Pobres, Pero Felices: Cholula, bajo la lluvia

Our good luck ran out a little yesterday. We're here in the rainy season, but it has not been much of a hindrance. We got wet today, but not too bad. We need umbrellas.

Today was another designated archaeology day. The ruins at Cholula are famous, it is a site that has a long history of occupation. It was partly because of the ritual significance of Cholula that the Spanish founded the city of Puebla where they did.

Besides Omar and Karina, Omar invited Esther's sister, Maura, their elderly father, and (the highlight of the day) her toddler. The baby was very well behaved. She was dressed to the nines in what seemed to be a traditional dress. She charmed us all, including the Americans touring the site with their Spanish class. Like the other women in this family, she is vivacious and not reluctant to make her desires known.

It was the first time that any of them had been to visit the site. It was also the first time Omar drove us any distance, and something of a white-knuckle ride, not because of his driving – he was very cautious and the traffic was light to moderate – but because of the numerous speed bumps in every pueblita we pass through. These do not have a consistent height or width, and it is easy to drag on them. So, we had a fairly new driver, and six adults and a baby in VW bug.

Memorial to the Huejotzinco's dead in the Revolution of 1910-1920

We parked the car on the zocalo at Huejotzinco and caught the third class bus to Cholula. The ride was comfortable, and by the time we got there the bus was no more than half full. The ride home (also 3^rd class bus) was like something out of the movies. People were stuffed to the rafters, no place to be if you do not like bodily contact.

Getting off near the Archaeological Zone, we took a couple of cabs to the entrance and proceeded to climb to the top. Cholula is a well developed attraction. The main pyramid looks like a large hill in the middle of town. Like all the large pyramids, every time a king died, a new layer over the old, and a new temple built on top. The fill would be adobe, then they covered it with limestone – which is not a local stone, it had to be drug in from some distance away. Apparently, the Spanish stripped off the limestone covering, which allowed the adobe to weather and plants to cover the pyramid.

On the outside, there are numerous terraces or aprons that once held stone buildings and platforms. Archaeologists have excavated 8 kilometers of tunnels to investigate its history, and one is usually open to the public, a pathway with interpretative displays through each successive addition to the structure. It was our bad luck (and Karen's good luck – she is pretty claustrophobic) that the tunnel was closed for repairs so we could only see what had been excavated around the sides. These were very impressive, and as at Templo Mayor, highly complex. Off to the side of the Zone is a small, modern museum with a nice display of artifacts, arranged by successive archaeological phase, and a large interpretive model of the pyramid.

View from the top, unexcavated pyramid in the center

The first thing we visited, however, was the Santuario de Nuestra Senora de los Remedios, a beautiful church on top of the pyramid. The stairs and ramp to get to the top are wide and long, and the view of the city improves with every level we reached.

The church is highly ornate, and our hosts were crossing themselves every once in a while as we went inside, particularly the grandfather. It must hold a special place for Catholics, as I saw one penitent approaching the altar on her knees several times, then take a pew for prayer. Honestly, it is a very moving place to visit.

Your turistas in Mexico,

Roger and Karen

(More images below)