After a relaxing evening in, we were feeling much more ambitious this morning. We woke up extra early and were on the road by 07:30; a first for this trip. We were heading to the Teotihuacan pyramids. Tim had done some research and decided the local bus was the best way to explore the site. Of course, if you wanted to spend $160 on a private transfer, you could, but if you know Tim, we were going like the locals.
The trip sounded intimidating to me, 3 metro lines and a local bus to the site; all during rush hour. Surprisingly, and as Tim suggested, the metro was not busy as we were going against the traffic. We made the 3 connections without issue and arrived to Norte bus terminal. This bus station is massive but because he had done his research, he found the ticket booth right away (gate 8, 2nd booth).
Round trip tickets in hand (194 pesos, $12) and no more than 10 minutes later we were on an older, but comfortable bus heading out of the city.
The ruins are located about 45 minutes north east of the city. The trip takes you through a very cute part of the city that is settled along rolling hills. The houses are painted in a variety of colours which gives the valley a charm we had never before seen.
The bus dropped us at Gate 2 of the pyramids; 65 pesos ($4) each for entrance to the Zona Arqueologica. We found a toilet before starting our adventure. It was only 9:45 and the site was already starting to fill up.
We climbed the main pyramid, the Temple of the Sun. (I carried the bag) Tim was surprised we were actually allowed to climb it as the safety standards were a bit lacking. The climb was difficult but the top greeted us with a nice panoramic view of the area.
We wandered the site for a while and marvelled in the grandeur of the construction.
The Temple of the Moon was equally as impressive, but smaller than the Temple of the Sun.
After exploring the site for about an hour, we were happy with our experience. Of course you could spend longer going into every building, looking at every rock formation; however, we have been to many sites like this we don't need to kill time, the benefit of not being on a set time tour. After a quick souvenir stop, we headed to where Tim thought the bus came (gate 3).
A helpful Mexican pointed us to the right place and we were picked up in about 10 minutes. The ride back to the city was equally as pretty.
We took the metro back to Roma district and wandered around for a bit. This area is very pretty and full of statues, buskers and beggars. We allowed ourselves to be pulled into a patio for a bite to eat and beer. Although we still are feeling a bit off for Mexican food, this place was pretty good, simple. We shared a three course meal for 55 pesos ($4). Pasta, salad and chicken and veggies; and a couple beers of course. We met a couple from Detroit which we chatted with about everything and nothing. They invited us to a Seafood dinner, but because we were not 100%, we declined.
We headed back to the hotel and Tim took a really long, well needed nap. Our evening consisted of just enjoying our relaxing time here, making a nice gnocchi dinner and having a cheesecake desert. Perfect way to end a nice adventurous day.
