Stairs Up. Stairs Down. Stairs. All Around.

Teotihuacan. The Pyramids. The ruins. The crazy stairs. It was amazing.

Nothing like starting the day with a boob or two. Not the feminine anatomical kind, but the kind that make you feel like a complete prat when you realise what you've done. The first belonged to a travelling companion who herded us to the wrong rendez-vous point. But this was easily and painlessly fixed. The next was all mine...

I was stopped at the entrance to the Pyramids and told that "we" had to pay here because "we" weren't from Mexico. Now I say "we" cos I was in the group but I was never asked to pay. Course me in all my blind honesty fronted the entrance fee (which was double the bus fare from the city) and we continued on our way. It wasn't until we were within striking distance of the Avenue of the Dead that I realised that I'd paid uneccesarily. D'oh! Being a darker shade of caramel does have its advantages in this country, they think you're native. Being of a white chocolate complexion however does you no good at all.

The sun was shining with some ferocity that bonny april Sunday. The sky was brilliant in all its azulness, the clouds were suitably white and candyfloss-esque. And it was under this blanket of a fine autumn morning that we made our way towards the beckoning pyramids. Still not appreciating their giganticness in this early part of our outing.
Now I readily admit I am a pain in the preverbial when it comes to visiting places of interest. I may stroll in everyday life, but when it comes to areas where there may be plenty of photo ops, not to mention things to see, I become positively tortise-like.

The Sun Pyramid was the first sight to see on our agenda. Well it couldn't really be missed, being that it dominated the skyline when looking down the Avenue of the Dead. The stairs were a much better work out than any stair master could possibly give you. And the view from the top was superb. Which was of course appreciated at length, considering you practically induced a heart attack climbing to the pinnacle.
The trip back down is not quite so cardiac arrestish, but you are very aware that if you trip and fall, its one helluva long, bumpy and very painful arrival at the bottom that would spell the end of your holiday. Upon reaching the bottom of the Pyramid, we were greeted by a collection of panama-hat-adorned vendors plying their wares. But in a manner most reminiscent of vendors in Nepal, they delivered their sales pitch half-heartedly. This could have been due to the sun and heat (by this time I was becoming a two tone shade of strong coffee and milk tea with a red cherry atop my shoulders that used to resemble me), or just the general laidback attitude of the local populace. I personally think it was more of the latter than the former.
By now I had also developed some very impressive blisters on my feet so my pace slowed to that of a geriatric tortoise. Good for taking pics and admiring the scenery, not so good when trying to avoid being slow roasted by the sun or when there are four other people waiting for you to get a move on.

But get a move on I did (painfully aware that anything resembling normal speed spelt doom for my tootsies) and we proceeded onward and upward. To the Moon Pyramid. Thankfully which is either still being reconstructed or they've given up and you can only get halfway up. Hurrah! I found a comfy spot (hard to do on solid rock), parked my but and let the others walk around, take photos and do the touristy thing.
Back down on the ground- the Moon being much more blister friendly- we made our way to the exit where one of our party had been waiting for some time. I gave up many opportunities to buy a bow 'n arrow (of which I'm quite proud, I was dead jealous of the kids shooting each other) but couldnt resist the cowboy hat. Yes. A cowboy hat. Made from corn leaves. I love it. Course my mates (especially the Mexicans) thought it was hilarious, being that I bought it after I had turned a lighter shade of crispy. Well what can I say? Yee-hah!