Leaving Mexico City

Today, we drove from Mexico City to San Miguel de Allende with stops at Teotihuacan and Queretaro. Photo: Breakfast on the street in Mexico City––pollo (chicken) and tacos.

Estado de Mexico

Not too far from Mexico City, we drove through an area that my tour director, Liliana, said was called Estado de Mexico, which had very colorful houses on both sides of the highway. Quite a sight. However, she also told me that it would not be safe to go there on your own as it is like the favelas in Rio where uninvited guests are not welcome.

Estado de Mexico

Another view.

Estado de Mexico

Close–up of some of the houses.

Estado de Mexico

The free cable cars that take residents up the hills to their houses.

Estado de Mexico

A colorful colonial church in the colorful town.

Estado de Mexico

A more modern church.

Teotihuacan

Our first stop was at Teotihuacan, an ancient Mesoamerican city located in the Valley of Mexico. It is 25 miles (40 km) northeast of Mexico City. It was the largest city in the pre–Columbia Americas, with a population estimated of about 125,00 or more. It was established as a religious center around 100 BC. Photo: The Courtyard of the Palacio de Quetzalpapaloti, built about 450 to 500 AD.

Teotihuacan

On the pillars are reliefs of mythological birds, quetzalpapaloti: “quetzalli,” precious feather, and “papaloti,” butterfly.

Pyramid of the Moon

The Pyramid of the Moon is in the center of the photo next to other smaller pyramids. It was constructed between 100 and 450 AD.

Pyramid of the Moon

Closer–up. Ceremonies in the honor of the Great Goddess of Teotihuacan, the goddess of water, fertility, the earth, and creation itself, was conducted at a platform on top of the pyramid.

Avenue of the Dead

The Avenue of the Dead as seen from the Pyramid of the Moon. The avenue was named this by the Aztecs because the mounds on the sides of the avenue looked like tombs. The Pyramid of the Sun can be seen in the near distance.

Pyramid of the Sun

The Pyramid of the Sun is the tallest of the two pyramids. It is 246 feet high (75 m). It is the 7th largest pyramid in the world in some lists of the world’s tallest pyramids.

I have put my photos of Teotihuacan on a slideshow. Go to http://www.peggysphotos.com/teotihuacan/ (Slide Shows, Central America, Mexico, Colonial Mexico Tour, “Teotihuacan”).

Lunch Stop

We had a lunch stop at the upscale San Pedro Parador Turistico.

Lunch Stop

There were cute ice cream sculptures here.

Lunch Stop

Another cute ice cream sculpture.

Mariachis

Mariachi players at a souvenir store at the lunch stop.

Telavera Pottery

Much telavera pottery being sold in the souvenir store.

Coca Cola

A very big coca cola can could be seen when getting back on the highway.

Queretaro

Our next stop was at the Spanish colonial town of Queretaro. Photo: The aqueduct (Acueducto de Queretaro). It was built in the early 1700s and is 5.5 miles (8.8 km) long, with 74 arches, its arches being some of the tallest in the world. It was built to bring fresh water into Queretaro, paid mostly by Don Juan Antonio de Urrutia, a nobleman, for his love of a nun named Clarissa.

Queretaro

A street in the historic area of Queretaro.

Murals of Mexico’ History

We visited the Palacio de Gobierno Casa de la Corregidora (Government Building) to see murals representing Mexico’s history. The man in the middle of this mural is the priest Miguel Hidalgo who with his “Cry of Dolores” began the War of Independence against Spain in 1810.

Nuestra Senora Guadalupe

We visited the Nuestra Senora Guadalupe. There is a large number of colonial Catholic churches in Queretaro.

I have put my photos of Queretaro on a slideshow. Go to http://www.peggysphotos.com/queretaro/ (Slide Shows, Central America, Mexico, Colonial Mexico Tour, “Queretaro”).

Sunset

We had a beautiful Mexican sunset as we were nearing San Miguel de Allende.

Sunset

More of the sunset.

San Miguel de Allende

We arrived at the Hotel Real de Mina in San Miguel de Allende after sunset. Photo of the hotel lobby.

San Miguel de Allende

Paper–mache sculptures (cartoneria) also greeted us in the hotel’s lobby. These were big enough for a dancer to fit inside them.

San Miguel de Allende

Paintings and a sculpture were also displayed in the hotel lobby. We were given vouchers for dinner and could order anything we wanted from the menu. The margaritas were very good here.