SolECiel and MyShittyBackpack hemp/cotton daypacks: The Teotihuacan valley

Teotihuacan means the place where men become gods, according to archeologists. According to local teachers, it means the place that has the most cosmic energy available to man on the planet. There are many different theories on how the pyramids were created, exactly when, by whom and for what purpose. There is no single definite answer, it remains a mystery.

Every town in this area has a double name: first comes the imposed Spanish name followed by the original Nahuatl name that always existed. An example is San Sebastian Xelalpa.

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San Antonio de las Palmas, near Teotihuacan

We are staying at a very special place called Tepeyolohtli Temazcal, in nature, just a few miles from the pyramids of Teotihuacan. It is yet another paradise on this planet. It is similar to a hostel but the nice family who runs this place also offers true native ceremonies in a temazcal (a type of sweat lodge) with incantations, drumming, chants in Nahuatl and Spanish, prayers and meditation. Their ceremonies (temazcal, dances, natural healing and more) are very similar to the ones of the native Americans. They call the Native Americans and all other natives from Canada to Nicaragua their brothers. What they want to do is revive the forgotten pre-hispanic traditions and culture. They also offer excellent home-made Mexican food. The place is very peaceful and clean. The owners manage it in harmony with nature. They also have camping sites. We highly recommend this place. Their website is http://tepeyolohtli2014.wix.com/temazcal3 for more information and movies.

The gardens are lush, with exotic plants.

This type of agave called "maguey" harbors large worms that are delicious raw or cooked. It also gives a milky substance called aguamiel which is left to ferment. The fermented beverage is called pulque, and it is delicious. It is said to make people very strong thanks to the high concentration of protein, amino acids, enzymes, probiotics and vitamins in it.

Pulque is a prehispanic beverage. Back then it was considered to be the beverage of the gods.

This is a pulque store in San Martin.

dining room

Angelina has been able to write using a quill she carved herself. She uses black tinta China.

The new indoor kitchen. Maria is the chef. She loves to cook and it shows in her excellent meals.

They have 4 temazcales, all built by the owner. Each temazcal has its own specific purpose.

East side

North side.

West side

South side

The fourth temazcal

The inside of a temazcal looks like a kiva. Up to 30 people can fit ine one. The hot stones ("abuelitas") will be placed in the center hole.

The whole family gets to work for a temazcal. Here Consuelo is gathering medicinal flowers and branches, including lavender, eucalyptus, sage and more.

She then makes a tea which will serve to wet the lava rock in the sweat lodge to create steam. They will use another special bunch of medicinal plants that they will dip into this tea to spray the lava rock and the participants inside the temazcal.

Consuelo also adds dried herbs

Jose gathers some wood.

Consuelo starts a fire with ocote wood.

Lava rock waiting to be heated up.

The stones are ready for the fire. Jair is in charge of this.

They call these rocks abuelas (grand-mothers). They show a lot of respect for them.

Consuelo smudges the temazcal with copal

while Jose plays the conch.

She then smudges each participant.

We go in in a specific order and, like a snake, we go from left to right inside the temazcal.

The ceremony lasts 2 to 4 hours in complete darkness. The concept is that when you enter the temazcal you go back into the womb of your mother, and when you exit the temazcal you are born again. It is up to each person to decide what they want to achieve in the temazcal. We each have our own wishes. They say that magic happens in there and we believe so.

Hour hosts gave us our first basic drumming class. It as fun. Thank you guys.

Then, they gave us our first prehispanic dance class. Great! Dancing and drumming are an essential complement to the temazcal.

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Fiesta in San Sebastian Xolalpa near Teotihuacan

Today was fiesta day at San Sebastian, near Teotihuacan. The fiesta lasts 8 days. The fiesta takes place once a year. Families in San Sebastian will offer free food and drink to their friends and the friends of their friends. That is how we were invited here in this nice home. The host was Victor. The food was delicious. Each host family offers food for 2 days.

Our friends are our nice host family from Tepeyolohtli temazcal: Pamela, Consuelo, Jose, Maria and Jair.

Our host family for the fiesta just finished painting this beautiful mural representing the god of rain and the goddess of oceans and rivers. This mural is said to be very complex, with a ton of cultural meaning.

Tequila is made from this type of agave.

This drink is aguamiel coming from an agave, fermented then mixed wth fruit.

In the carnival, they also have 3 traditional dances that last at least for 3 hours each. This dance represents the war between the Moors and the Spaniards. The Spaniards are the ones with the plumes on their hats.

The adornment on the front of the church is made of hundreds of tiny hats.

We have never seen so many beautiful fresh flowers in one church. Wish the internet could convey the smell too.

Neighboring villages bring their own saints for the occasion.

This other dance is about the oppression of the Catholic church on the natives of Mexico. Since the natives could not do much to retaliate, they expressed themselves through dances. In this traditional dance, the natives were actually making fun of the church.

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San Martin de las Piramides, close to Teotihuacan

the plaza at San Martin de las Piramides

Miniature pyramid on the plaza

The elementary school Angelina will start going to next week.

They are already waiting for her. There are no other gringo kids in this school.

This is the middle school where Louis will go next week. No gringos here either.

A typical street in San Martin. Since there are no gringos living here, there are no real estate agents. Finding a rental is only by word of mouth. We are looking. There are very few signs or postings for available rentals.