Please forgive us for not posting sooner. We finally found the instructions for the Internet at the house and it is dial-up and very slow and finicky. At this time we will not be able to upload pictures due to the crappy connection, but don’t worry there are amazing pictures to come!
Here is a brief synopsis of our first exciting week in San Juan Teotihuacan:
1. The drive down took exactly 24 hours. We went through the border at Nuevo Loredo and boy are the procedures ever different from our easy crossing in Sonora, where we seldom even get a red light to pull over to have the border folk look in our trunk. I was very glad we were there at 5am when there was no line because we had to fill out tourist cards and pay to bring Charlie’s car in and pay for several other things I did not understand through about 5 more ques (I think we paid for copies of our papers at que #3 to then give to the border agent to process at que #4). Once on the road we paid again several times to drive on the many toll roads instead of the old two laners that are much scarier I am told.
We hit some traffic due to area festivals and had to deal with muchos topes (speed bumps) in the smaller towns we went through on our recommended "short cut" that was actually a not-so-short-cut. Alas we made it unscathed, although weary and tried to settle in. Charlie had not been to the house since April of 2003 so there was a thick layer of dust and many cobwebs to brush away. The house is comfy, yet simple based around a beautiful patio courtyard with a large gate to the street. Los dormitorios (rooms), la sala (parlor) y la cocina (kitchen) are all in an L-shape surrounding the patio. Like I said, pictures to come.
2. Monday was a restful day, walking around San Juan and going to the largest market day for fresh fruit and vegetables. I read a lot and Dan and Charlie worked on odd jobs around the house, lots to do in the way of fixing things up (the water heater, the broken window, etc) since no one has really been around for many years, so the boys are busy. As it happens, we are here during a very special time for the area as they celebrate La Feria del Obsidiana (the Obsidian Festival) and also the Equinox. There is lots to do with a full carnival set-up, concerts, vendors, and other special events. As a kid, Danny was always in school at this time in the states so he is excited to get to experience this excitement for la primera ves (the first time).
3. Tuesday Dan and I got up at the crack of dawn and walked over to the Archeological Zone, where Charlie worked for many years, to see Los Piramides. Due to the festival, we were told that we should expect madness at the Pyramids with lots of tourists dressed in white to show their purity to the Gods. We were pleased that this information was not accurate and we were fortunate to see mostly locals up early to honor the Gods for the Equinox. We got to climb the Pyramid of the Sun and the Pyramid of the Moon without the madness that we expected, although we did wear white…but so did the locals.
4. When we got to the top of La Piramide del Sol we saw about 50 Globos (hot air balloons) taking off in the distance and then crossing over the Pyramids. It was gorgeous to see. Later on, Danny walked around and found the right person and the next thing I knew we were scheduled to get up early on Wednesday to take a ride in a globo! It was amazing! Charlie came too and we ended up riding with a man from Eloy, AZ who owns a Hot Air Balloon Company and travels around the world to these Globo Festivals. After years in San Juan spent all around those Pyramids, this was first time Charlie got that kind of view from up above (he threatened to pee on them). It was great to hear him describe the areas we were passing over and the places where he surveyed and excavated many years ago. We landed in an alfalfa field with the family who owned it looking on in their PJ’s. The pilot sent Danny to translate and ask them if we could land there and gave him candy to give to the kiddos, even though we had already touched down. This was an amazing experience and we have both video and digital still photos to impose on y’all eventually.
5. The rest of the week has been spent visiting with various families that Danny and Charlie haven’t seen for years. It is incredible to see Charlie visit with his old buddies and to see people make jokes about how little Danny was the last time they saw him. They can’t believe he is married and I can’t believe that I don’t speak Spanish! It is frustrating to not be able to say what I want to say but I still have this mental block whenever someone speaks to me directly. I understand a lot though and can usually laugh at the stories in the right places. It’ll happen eventually, I just need to practice more. In the meantime everyone is incredibly nice and the folks who speak a little English practice on me. I am amazed at how much a part of these peoples’ lives Danny was and how much they still welcome him, and now me, with such open arms. I love this culture!
6. This evening we have just come from an event that I was very apprehensive to attend: Mi primera Corrida del Toros, that is, my first Bull Fight! Again, the culture is rich and hard to ignore so that enhances the grisly experience in a magical way. I was surprised by my fascination with the whole event, from the costumes to the crowd and their enthusiastic gritos to the way the bulls are treated right up to their deaths. I will have to elaborate more later, but it was not as unpleasant as I had expected and I may even go so far as to recommend you attend one someday if you ever have the chance.
Did I say brief? Yeah, brevity was never my forte and I am excited to share all of this! Also without pictures I have to describe more. I wish I could be sharing this amazing city with you all personally, but hopefully you can look up San Juan Teotihuacan on the Internet and have more of an idea of where we are and someday return with us.
Much love, we will work on the pictures and if we do not succeed, send more written entries more regularly. Hope all is well in your neck of the woods!
-Sally and Dan…and Charlie tooJ
When we stopped outside of Monterey on our way to San Juan, I saw this stone statue, pictured at right, of La Virgen de Guadalupe. I realized that we always see the most beautiful shrines to La Virgen en Sonora, so I decided to do the same thing Karen and I did with the fountains in Spain with Las Virgenes en Mexico.
Since then Danny and I take our camera with us on all of our walks and we find the most gorgeous depictions of La Virgen all over the city, from shrines built into walls, in front yards, on the side of the road, etc. I look forward to assembling the same kind of frame of these amazing works of art, that also intruige me because it signifies the Mexican culture's unwavering sense of faith, which is ever-present all over the country.
One of our first experiences of the fesitval was to walk down towards La Inglesia de Purificacion, pictured illuminated at right, blocks away from the house. As we approached the church, the bells began to ring and as we walked onto the church grounds, a magnificent fireworks display began. Dan and I were looking up with our mouths wide open OOHing and AHHing with the crowd when a spent firework fell from the sky about 6 feet from Danny's head. We were on our way down the road after that and saw and heard many more still embering firworks fall from the sky along the way out.
Like I mentioned before, I was surprised by my reaction to the Bull Fight. The energy was amazing with everyone yelling Ole!, I felt like joining right in. The way the bulls were treated didn't bother me either. The years of culture and tradition were intruiging to me. In the picture on the right is the first Matador, who road a horse throughout the duration of his "match." He was a showboat and quite entertaining to watch. The colors and costumes were also mesmerizing.
