Mexico, Part 2

On day two we drove bright and early to see the pyramids at Teotihuacan, about an hour outside of D.F. The drive was beautiful! Homes in Latino America are always so happy and colorful, I love them! Our driver told us that for this particular neighborhood a politician recently painted them to buy some votes.

When we got to the pyramids we were pretty hungry, but there wasn't anywhere to eat. We finally found a restaurant, but they only had lunch food (think steak and chicken), but luckily they were able to just make some scrambled eggs & tortillas and it was perfect. 

^^It blows my mind that all of these ruins are still here! 

^^The climb up was pretty steep

Before we left for Puebla, we visited a very famous church called Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe.  It is said that the virgin Mary appeared to an indigenous Mexican peasant named Juan Diego in the 1500s. This was huge because at the time, many of the spanish were trying to assimilate the natives, but the virgin's apparition to Juan Diego helped blend the two cultures together into the Catholic church. 

 Many Catholics will take a pilgrimage to the church to thank God for blessing them with something they've asked of Him. When they take the pilgrimage, they walk up to 2 km on their knees to the altar of the church. 

We saw a mother carrying her baby, walking on the path to the church. I really admired her faith!

Because the original church is super old, in the 70s they built a new, larger church right next door. It kinda reminded me of the LDS conference center. 

When the Virgin Mary appeared to Juan Diego, she asked him to build a church in her honor. The archbishop didn't believe him, until miraculously the image of the virgin appeared on his cloak. Below is the cloak.

^^Statue of the pope.

^^Inside the orignial, older church. The soil in Mexico city is a soft clay (lake deposits, kinda like parts of Utah!). Because of that, since it's construction there has been a lot of settlement of the building. You can feel it just walking in!

From Mexico City, we took a bus to Puebla. We stayed with my Tia's cousin (so my second cousin?) Chela! She is the nicest lady on the planet!! So so glad we got to spend so much time with her. 

We went to a convent to meet Chela's sister, Susie, who is a nun. Wow, what an awesome experience! Susie was so so nice and just radiated light and happiness! She decided to be a nun when she was just 18 (i think...). I so admire her faith and dedication to God and the Catholic church. 

^^Chela and I at the doors of the convent

^^We had to speak to her through this barrier. Susie brought out a couple photo albums, we loved it! So many old pictures! 

^^My great-grandfather Leandro with my great-aunt Tia Lupe on her wedding day. 

^^Eight out of the eleven children with my their parents in the middle. My abuelo is the one on the bottom right kneeling. 

^^My grandpa is the one in with the hat. Growing up, I don't think I ever saw him without a hat on! 

^^Grandpa Luis with his sister and her husband. We didn't take any pictures, but we got to meet with Tia Lupe in her home in puebla! She's in her 80s and is still a firecracker!

^^My great-grandma Rosalía

The next day, we drove to Chinahuapan, the city that my abuelo grew up in. It was such a nice town! High up in the mountains. 

^^We had breakfast with some more family! It was delicious. Tamales, eggs, pan dulce, fresh plums from their garden...

We then visited the Bisilica de la Inmaculada Concepción. There was this super huge, super pretty statue of the virgin Mary at the altar.

Chignahuapan is famous for their Christmas ornament factory where glass ornaments are hand crafted all year round. 

We bought a pretty bell ornament, and proceeded to drop it immediately upon arrival to the airport :[ We'll just have to get another one when we go back!