On my recent trip to Mexico, my friend and I both had the famous pyramids of Teotihuacan on the top of our ‘must see’ list. Although you can get transport to the pyramids from Mexico City by yourself via public transport, we decided to take the easy option for the day and book a Teotihuacan Day Tour (450 MXD from Mundo Joven Mexico City Hostel).
We were picked up in the morning at 9am at our hostel and as is customary on any sort of minivan / minibus tour in the developing world, we spent the next hour driving around collecting other guests / switching vans / not really knowing what was happening but just went with it anyway.
Finally, we met our guide for the day, Sergio. Sergio was a lovely older Mexican man, who spoke perfect English and was a wealth of knowledge. He had over 20 years’ experience, was clearly passionate about his subject matter, and was definitely better than any guide I have had in Asia or Africa for a similar style of day tour.
Our first stop was in Mexico City, at Three Cultures Square. The square has ancient ruins from the Pre-Columbian Mexicans, colonial buildings from the Spanish, and buildings of the independent ‘mestizo’ nation. It was also the site of a massacre that occurred in 1968, just before Mexico City hosted the Olympics. Although the exact number of students and bystanders killed by government forces, including snipers, remains disputed, our guide told us that during this massacre police entered apartments that overlooked the square and killed innocent women and children, who were not even involved with the student protests. At the time, the media and government covered up the scandal, with the Olympics commencing only ten days afterwards.
After Three Cultures Square, we headed out of town towards the ruins. Close to Teotihuacan we stopped at a craft shop and distillery. The hosts gave us a great information session about the agave plant, mezcal, tequila, obsidian, loom weaving and silver craft. Sometimes these sort of ‘shopping stops’ can be crazy long, pointless and dull, but this one was actually very fun, brief and we were not pressured to buy at all! The highlight was the free tequila, mezcal and agave juice – and we were taught a new way to drink tequila – apparently we had been doing it wrong all these years!!! Here’s my version of their instructions:
Step 1. Shake salt over a quarter of a lime.
Step 2. Put salted lime in mouth and suck out lime juice. DO NOT SWALLOW!!
Step 3. Hold salty lime juice in mouth and THEN add your tequila shot into the mix your mouth.
Step 4. Shake the salty lime juice around in your mouth with the tequila like a mouthwash.
Step 5. Savour the flavour – It’s a margarita in your mouth!!
Step 6. NOW you can swallow 😀
After the craft shop stop, we moved on to the pyramids, where our guide gave us the full guided tour followed by free time to climb the pyramids as we wished. We learnt about the legends and beliefs of those who built the pyramids, as well as those who found them later (Teotihuacan was first built around 100 BC but later discovered by the Aztecs). We saw the details in the architecure and took a whole heap of photographs. Climbing the pyramids themselves was a highlight – those steps sure are steep!!
Another highlight for me was hearing the ‘Jaguar’ call all around the pyramids, which was made through a device being sold by hawkers. My friend Nick was very patient with me being an idiot and screaming dramatically every time I heard a ‘jaguar’. Thanks Nick!
After the pyramids we stopped in at a super fancy buffet, which cost $140 MXD a person but was fantastic. It had Mexican food as well as International food, plus loads of fruit and desserts. Again, sometimes these sorts of tours send you somewhere super overpriced and unreasonable, but this was an exception. I really couldn’t fault it.
We then went on to see another section of the ruins at the Temple of Quetzalcoatl before heading back towards Mexico City and our final stop of the day, the Basilica of Guadalupe. Call me ignorant (I won’t argue) but I had never even HEARD of this church before I booked this tour. Somewhat embarrassing since apparently it’s the most visited religious site in the Western World after the Vatican. Literally millions of visitors a year, mainly around December 12. I had no idea! The church wasn’t actually all that pretty, but our guide made it interesting and just how important it is in Latin America made it worth the stop.
We finished the tour and got back to our accommodation around 6pm. While some backpackers will argue for the benefits of going to the pyramids alone (no schedule, save some $$$ etc), I really enjoyed this tour and would recommend it to anyone visiting Mexico City.
