Pyramids & Mines

I'm guessing it would be like visiting San Francisco and not seeing or driving over the Golden Gate Bridge... or like visiting New York City and not going to see the Statue of Liberty! Well, we certainly didn't want to be "those" people, so we made it a point and picked out a day to go see the famous pyramids of the Aztecs just outside of Mexico City.  

I think on the sixth or seventh try I finally pronounced it right. Teotihuacān is an Aztec name meaning "Place Where Men Become Gods" ...so needless to say, I was hoping for the best during our visit!

It was a beautiful day and perfect weather to be outside... but even with the good weather, Allen Jess wasn't too impressed when we arrived.

There really wasn't all that much to look at when we first walked in...

But then we realized we had entered the furthest and longest entrance to the park!

But every negative always has a positive... and the positive was that we got to enjoy a nice long walk together!

There were lots of smaller structures...

that were easily conquerable along the way!

Looks like a bunch of Aztec Princesses to me!

After a long and exhausting walk (it wasn't exactly stroller friendly!)...

we finally arrived to the massive Pyramid of the Sun!

Just seeing it up close and realizing just how big and old it was...

was totally worth the price of admission!

But seeing it up close wasn't good enough for some of us! So I gathered up the brave who wanted to join me on the journey to the top! Leo, Catalina, and Sofia were the only brave ones of the group... and they got a good head start in front of me.

"Come on old man!

I thought you did this kind of stuff for a living?!"

We made it to the top... but not without some hard breathing and our legs feeling like we had just walked up an enormous pyramid! Oh wait, that's right... we just did!

The view was pretty spectacular...

especially with the smaller Pyramid of the Moon in the background!

It wasn't very crowded at all, which made for going up & down those tiny little hundreds of steps a lot easier!

And while the kids & I went exploring up the pyramid...

the rest of the crew found some shade and had a snack.

Not surprisingly, Allen Jess found more interest & amazement in his toes... than he did the over 2,000 year-old pyramids!

Be that as it may... Momma Soch didn't want Allen to leave empty handed, so she bought him a souvenir t-shirt... which made us all very happy!

After a somewhat short but really cool visit to the pyramids, we still had almost half the day left... so we figured while we were out sight-seeing, some time up in the mountains would be a great idea!

A hour or so after leaving the pyramids, we found ourselves at 8,800 feet in the quaint little mountain town of 'Real del Monte'. 

The town was famous for it's mining, and was once the richest in the state when gold & silver were discovered. Amazingly, it was the British who made the town what it is today when they revitalized and developed the mining industry here way back when! And now, it is one of 50 towns recognized by Mexico's Board of Tourism as part of an initiative to promote a series of towns around the country that offer visitors a "magical" experience – by reason of their natural beauty, cultural riches, or historical relevance. Each one of these towns are referred to as "Pueblo Magico" (Magical Village).

We might not have experienced "magic"...

but it was still a really neat little town with lots of history!

And while it was rather warm at the pyramids...

it was definitely chilly up in the mountains!

But not to worry, for we all came prepared!

The town's steep streets, stairways, and small squares definitely had a colonial/English type feel to them... which made for some really neat photos. 

Speaking of the English... one of the great things that came from their involvement in the town are what's now called "Pastes". The English brought with them the tradition of making one of their more well known baked goods called a "pasty". Apparently the locals liked it so much, they decided to keep making them once the English left the town, and they've been making/selling them ever since... and is an extremely popular menu item! And judging from the pic below, they are very tasty!

After a delicious lunch, it was time to see the town...

And what better way to see it than on a tour bus?!

From atop of the tour bus, we got to see the town from a completely different perspective... and saw all of the amazing views of the town and all the old mining structures too! 

We ran into a little bit of bad weather (cold & rainy!)...

But nothing could dampen our silly group's spirits!

There were definitely some really beautiful views, and despite the crummy weather, everyone was enjoying the mountain fresh air... until suddenly, "pffffffttt!"

Somebody had "cut-the-cheese" as they say...

and incredibly, I was the one who got blamed!

The bus made a pit-stop at the highest point in town... where we all got off, stretched our legs, went to the bathroom, and bought some souvenirs.  

And then we all got back on...

where the silliness continued!

The tour came to an end, we were wet, cold, tired... 

and it was time to head back home.

On our way back to Texcoco, we passed through the city of Pachuca... and just so happened to drive by the "Reloj Monumental" (Monumental Clock), which is the icon of the city. It was donated by the English, built to commemorate the Centennial of Mexico's Independence, and was constructed by the same company who had built the rather large clock in England named, "Big Ben!"

We finally made it home... and you'd think all the walking, climbing, sitting, and driving we did that day at the pyramids and up in the mountains would've completely warn us out and caused us to go right to bed as soon as we got home... but as you can see, that certainly wasn't the case! Jorge was all bent out of shape about losing the night before, so he wanted a rematch and the Phase 10 cards got dealt! 

It was a long day, but it was certainly filled with lots of fun, good times, and really cool things to see! I know we enjoyed it very much and thank Jorge for driving us to places very few people get to see and experience in one day!