Teotihuacán, Mexico

Today was our day trip to Teotihuacán! This will be the first ruin complex we’ve seen post-covid, although we did see some castle ruins in Okinawa last year. I'm big into ruins :)

The guidebooks and travel blogs all suggest leaving the city by 8am to beat the crowds at Teotihuacán. Getting up early didn’t seem to be very vacation-ish so we just had a casual morning and left the hotel at 10am.

Walked out of the pedestrian area to catch an Uber. Our driver suggested a flat rate to go there and back, which we agreed to as it just made logistics simpler. We also agreed to take the toll highway which cut travel time in half!

And so we arrived at Teotihuacán a little after 11am. Paid our entrance fees (95 MXN each, about 6.50 CAD), took a pic of our driver’s car to remember it, and then we were off!

Sat on some steps in front of Pyramid of the Sun and read the Moon Guide overview of Teotihuacán. Then we walked down Avenue of the Dead towards the Pyramid of the Moon. When I backpacked through in 1997 it was still possible to climb both pyramids, however all the ruins are now off-limits to protect them. Probably we shouldn’t have been climbing them back in the 90s either, although the number of tourists was far lower.

Near the Pyramid of the Moon is the Palace of Quetzalpapaloti. I didn’t remember the excavated palace from my first visit; it was cool to see. Also we lucked out with the timing, in a lull between tour groups. Teotihuacán is huge and can absorb a lot of people, although it didn’t seem very crowded while we were there. The small enclosed spaces in the palace can get busy though.

Next was the 2km walk down to the other end of Avenue of the Dead, to see the Temple of Quetzalcóatl and stone carvings of serpents’ heads lining a staircase. Along the way took a million pics because the lighting was great over the pyramids.

It took us just under two hours to see the main attractions in Teotihuacán, with lots of time spent stopping for pics. For me, the most impressive thing about Teotihuacán is its size. The ruins aren’t as artistic as others but it is massive.

Our driver was waiting for us at the exit, and we took off back to the city.

Had lunch at the very busy taco place across from the hotel. Every time we’ve looked out from our balcony there’s been a line-up, mostly with locals, always a good sign. Shared the special of five tacos and a Coke for 65 MXN (4.50 CAD). They were yummy and hit the spot.

Cause we used the tolls roads, we still had the afternoon for more touristing. Started with the Metropolitan Cathedral in the Zócalo. The cathedral itself is quite amazing, with two enormous pipe organs.

Somehow we found our way inside the pipe organ room in the middle of the cathedral, and were able to see them up close. It’s a 30 MXN ticket to enter, and after we were inside, the ticket person closed the door to further entrants. Still not sure how we made the cut but oh well. There’s a free daily performance of the pipe organs at 9am; we may try to see this tomorrow before breakfast.

Next checked out the interior of the Gran Hotel de la Ciudad, to see the Tiffany glass ceiling. It was pretty cool.

We were heading back to our hotel when we realized the lighting in the Zócalo was perfect, with the low sun highlighting the large Mexican flag against a dark grey sky. So we took another million pics.

Finally made it back to the hotel, just before it started raining at 5pm as forecast.

For dinner we finally ventured off campus, and ate at Limosneros. It’s a modern take on Mexican classics. We really enjoyed it.

Saw the preparations for Inauguration Day tomorrow. There’s a very loud sound system set up in the Zócalo. Last night they were doing sound checks at midnight! The sound system does have excellent bass though - it totally shook the doors to our balcony last night.