that one must have if they get a chance, the ride over this one of a kind unique ancient site is simple and adds a cherry on the top.
After a relaxing breakfast while being serenaded by the mariachi band , we hopped onto their shuttle service to drop us off at the Archaeological Site. After paying all the necessary fees we started our walking tour of this huge complex.
Teotihuacan,a UNESCO World Heritage site, is an ancient city with two of the most well known and tallest pyramids built in the pre-Columbian Americas, namely the Pyramid of the Sun and the Pyramid of the Moon. The city is spread in eight square miles (21 km2) with numerous other governmental and residential building complexes. The famous avenue of the dead is a straight 1.5 miles,130 feet (40 meter) wide pathway connecting the Temple of Quetzalcóatl (the Feathered Serpent) to the pyramid of the moon with the pyramid of the sun falling in between. Currently the pathway is lined up with sellers of all kinds of stuff from all over the country. Teotihuacan exported fine obsidian tools found throughout Mesoamerica and you can see a lot of different souvenirs made of different colorado obsidian.
The city is estimated to be from 100 BCE, with constructions continuing for the next 300 and became a religious center as well as the largest and most populated center in the pre-Columbian Americas. Although nobody can say if it was a center of an empire or where they came from or if it was an amalgamation of all the other tribes, it's documented that it had influence throughout Mesoamerica even far south in Tikal in Guatemala. It is the most-visited archeological site in Mexico, receiving 4-5 million visitors each year.
The site is huge and has eight entrances, it takes hours to explore the area properly. We entered from the gate closest to the Pyramid of the Sun and joined the “avenue of the dead '' to the Pyramid of the moon.When we entered it was late morning and all the street vendors were just settling in with their ware.From there we started our way back stopping at the Palace of Quetzalpapalotl to the right. There is another entrance on this side of the complex which is lined with fixed stores selling all kinds of souvenirs. By the time we got back to the Pyramid of sun it was already late afternoon and we had to skip the Temple of Quetzalcoatl as we had to meet some friends for lunch. We were very sad to have missed it this time as it is one of the prettiest temples of the complex.
On the way to lunch we stopped at Dichoso Cacao, a Mexican artisanal chocolate store to quickly pick up some chocolates and chat with the guys who started this unique store. After lunch at Green Pizza in the Roma Norte neighborhood of Mexico City we visited the El Liquor Store to chat up with the owner and pick up some unique mezcals. Our friend offered to drop off us to the airport and since we were getting late, we rushed back to the Hilton airport hotel , located right in the airport to quickly pack up and get back in the car to get dropped off at the departure terminal ( as it would have taken us longer to walk with all the luggage). And thus our first ever trip to Mexico was done, with an assertive knowledge that we will be back many more times to this wonderful place which feels very much like home.
