by Chris MacAskill November 10, 2000 Day 7 |
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It was a surprise to me that Teotihuacan and several other incredible ruined cities with unbelievable pyramids are very near Mexico City. You don't have to go to the Yucatan Peninsula or Guatemala, though I was tempted to just for the adventure of it. An hour's ride from my motel in Mexico City put me at the base of the Pyramid of the Moon.
How can one describe what it's like to walk through a city that was contemporary with Rome, but was bigger than any European city at the time? It housed perhaps 200,000 people and had pyramids that make you go silent with awe. It was also nice to find a practical use beyond skiing for the gazillion hours I've spent on stairmasters. Some tourists were bent over and gasping as if they were in the very act of sacrificing themselves on the steps of the pyramid.
I could have stayed another day in Central Mexico and been a happy man, but I decided to head north and see the Colonial cities, perhaps surprise my wife and get home a day early. The guidebook I had lost 3,000 miles ago said Zacatecas was wonderful, so I hunted for the toll road headed north. Two hours of getting lost in Mexico City and I was on it. The toll road north was fine, but navigating through San Luis Potosi to the alternative road that leads to Zacatecas is not possible. Tech Expo 2000 filled every hotel, so I rode North in the dark and stayed in Matehuala. Yuck. |
I know because I spent 2 hours trying. And I tried everything including asking every taxi driver and merchant in the city, riding every road, and following every sign. I can say, however, having ridden every road in San Luis Potosi twice, that it's beautiful. I saw cathedrals, missions, old narrow streets...