Tag Archives: Teotihuacan

Part Dos (2) Mexico 1973

22 Jan

The University transport chugged along through the mountains from Mexico City to Puebla. We were high enough that my ears popped 2,240 meters (7,350 ft). I never had altitude sickness thank God, but some of the students did.

Arriving in Puebla, I shared a room in a boarding house with a fellow traveler, Lela from Colorado. She was blond where I was dark. We both had four siblings and were raised Catholic. We even unpacked the same perfume. As a Spanish major, her Spanish was much better than mine. We became fast friends. The room included meals which were an introduction to Mexican cuisine. I’d never eaten tortillas in my life. Their fragrance was nothing I’d ever experienced. I found it strange at first but later it meant Mexico and home to me.

The wonderful corn tortillas of central Mexico.

The university was closed for summer break. In order to receive credit for a full semester we had a three-week class called Introduction to Mexico. It was an amazing three weeks. Week ONE covered pre-Hispanic Mexico. We learned about the Aztec, Olmec and Mayan civilizations. We traveled in the little green bus to Teotihuacan outside of Mexico City. We dined on traditional mole (MO-lay, like guacamole) Poblano, a bitter spicy chocolate sauce poured over chicken or vegetable filled tortillas. The recipe has more than 20 ingredients and is kept secret, handed down for generations.

I LOVE mole, but Lisa not so much.
Gotta love the grunge look and long hair of the 70’s.
Teotihuacan, (Aztec) on top of the pyramid of the moon with the pyramid of the sun in the background.
Replicating the places I visited in 1973, 44 years later.
The Temple of the Feathered Serpent is the third largest pyramid at Teotihuacan, a pre-Columbian site in central Mexico. This structure is notable partly due to the discovery in the 1980s of more than a hundred possibly sacrificial victims found buried beneath the structure. Wikipedia
Olmec carved basalt boulders dating 900 BC near Vera Cruz.

Our Week TWO of Mexican Culture covered Colonial Mexico, Spanish influence, cathedrals, indigenous rights and revolutions. Stay tuned next week for more adventures part three.

DOS TORTAS

Teotihuacán – The Valley of the Gods

27 Aug

In September 1973, having arrived in Mexico only a few days prior as a foreign exchange student, I joined classmates on a field trip to Teotihuacán, an ancient Aztec city of enormous pyramids in a valley outside of Mexico City. The day was spent in awe for this twenty-one year old girl from New Jersey and began my love affair with Mexico.

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The view from the Pyramid of the Moon September 1973

Today, living in Mexico full-time as a retiree, I got the chance to revisit Teotihuacán.

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We traveled from our hotel in Mexico City via metro to the bus terminal for the one hour ride to Teotihuacán. Having downloaded Bill Bell’s On-Site Guide we had the confidence and information we needed. Recreating the photos was fun. Some of the photo angles are different since there have been renovations to the pyramids.

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Willing to offer my heart as sacrifice after the strenuous climb.

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The biggest change has been the growth of the many towns around the pyramids due to the income from tourism. We arrived early. There were very large crowds later in the day when the tour buses arrived.

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La Gruta

We even ate dinner at La Gruta, an immense cave turned restaurant. I hadn’t thought of the place in years. We ate lunch here as a table full of students in 1973. It was much as I remembered.

We spent two days huffing and puffing up and down pyramids. It was truly a wonderful experience. DOS TORTAS

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Why Mexico?

1 Jan

There have been a series of questions that people have asked when we tell them that we are moving to Mexico. I will attempt to address them each in their own blog. The first is Why Mexico? I studied and lived in Central Mexico during my junior year in college at The Universidad de Las Americas in Cholula, Puebla 1973-74.

I was in school for nine months, six of which were studying intensive Spanish, four hours a day/four days a week. The school was on a trimester program, so three-day weekends allowed me to travel. I visited Puerto Vallarta, Acapulco, Monterrey, Tampico, Vera Cruz, Oaxaca, Puebla, the Yucatan and Tehuantepec. I fell in love with churches, pyramids, small pueblos, big cities, museos, Mexican artistas, dancing, history, the people and speaking Spanish. At 21 I was designing the house I wanted to build in Mexico. Who knew it would take me forty years to realize my dream.

After my studies in Mexico, I moved to Austin, TX at the suggestion of a teacher who knew how much I loved my time in Mexico. I wanted to continue to speak Spanish and live as part of a Mexican/American community. I never could have imagined the life I’d get to live in Austin. I’ve loved the community and being part of the experience of living here. It’s time for a change. The city has grown and I am ready for a smaller home-base that will allow us to travel and live simply. I feel as if I am going home. I am forever grateful to Lisa who is excited to share this sueño conmigo.

Making tamales for my birthday with my Mexican family. Feb. 1974

Making tamales for my birthday with my Mexican family  February 1974

View from the Pyramid of the Moon, Teotihuacan, outside of Mexico City. Sept.1973

View from the Pyramid of the Moon, Teotihuacan, outside of Mexico City September 1973

During a festival in Cholula, Puebla.

During a festival in Cholula, Puebla.

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