"They might have the appearance of riches, but beneath the clothes, we find a man... and beneath the man we find... his... nucleus." - Nacho Libre
The massive Teotihuacan ruins lie 25 kilometers outside Mexico City and are sprawled over an area of 20 sq. kilometers. The ruins are flanked by the mammoth Piramide del Sol and and Piramide de la Luna. It was an ancient city of unknown origin until the Aztecs, in the 14th century, adopted the area as ceremonial grounds.
The Teotihuacan ruins are not to be confused with the Oaxaca pyramids featured in the ending scene of the brilliant movie Nacho Libre. And no, the ancient city was not the setting of Mel GIbson's semi-stinker, Apocalypto - that's Mayan.
The Teotihuacan ruins are not to be confused with the Oaxaca pyramids featured in the ending scene of the brilliant movie Nacho Libre. And no, the ancient city was not the setting of Mel GIbson's semi-stinker, Apocalypto - that's Mayan.
The lady hereafter known as “Model Girl” and I took a New York-style hop-on hop-off bus around the megalopolis of Mexico City, also known to locals as D.F. (deh-eff-eh; Distrito Federal) and now known to me as Ciudad de "Manila but Cleaner and with More Museums".
The highlight of D.F. was a night out at the gaudy Plaza Garibaldi. Garibaldi is where tourists, locals, vendors, drunks, vagrants and lady streetwalkers mingle and enjoy the plaza's extremely cheap alcoholic offerings. In Garibaldi, you can drink cheap "micheladas" while being serenaded by mariachi bands who play for 75 pesos a song. In between drinks, you and your amigos y amigas can pay around 30 bucks to be consensually electrocuted via a portable Mexican ultra-electro magnetic torture device. It was kind of fun, a way of bringing our group closer together. Fun times.
The following day, Model Girl and I hung out at the Chapultepec area to check out the voladores, who in true Totonac tradition, climbed up a tall iron mast and swirled slowly to the ground, and in all probability, with neither life or accident insurance. Other highlights include a trip to the Museo Nacional de Antropolica which houses the Aztec Stone of the Sun, a trip to Chapultepec Castle and an encounter with the famous Mexican luchador Huracan Ramirez.
I spent my final day in Monterrey. The city, surrounded by stunning mountains, is the third largest in Mexico. It is home to the country's wealthiest "regios" and prestigious universities. It is a charming enclave with that special Laguna export processing zone/ industrial park feel.
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