Jan 30. Bye bye ancient Teotihuacan

When we arrived from Mexico City last night we were surprised to see Petra , Lucy and their 2 kids had arrived from Teotihuacan, and Kelly & Liz (our Shuswap connection) was also there!!  It is surprising how the paths of travellers often find each other again. 

This morning we had to say good bye to them again. We hope that one day their travels will bring them to Kelowna so we can spend more time to get to know each other better. 

After a bit fancy manoeuvring with the help of Google Maps "on the fly" we were on our way to Villa Hermosa. In ancient towns like Teotihuacan it would be a nightmare navigating the old way with maps. Google had us navigating the narrow old roads with relative ease. However this is definitely a 2 person job as the driver cannot take an eye off the busy narrow street to check the gps screen. Taxi cabs, Cars, buses, bikes, motor bikes, dogs etc keep you "on your toes". 

It is not like Mexican drivers are crazy like in parts of Europe--they are for the most part quite courteous , but they come at you from all directions!

Pueblo was the first town we passed. It is known for having 365 churches with architecture, in some, that is better than that in cathedrals in Mexico City in the opinion of our camp host. 

Cholula,  literally on the opposite side of the road from Pueblo, is home of the worlds largest pyramid ( http://www.collective-evolution.com/2016/08/30/the-worlds-largest-pyramid-is-hidden-under-a-mountain-in-mexico/ )

Prior to the Spanish conquest it had eroded so bad that the Spanish thought it was a small mountain and they built a beautiful church right on top of it. 

In the afternoon of our drive we dropped  from 7,000 ft to 200 feet in very short order. The road was so steep and windy that you rarely saw traffic going in the opposite direction

Temperatures at the top of the escarpment was 13 degrees. At the bottom it was well over 20 degrees. 

We are a little concerned with Dahlia's tire wear. There is no sign of the wheels being out of alignment but in only 7,000 km the Mexican roads have eaten half the tread off new tires. 

Climate and vegetation are now semi/tropical. Today was our first warm night in Mexico. We stopped at the nicest PEMEX gas station i have ever seen and they offered us free accommodation with the trucks out back. The spot is clean and fenced and as I write this at 7:30 it is 24 degrees outside--very nice. 

Tomorrow we will be camping at Maya Belle beside the famous ruins of Palenque, sitting by the pool. It does not get much better. 

Sent from Tom's iPhone