Click on a photo to enlarge it.
On Tuesday we spent 4 hours at the Pyramids in Teotihuacán - Mexico's largest ruins. There are 2 Pyramids - the Sun
(65m, 200ft) and the Moon (45m, 140ft). The Pyramid of the Sun is the third largest pyramid in the World, after
Cholula (Mexico) and Cheops (Egypt). We managed to climb up both of them despite battling with the huge steps that
are so steep you have to walk sideways up or down! But we were rewarded with a view of the whole site.
We had also picked a sizzling hot day to visit - not the best idea when there are so many steps to climb and no shade
in sight!! Plus, the whole site is huge and you end up doing quite a few miles just to cover it all. (We both paid
for it the next day when we looked like lobsters!!)
At least the museum had air conditioning and had a very good replica of the whole site along with various artefacts
on display. It was well worth the $3.60 entrance fee.
We got a taxi back and then went to the restaurant next to the campground to pay for 4 nights. The manager had come
round last night and told us that it was 75 pesos. But when we came to pay, she wanted 75 pesos each per person, which
of course made it 150 pesos per night! We told her that she had said it was 75 pesos not 150, and in the end she
refused to accept our money!
We were annoyed at the deception, seeing as, if we had known it was 150 pesos from the start we wouldn't have stopped
there. It just wasn't worth it - the toilets were full and the shower had not been cleaned for months!
We went back to the campground to speak to Wolfgang and Ursula about it and were invited for coffee and cakes with
them and another German couple, Guenter and Ilsemarie. Unfortunately, they had already paid the 150 pesos otherwise
we could have all stuck together and argued that she had told us all the wrong price to begin with.
The manager came round again later and after a lot of arguing, we eventually paid her 300 pesos for two nights,
even though we had actually stayed for three. (She didn't know that because she wasn't there when we arrived!) But
we still felt cheated.
That evening we had to do a monster washing up because we hadn't had time to do it before and Kirsten worked on
Ursula's photos on the computer.
On Wednesday, we said goodbye to Wolfgang and Ursula, who finally got CDs with all their photos downloaded onto them,
and also said goodbye to Guenter and Ilsemarie. We needed to get out our wood blocks again to get out of the
campground and then we headed across country trying to avoid Mexico City and the toll roads.
We ended up doing 47 miles in 3.5 hours!!! Must be a record! It was a very complicated route and we had to keep
stopping and asking for directions as there were no road signs. By the time we got to Tepotzotlán we were not
happy bunnies! Then we got stuck in traffic trying to find a parking spot so we could go and see the monastery.
We ended up having to drive the wrong way down a one way street!!
We had to drive away from the main centre and then just parked Winnie on the side of the road where we weren't
really allowed to park, and put the bonnet up! Helen stayed with Winnie, "pretending" to look at the problem,
whilst Kirsten spent an hour wandering around the monastery. Helen, in the meantime, kept getting offers of help
which she politely refused by saying that the engine was too hot!! When Kirsten returned, Helen quickly put some
transmission fluid in for show and we left!!
We tried to avoid the toll road to Tula but in the end had to give up as the road was wash board and we were told
it would take us 3 hours that way but only 30 minutes on the toll road. So we turned around and got onto the
highway where there was a toll booth straight away.
We picked the wrong lane of course, and whilst other lanes were moving forward we were just sitting there. Then
everyone in front of us started reversing! We managed to get into another lane and then saw that the problem was
a large motor home who had also started reversing. But then the driver (from Holland) saw us and came over to ask
us if we could change some Dollars into Pesos for him so he could pay the toll. He'd got stopped trying to drive
in Mexico City and had to pay a big fine, so he hadn't got any Pesos left. We were also running out of Pesos but
we gave him what he needed for the toll.
We finally got to the ruins at Tula and asked if we could park up there for the night. We had visits from no less
than 5 different police cars, asking if we were alright!! After the fifth one we didn't know whether to feel secure
or unsafe!! But once we'd turned the lights off we didn't get disturbed and we didn't have any problems. In fact we
slept really well!
On Thursday, we drove into the parking area and spent nearly 2 hours wandering around the site. There were coaches
full of school kids there, so we hurried ahead so that we could get the main attraction to ourselves - a pyramid
with large stone warriors on top of it.
Tula.
Afterwards, we drove back to Pachuca where we did some shopping, filled up with propane and then stopped at a Pemex
for the night.
On Friday, we had to give up on the rock formations in Mineral del Monte that we wanted to see, because we couldn't
find them!! So we turned around and then drove to Huasca where we managed to get a map from the tourist info place.
A good job too, otherwise we wouldn't have found the waterfalls we were looking for either!
The roads were really bad and when we got to the parking area, it was full of coaches with school kids. So we decided
to have lunch during which the coaches all left. Then we walked down to the waterfalls that were flowing down over
basalt rocks that were hexagonal shaped vertical pillars - like the Giants Causeway in Northern Ireland.
Afterwards, we managed to find the free road over to the coast which went over the mountains - another steep, windy
road - and we got stuck behind a lot of slow moving traffic with no chance of overtaking. The fog didn't help either!
What really concerned us was that Winnie's front right wheel was making a lot of banging noises which we suspected
had something to do with the suspension.
As we were slowly driving along, we came to a town where there was a garage. So we pulled in to get Winnie looked at.
It turned out that we needed grease on our axles and one hour later we were back on the road, silently driving along
without any traffic in front of us!
We managed to drive quite a distance but were running out of sunlight and there weren't any suitable places to stop
on the way. So we ended up driving for an hour in the dark and finally got to our destination - El Tajín ruins, where
we parked up for the night on the car park. It was quite peaceful except for the horses and dogs emptying the rubbish
bins, looking for food!!
On Saturday, we used our student cards to get into the ruins for free and wandered around for about 1 hour. We were
virtually alone there, but unfortunately you are not allowed to climb onto anything. The ruins had been overgrown
with tropical forest and most of the area is still not excavated. It was very hot and muggy, so we didn't spend too
much time there.
Outside, we watched a performance by the Voladores - men dressed in traditional costume, who climb up a 200ft high
pole, and then spin slowly around so that the ropes attached to their waists are wrapped around the pole. They then
fall off backwards, and as the pole swings around, their ropes are unravelled until they get to the floor. This is
all done to music - flute and small drum - played by another man standing on the top of a platform at the top of the
pole.
Voladores in El Tajín.
Then we drove to the "Emerald Coast" and on the way had an argument over the toll that we had to pay for a bridge.
They charged us the rate for lorries and busses. So we switched the engine off and asked for the manager. In the
meantime, a very long queue built up behind us as there was only one lane!! We were finally let through for the 1A
rate which is the rate we had always paid before.
Later, we read in our camping guidebook that we probably do have to pay the higher rate because we have 6 wheels!!
Oh well, you live and learn!
After all the excitement of the last few weeks, we decided it was time for a rest and found a nice campground on
the coast and negotiated a price for a weeks stay. Holiday at last!
