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Here we are at Tula, in the State of Hidalgo Mexico. This is a unique
and interesting site... it was occupied by the Toltec and Aztec
civilizations between 900 & 1150 AD. At its peak, it is thought to
have had 35,000 inhabitants. One of the best known features of this
site are the 4.5 meter stone warriors that stand guard atop one of the
structures. The city was abandoned in the early 13th century after a
fierce battle with another civilization, the Chichimecs. |
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Cindy sometimes tells Barry she thinks he has Neanderthal feet... But
this statue definitely has him beat! This is a reproduction of one
of the lower sections of the stone warriors we had mentioned... Wait
'till you see the originals! |
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This huge plant, standing over seven feet tall, is member of the agave
family. A different variety of this plant, the 'blue agave', is
grown & harvested to make the much loved Tequila that Mexico is so famous
for. |
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Approaching the site... |
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This site had some of the best preserved stone work that we have seen to date... Enjoy
the following pictures showing wall carvings of various scenes. |
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If you look closely you will see a serpent that has mostly swallowed a
man. |
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A bird bending over eating something... |
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Numerous animals, with a Jaguar in the top left side of the picture... |
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A wolf... |
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These are not the 'pillars' you saw earlier as we approached the site.
These pillars once supported the roof over this structure, each one made
with rock & mortar inside and stucco
on the outside... |
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The beams and palma roofs do not last through the centuries like the rock and
stucco do. These massive posts inside this stone column are all
that's left... |
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Ta-da!! What appeared to be pillars as we approached the site are actually extremely tall and
intricately carved stone warriors, they were magnificent! |
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Tall and handsome... and the statue isn't bad looking either... |
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This photo better shows just how many of those other pillars there are.
At one time, those pillars supported roof over this large area.
Note the perimeter seating and the central area... |
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Can you imagine what this must have looked like when 35,000 people lived
and worshiped here? |
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In this photo, Cindy is reminded of the movie "The Party" with Peter
Sellers, in the scene where he shoots the big Texan with the rubber tip
dart gun. But before the Texan can look up, Peter is looking innocent
on the other side of a swimming pool, far away from where he took the
shot. Sooo... Don't you wonder what Barry has been up to?
:) |
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Stepping back in time... A horse drawn plow. |
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As we were driving up we where thinking... what is that? A bridge, a
walkway, art?? But no, it was a huge aqueduct! |
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Here we are in beautiful San Miguel De Allende, the 'magnet' of
central Mexico for expats. Wonderful spring like temperatures all
year round. Friendly locals who speak some English. A beautiful
historic array of roads and buildings... It is a bit more expensive
because of the expat influence, but if you are looking for an introduction
to Central Mexico, San Miguel is hard to beat! |
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We drove to several RV Parks before we chose the location and park we
liked best... During our search we passed some pretty spectacular
homes. |
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Ahhh... makes us smile, we LOVE Mexico... |
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Magnificent!!! |
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This lady has a great little helper to sell her dried flowers. |
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This is the courtyard of one of the Art Schools in San Miguel. San
Miguel is very well known for its excellent art schools. |
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Can words describe? |
| Ok, it's time to leave San Miguel and head to Guanajuato.
If we 'had' to pick a favourite city in Central Mexico it would be
difficult, but not impossible. We absolutely LOVE Guanajuato and you will
have no trouble seeing why in the next section of our updates.
Click here to read the next segment of
this Travel Log Series |
