Puebla, Mexico (Parte 4 Cholula)

Marie will now relate her experiences in Mexico for the next two weeks...



Gary flew out of Mexico City on April 9th.  As usual, I went to school in the morning for my Spanish classes and spent the afternoon exploring Puebla with Gabriela, my awesome guide.  That afternoon we went to el Museo Casa de Alfeñique.  Alfeñique is a kind of sugar and almond candy, which eludes to the look of the façade of the building.  It holds a collection of art, including the China Poblana dress, and also gave me an idea how the well to do people lived.  Of special interest was the very ornate chapel.

Afterwards, I decided to go back home using a different route and found a panaderia mexicana, or Mexican bakery.  Let me tell you I had a yummy supper!!!!

Conchas blanca y color café

On April 10th, after morning classes and lunch,  we hopped on the excursion van with Veronica and off we went to visit the historic part of Cholula, only 8 km from Puebla, considered to be the oldest city in America dating back to 500 BC and home to the former Franciscan convent of San Gabriel.

San Francesco de Acatepec

El Temple de Santa Maria Tonantzintla

We continued on to the Great Pyramid in the Archaeological Zone, a huge complex and the largest archaeological site of a pyramid in the New World. Tlachiualtepetl is the largest pyramid known to exist in the world today but actually looks like a hill as most of it is overgrown. The south side has been excavated and we were able to explore part of the network of tunnels inside. From the top of the pyramid in the sanctuary atrium it is possible to see Popocatepetl and other volcanoes on the eastern horizon.

Tunnels in the Great Pyramid

View of Iglesia de Nuestra Senora de los Remedios on top of the Great Pyramid

Cholula market

Both the city and the convent rise up next to the Popocatepetl volcano, its snowy summit rising in the near distance.

Iglesia de Nuestra Senora de los Remedios, Cholula

 We visited the Iglesias de Nuestra Senora de los Remedios (Our Lady of Remedies Church), a 16th century Mexican Catholic parish church made of domes covered with tiles and built by the Spanish atop the Tlachiualtepetl (The Great Pyramid). The basilica was constructed with brada stone and decorated with 24 carat gold leaf laminilla. The alter is the neoclassic style, the walls painted in 1595 by Alfonso de Villasana.  While enjoying these sites the time went by quickly and it was soon time to return to Puebla.  Marie