Teotihuacan, Mexico

The name Teotihuacan, site of mysterious ruins less than 50 miles outside of Mexico City, is generally translated as the 'place where gods were born'.


We entered first through the Palace of the Jaguars.


The original designers/inhabitants of the massive site are still unknown and debated.

Mortar of the walls is decorated to resemble spots on a jaguar.

It is still possible to see color in the many murals throughout the site.

Incredible stonework.

Pink and green mural of a jaguar with feathered headdress holding a conch shell which appears to have been converted into a musical instrument.

More of the murals in the Palace of the Jaguar.

Temple of the Feathered Conches.

Murals of parrots within the Temple of the Feathered Conches.

If you look closely at the photo above you can see the head of a parrot.

Excavation and restoration continues.

In the Palace of Quetzalpapalotl.

Lintels, or rooftop ornaments, atop the courtyard of the Palace of Quetzalpapalotl.

Joaquin, our wonderful guide that day, show a treasured piece of obsidian he owns.

Pyramid of the Moon.

A series of platforms in the Plaza of the Moon.

One demonstration especially intrigued me. We watched as a beautiful crimson dye was made from cochineal insects who feed on certain cactus such as prickly pear.

The white clumps you see on the cactus are from insects which produce carminic acid to protect itself from other insects. It is that carminic acid which produces the color.

The gentleman smears circles of rich color on a piece of paper.

Here is a closer look. To read more about this method, you may click HERE.

Standing...I mean, sitting guard.

Plaza of the Moon.

Not for the faint of heart, climbing these steps. If you think it's difficult walking up, wait 'til you start walking down!

I wear a size 7.5 shoe and my feet barely seemed to fit these steps.

Avenue of the Dead

Pyramid of the Sun.

Giant agave plants were used for shelter, fiber, medicine, etc. For an excellent site which gives detailed information about how the pre-Columbian people in Mesoamerica cultivated agave, as well as more of its uses, you may click HERE.

Adobe bricks baked hard by the sun.

Tourists make the steep ascent to the Pyramid of the Sun.

Pyramid of the Sun.

The site stretches out before us. It continues to be excavated and studied for new clues to this once-immense city which may have had as many as 200,000 inhabitants.

Stopping to rest, I'm still in awe at details such as this on an ancient platform's steps.

I could spend days, exploring this vast complex, but it's time to say farewell and head south toward Puebla and Villahermosa.