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| Pyramid in Tepoztlán |
On the 2nd of January Marie and I, along with Fernanda and Phil (Amy stayed in Cuernavaca with her Mexican family who were more than happy to babysit) drove north to the Tepoztlán valley, about 25 km from Cuernevaca, to visit one of the strangest places I have ever seen. The town of Tepoztlán occupies the floor of a lush valley walled in by bizarrely shaped mountains that don't quite look real. The town itself is steeped in legend and mystery and is close to the birthplace of Quetzalcóatl, the Aztec serpent god. The place is renowned for its homeopathic pharmacies, diets, massages and health food stores claiming all sorts of miraculous cures if you buy their products. Marie bought me some local honey tasting of pollen and grasses that was supposed to cure my cough and sore throat, among other claims, though it was another week before I started feeling better. But the locals swear the valley possesses mystical curative powers and who am I to argue. I don't need the curse of old Quetzal upon me. One of the things we wanted to do was climb up to see the pyramid at the top of one of the mountains. Rumour has it that if you touch the remaining stones of the pyramid you will receive some sort of energy from the universe, but it was too late in the afternoon to tackle the 2 km trek and we just didn't have the energy.... The market was in full swing though when we arrived and after eating in a small restaurant in the busy thoroughfare crammed with tourists from the big city we did a bit of souvenir shopping and took in the very crowded and colourful food market, a dark cramped collection of tables and gas burners under a thick patchwork of multicoloured tarps. Outside on the street vendors sell all kinds of wonderful hand crafts including embroided shirts, wall hangings, wooden kitchen tools, wooden lamps, clay miniatures, jewelry, knitted hats, and everything else you don't really need. As well Fer insisted we stop at the famous (at least in Mexico for in truth I had never heard of it) Tepoznieves ice cream parlour...and we weren't disappointed! They serve over 100 different flavours including cactus and pineapple chili but I wasn't feeling too adventurous and settled with rum and raisin...or was it tequila and mango?...The entranceway to the market and between the chapel beyond is separated by an archway covered with pictorials uniting aspects of the pre-Hispanic, Christian, ancient and modern culture of the local people, all made up of over 85 different kinds of seeds. The images change every year, depicting the events of the year. Before we left Marie found a tortilla warmer and I bought that very special and inexpensive fridge magnet I had flown 5000 miles to find. Then it was back to Cuernavaca for one last night before heading back to the capital and our last few days in Mexico. gws
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| view from the village |
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| Marie in the market looking for that special tortilla warmer |
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| market and old buildings of Tepoztlán |
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| chapel |
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| view from restaurant in Tepoztlán |
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| Tepoztlán market |
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| Tepoztlán archway |
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| close up of beany archway |
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| food market |
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| in the market |
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| weaving baskets in the market |
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| narrow alleyway Tepoztlán |
