It never fails, that while traveling with children, they will have to use the bathroom at the most inconvenient times.
Greg has been dreaming of visiting the ruins of Teotihuacan since college. Now here we were, with an entire day stretched out before us just for exploring this ancient site.
In it's day, Teotihuacan was the largest city in Mesoamerica (and is the largest ancient ruin site in the area) - having an estimated population of up to 200,000 people spread out over 8 square miles. It was the ruling power, and it's influence has been discovered in places such as the Zapotec's great city of Monte Alban, as well as major Mayan cities.
It was so great in fact, that after it's fall, the Aztec ruler Montezuma would pay homage to it by walking from Tenochtitlan (now Mexico City) to Teotihuacan, to be reminded of it's greatness.
Our homage trek was not nearly as far. We woke up early at Trailer Park Teotihucan, and hiked out to the road to catch a taxi, which dropped us off at the gate.
Kids under 13 were free, so Greg and I paid for ourselves - $51 pesos each (just under US$4 - a total of $8 bucks to see one of the most amazing places in history!!!)
Directly ahead of us was the Pyramid of the Sun, which we hiked to the top of before the sun was fully in the sky. The kids speedily scaled the steep steps, and beat us to the top. As we ascended, we paused to gaze at the majestic views of the Pyramid of the Moon.
By the time we arrived to the top, both Kimball and Aaliyah urgently informed us that they needed to go to the bathroom, now! For whatever reason, our second son has never had the ability to hold it... no matter what. And ALWAYS seems to need to go 'number two' at the worst times.
We were the only ones at the top, since it was still early. There was nothing around, except for a few garbage cans. I won't share details, but essentially Greg got creative using some empty bottles from the recycling. Classic. The Pyramid of the Sun will forever be known to us as 'Potty Pyramid'.
Next we visited the on-site museum, which contained a fascinating (and impressive) display of artifacts discovered at Teotihuacan.
We explored the Avenue of the Dead, the Temple of the Feathered Serpent, stopped to snack on some refried beans and chips, and then intended to ascend to the top of the Pyramid of the Moon.
Kimball hadn't been feeling very well all day. He'd been lethargic, and perhaps running a slight fever.
As we hiked toward the Pyramid of the Moon, he decided he'd had enough. He wanted to go back to the truck, and he wanted to go right now.
But…the Pyramid of the Moon - it's right there. It's once in a lifetime…we can't miss it.
Greg offered to wait with him at the exit, while I took the other kids to the top. But I knew he'd been waiting a long time to come to this place. He couldn't miss out on it.
It was time to use whatever measures necessary.
"If you climb to the top of the pyramid with us, then we can all get ice cream after," I told Kimball.
For a family that doesn't buy sweets, and rarely eats them, this was a big deal. He took the bait and agreed to hike it, with help if necessary.
After seeing what we came to see, we took a taxi back to town, and went straight to the market for ice cream. We found some popsicles for $5 pesos each - I got rice flavored, it was actually really good.
Surprisingly, the boys decided that instead of popsicles, they wanted to buy some slingshots that they had been eying for awhile. Fair trade. A total of $35 pesos of bribery.
Sometimes you've got to do what you've got to do 🙂
Have you been to Teotihuacan?
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I rarely leave comments, but I do follow your blog (via facebook) and am fascinated with your journey. Thanks for sharing your adventure and your philosophy with the rest of us. What wonderful experiences and memories you are creating for yourselves and your children.
Thanks Cecelia, for taking the time to comment.
Enjoyed your pics. I was there on top of the pyramid of the sun. Visited the museums. Have a plaque on my wall.
Just wanted you guys to know that I had scaled the pyramid of the sun and visited the museums. I was intrigued that the facial features reminded me of asiatic or mongoloid tribes. More that 5000 years of history. Enjoy your updates when when I can get online.
I have to say that going there was one of the highlights of my tour of Mexico when I was in high school. I will never forget the view from the top! Amazing.