Climbing a pyramid... or two

Jonathan:
Without really meaning to, it looks like we've taken a week off from communicating... and evidently from taking pictures as well. We sat down at the computer today, fully ready to go through the normal drill of sifting through a couple hundred pictures and deciding what to share, and we realized that we took a cumulative total of six pictures in Mexico City (all of mine were of signs... go figure). So, for pics of the city you'll have to do an image search or something, sorry.

We did however manage to get a few good ones on our day trip to the spectacular ruins at nearby Teotihuacan. We had heard these ruins are normally overrun with hoards of tourists, and massive tour groups being herded from one overlook to the next, so we did our best to get there early. After downing a fantastic 3-course breakfast and two giant glasses of "cafe con leche," we were on the subway headed for the bus station by around 6:30am. We managed to catch the first bus out to the ruins, and we were delighted to find that the crowds and tour groups were, for the most part, taking the day off. Even after the first hour or so of eerie silence, we were still able to find quiet corners throughout the rest of the day. The ruins themselves were amazing, mainly due to the sheer scale-- The Pyramid of the Sun at Teotihuacan is the 3rd largest in the world, behind the big one at Giza and another one somewhere else in Mexico. The one here is missing the top quarter, but it's still something like 40 meters high-- really big. I found that I wasn't quite as impressed by the technical accomplishments or the architecture because the craftsmanship and ingenuity seem pale in comparison to the numerous Inca ruins Megan and I explored on our trip through Peru a couple years ago. Regardless, when you're standing in front of two hundred million tons of rock that was piled together without the use of the wheel, you can't help but feel pretty impressed.

The rest of our time in Mexico City ended up being pretty rewarding, and far less scary than we had expected. After exploring a big chunk of the city, and getting our fill of great restaurants that seemed to grace every corner, we managed to catch a movie while we were there. The highlight of our time in Mexico City was stumbling upon an incredibly moving photo and film exhibit (there's a link in the "Ashes and Snow" post below).

We've spent our past several days in the city of Oaxaca in southern Mexico. We've enjoyed the slower pace here, but the heat is starting to get to us a little bit. Today and yesterday it was around 35°C (I think that's pretty hot). Tomorrow morning we are headed into the nearby Sierra Norte wilderness for about 4 days of backpacking, some nice high elevation, and hopefully much cooler temps.