LaCañada de la Virgen and Expat dinner

One of the things I have enjoyed about Mexico is visiting pyramids around the country.  I have been to several in Oaxaca, Veracruz and the Yucatan.   This morning we went to one of the northernmost pyramids in the country.   Like many others this one was abandoned well before the Spanish arrived in the Sixteenth Century - and there is no particular explanation why they closed down.  This one closed about the same time as Teotihuican.

Like many other pyramids in the country this one seems to have been an observatory.   But unlike others this one did not revolve around the equinox.  This one, called LaCañada de la Virgen, has only been open to the public for about six months. The land was in private hands (and still is) and it took a lot of wrangling to get access for the government.   The owner is an Argentinian who is related to the Krupps.   It is one main pyramid and a couple of other structures at this point.  To get to it, because it is surrounded by private land, you have to go to a center and then are transported by bus.   It was a pleasant trip - about 20 minutes outside of the city.

There is a lot of mumbo jumbo around the archeological sites in Mexico.  Some of the guides we have had in the past ascribe all sorts of things to these areas.  There is some discussion about the role of certain numbers (13 especially) and cyclical calendars based on the lunar calendar. Some of their speculations may have been true.  But  I prefer to look at these things with a bit of a jaundiced eye.   These places a magnificent to see - even if we cannot explain all of the things that go into the places.  Remember, that many of these sites were remarkably able to project movements of the sun and moon.   (All this was done without a sextant.)   The sheer act of being able to produce these edifices which seem to have been pretty advanced in a number of sciences makes me want to walk the grounds.

The other thing which annoys me is the constant attention to sacrifices that were done in some places.  Our guide today did a wonderful job of explaining both the conception of these peoples of the individual and also of the afterlife.  (Both of which are very different from our current thoughts about these things.)

There is a lake below the city of San Miguel that is way down because there have been a couple of lousy rain seasons.   The lake is man made and so you can now see part of a church which was submerged when the lake was created.   Evidently, if there is a good rainy season next year the lake will fill up quickly.

At about three PM we joined with a group of Expats at a restaurant off the Jardin called Pegaso.  We've been there several times since we have been here.   Today they created a special meal.  It was superb - starting with deviled eggs and then a salad and some calabasa soup, followed by turkey, corn dressing, string beans, mashed potatoes, cranberries (arándano in Spanish).  The dessert had either pumpkin pie or poached pears.   It was very tasty.  We finished the night looking at the gallery of our friend Federico Correa which is in a former coach house near the Jardin.